We are so excited to share with you House of Ruth’s brand new building for Kidspace, our child development center in Ward 7.
When House of Ruth opened our doors 44 years ago, we began the work of supporting women and later women and their children. We expanded to include children because we quickly understood that children have also been impacted by the traumas associated with homelessness, and domestic violence, and they require their own space. On the 30th anniversary of opening Kidspace, today, we open a brand new facility that offers children who have lived through traumas a place to heal, and to thrive.
Kidspace’s staff support children 6 weeks to 5 years old on their journey to overcome challenges resulting from trauma, abuse and homelessness heal; reach their developmental milestones; and prepare for school readiness and life success. The new building more than doubles our capacity — from 44 children currently being served to 88 children.
The Kidspace staff embrace a trauma-informed practice, with occupational and speech therapy offered in a warm, inviting, and safe environment. We give parents the comfort of knowing that their children are safe, welcomed, cared for, and celebrated — so the parents can focus on their individual daily goals.
The Kidspace program is stellar, but the prior building did not allow for the adequate space and needs of the children, families, and staff. We set out to correct that and bring forth an environment that is equal to the programming, and that is bright, fun, inviting and provides adequate space for the children, families, staff, and community.
We are grateful to the Board of Directors, staff, donors, foundations, grantors, partners, local leaders, families, and the community who supported this effort.
We had planned a grand opening with celebrities, local leaders, our committed and dedicated donors, funders, foundations, our children/families, staff, community and partner agencies to celebrate the opening of this site — that has transformed into reality from a two-dimensional vision on paper — rising up from the ground and standing tall today. Due to COVID-19 we were unable to celebrate face-to-face, so please join me in a virtual grand opening, with voices from our leaders, and pictures of our children, families, and staff.
We hope you enjoy this ‘grand opening’ and are as excited as we are about the possibilities of our children entering this safe, welcoming, colorful, bright, and fun space. The new Kidspace offers every student access, opportunity, and support — the building blocks of success — that they need to accomplish the great purpose in each of their lives.