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A new early childhood education center has opened its doors in San Antonio.
YWCA San Antonio hosted a ribbon-cutting for the Harvey E. Najim Early Childhood Education Center on Wednesday.
It took place at the Women’s Live and Learn Center on Castroville Road in San Antonio.
The center will provide housing for young mothers and their children. According to a 2019 Status of Poverty report from the City of San Antonio, approximately 55% of households living in poverty in San Antonio are headed by a single female.
Francesca Rattray is the CEO of YWCA San Antonio and said that housing is a major challenge for women, and this was noticed especially through the COVID pandemic.
“We saw it during COVID, when women were dependent on a partner and had to stay home, and sometimes that partner was abusive,” said Rattray. “They had rather come to work and risk (contracting) COVID, and, in some cases, live out of their cars, (rather) than have to be stuck with their partner at home.”
Rattray said the center’s four-year model differs from other existing, transitional, and affordable, two-year housing programs.
“Two years is just enough time to get stabilized. It’s really in years three and four that residents can begin to set their sights on something in the future and really focus on trying to get positions, or build their career,” said Rattray.
Rattray said another component of the center involves intense, hands-on counseling and case management to secure and stabilize the personal situation of single mothers. Family planning and reproductive health services are scarce for young mothers, but Rattray said they’re fortunate to have a place now to allow for more engaged discussions and meaningful groundwork.
“We would be very limited on what we would be able to say, but we are able to talk to them about it outside of the schools and through case management at the center,” said Rattray.
The new center will provide early childhood education and child-care in a safe, nurturing environment while supporting young mothers as they pursue education, workforce training, and long-term economic stability.
