On Wednesday, Jan. 18, around 50 people congregated in the Woonsocket Community and Events Center to discuss the lack of daycare available in the Woonsocket community. The meeting was called by the Executive Board of the Woonsocket Community Care and Learning Center. The board members are Gay Swenson, Lisa Snedeker, Chelsea Schulz and Kayla Vetter. They organized the meeting for community members and daycare providers to come together and discuss the daycare crisis Woonsocket is currently having with no room for babies under the age of one in anyone’s daycare facility, including the center.

Lisa Snedeker spoke first to explain the purpose behind the meeting and to inform attendees about the situation the center is in. They have been running in the red for quite a while, and without funding from COVID money, it would be very difficult for them to stay open. They are trying to find solutions, but they are also concerned about the lack of daycare openings in Woonsocket. With the center open, there are waiting lists at all daycares, so that would only be worse if the center has to close. If the town loses more daycare, young families won’t be able to live here because they won’t have a place to take their kids while they work. Therefore, the biggest concern is not just keeping the center open but to figure out what can be done to provide more openings for daycare of any children under the age of one.

…Read on in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!