By Fletcher Word
The Truth Editor
Laurie’s Place officially opened during a ribbon-cutting ceremony this past May. However, the resource center took another step forward in providing services for numerous area residents with a Resource Fair on Thursday, September 4 by welcoming community partners who will share the space at 722 N. Westwood Avenue.
Laurie’s Place houses Mom’s House of Toledo on the first floor. Mom’s House has operated for years at its Franklin Avenue location providing free childcare for single moms who are completing any level of their education. This second location near the University of Toledo will continue the work of providing education for children and life-changing programs for both moms and kids.
On the second floor Bella Vita Network offices are located with spaces and classrooms for its pregnancy and parenting classes – including a 100-person meeting room.
Joining Bella Vita on the second floor are community groups: Habitat for Humanity; Lucas County Job and Family Services; Brothers and Sisters United; Queen’s Village; Planting Vineyards, LLC; Mercy Health Connections and the Hospital Council of NOW. Those agencies will have rotating office hours at the location.
“This is part of our big picture,” said Christina Rodriguez, executive director of Moms House. “We’ve opened up to the entire community, for the greater goal of serving moms, babies and fathers in our community.”
“We saw that we were better able to serve the community when we had other partners – today is the kickoff of that,” added Savannah Marten, executive director of Bella Vita.
Laurie’s Place is named for the late Laurie Moore. “Her heart was children, safety and love,” said Rodriguez. “She had three adopted children and fostered many others. Her husband [Bob Moore] wanted to give us an anchor.”
Other community partners who were present at the Resource Fair were: CareSource, Anthem, Molina, Humana, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library and the Academy for Urban Scholars.