Michigan nonprofit supports working parents with coworking space
Ariel Wan founded The Mamas Network just over a year ago to solve the issues that child care can present for working parents.
She left a six-figure corporate marketing job to launch initiatives to help parents.
"What do you do when you don't have any child care and you still have to work?" she said. "I just hear all these parents just like really struggling. And it's a real struggle for their mental health. So, all I do at The Mamas Network is to remove barriers and to help parents. So, I was thinking: 'How can we do something for this?'"
She researched and learned that a daycare license is not required as long as parents are on site.
Little Break was born – a coworking space where parents can bring their children to work.
"Parents like to come here because they don't want to be away from their kids," said Wan. "They don't want to be completely away from their baby. They want to be able to take care of them and nurse them and comfort them if they really need them. So, it's just really nice to give them that option that you don't have to just completely say bye to your kid for like nine hours a day."
Wan and at least one other volunteer parent are always on hand to help when parents need to get work done. Parents can become members or drop in on any given day.
Clarissa Love said it was her first day at Little Break after her nanny called in sick. She posted on Facebook that she needed urgent child care for her six-month-old for the day, and Wan reached out and told her to come to the coworking center.
"This was really a lifeline today," said Love. "I was able to take my stress from like a 10 to a zero, and I'm still going to be able to get work done today."
"It's hard to balance that working mom with being a mom and the pressure and the guilt," said member Laura Tobon-Gonzalez. "This place (is) amazing because I have been able to work, not feeling that guilt, because my child is next to me."
According to the Economic Policy Institute, parents in Michigan can expect to pay just over $10,000 a year for infant care and $9,000 a year for preschool.
These figures are not necessarily representative of Ann Arbor, which is located in one of the most expensive counties in the state for child care.
Some private daycares in Ann Arbor can cost more than $33,600 a year – or roughly $2,800 a month – for infant care, and just over $22,700 – or nearly $1,900 a month – for preschool.
In contrast, Little Break's unlimited membership for one child costs just over $3,500 a year, or $299 monthly.
Wan said parents feel at ease knowing that other parents are there to help them.
"One mom was able to present in front of her company virtually," said Wan. "And I held her baby – she was asleep on me actually. And she came back from her meeting, and she was like, 'I think I might have gotten a promotion from that. So, thank you."
For more information about Little Break, visit its website. Visit The Mamas Network website for more details.