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Celebrate child care efforts
Fifty years ago, I began teaching in a pre-school and that same year the National Association for the Education of Young Children introduced The Week of the Young Child to focus public attention on the importance of early childhood experiences and the value of quality child care. This year we are especially aware how essential child care workers are in our communities.
April 10-16 we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Week of the Young Child. While declarations of support are important, it is more important to put our money where our mouth is and actually find ways to financially support quality child care. This is an investment that pays off many times because children who have positive early childhood education are more likely to succeed in school and are less likely to end up in the criminal justice system.
Our community leaders can take every opportunity to explore ways to support child care. A few examples are: placing child care facilities in public facilities, improving public transportation to assist families in getting to child care, financial support for education for child care providers, and public funding for child care through grants and through the pandemic recovery funding. Policy discussions can begin with the question, “How can this decision help children and their parents by promoting quality child care?”
This is a time to celebrate the early childhood educators who make sure parents can work and their children can have the positive experiences they need to grow into healthy, productive members of our community. And beyond celebrating these dedicated teachers, we need to find ways for them to be compensated fairly for the important work they do.
So as we celebrate the Week of the Young Child, we can also celebrate creative community solutions and leaders who are open to exploring new ways to support quality child care.
Linda Sisson
Member
Child Care/Jobs Team
Faith Linking in Action
Bangor
Remember flag protocol
I have recently witnessed a great deal of patriotism expressed through the flying of our nation’s flag. At this time I feel that it is important to remind people of the official flag protocol:
If the flag is flown at night, there should be a light shining on it. It should never be flown in the rain. It should not be worn as clothing. If it becomes faded or torn it should be taken to the nearest American Legion Post and appropriately cremated.
Let’s do our best to properly care for our flag which so many of us veterans have fought for.
Bob Yambor
Friendship
Support people experiencing homelessness
The Maine Legislature will soon be voting on LD 211, which is an act to support emergency shelter access for persons experiencing homelessness. The bill seeks to provide $3 million to homeless shelters across Maine to support operations and capacity. Homelessness is a nationwide problem and in Maine the dangers of homelessness are exacerbated by the cold winters and limited capacity homeless shelters.
Here in Bangor where I live, I drive by homeless individuals that are huddled up in sleeping bags outside trying to keep warm under whatever overpass or “shelter” that they are able to find. It is disheartening to see, and Maine can do better in serving this vulnerable population.
There are a number of factors in Maine that have created an increase in the homeless population including a shortage of affordable housing, a shortage of mental health and substance use disorder services, and the current COVID-19 pandemic that has left many Mainers jobless. In my mind there is a great need to expand homeless shelter capacity and range of services. I am calling attention to this bill as it is a way to combat the crisis of homelessness in our beloved state.
Craig DeMerchant
Bangor