Crisis Care’s Dynamic Duo
Have nowhere to turn for emergency childcare in Monmouth County? A mother-and-daughter team has your back—and it’s free.
An Eatontown mother and daughter share a singular mission that’s strengthening families in Monmouth County at the worst times in their lives. Lauded as New Jersey’s only crisis nursery, Pinwheel Place reopened Nov. 13 in larger quarters in Eatontown thanks to Lynn Hawkins, 57, and her adopted daughter Quadhera Simmons, 34. Quady was just 2 years old when she met her mom at a group foster home in Jersey City. Among their earlier endeavors, Hawkins served for some 25 years at Ronald McDonald House in Long Branch, and Simmons worked at St. Clare’s Homes for Children in Neptune. Both hope Pinwheel’s success will inspire other crisis nurseries.
Tell us about Pinwheel Place.
Hawkins: We offer free emergency childcare for families who find themselves in a difficult situation, families who might not be able to find childcare or who need to go on a job interview—or who go into the hospital and have no one to watch their kids. Simmons: We are like a village for the families. A lot of families don’t have support systems.
What inspired you to start Pinwheel Place?
H: I did a year of service out of college for Casa de Esperanza in Texas, a home for children who were abused. I could see how love could make a big difference in a child’s life.
S: I am a child of the foster care system, so I had experience with the trauma.
There are many ways to help. Why a crisis nursery?
H: Once I became a parent, I was like, “Why are we waiting until children are abused and then trying to intervene? Why aren’t we doing more to prevent trauma in the first place?” So we started researching, and we saw that other states had crisis nurseries.
What were the challenges to being New Jersey’s first?
H: We’re not a typical day care center. They don’t know what box to put us in for zoning or licensing. It’s always hard to find funding when you’re a nonprofit starting out, because people want to have three years of the financials. But the community’s been good to us.
What hurdles did you face in finding a location?
H: We were renting, and the landlord decided to sell when the housing market was really good. This spot that we’re in right now is brand-new, but in the other one we opened in August 2019— then had to close down for COVID. It’s been a lot of stops and starts, so we’re very excited to be in a permanent facility now.
How did you stay busy during COVID?
H: That’s when we started our diaper program and our welcome basket program. Our whole mission is to reduce stress in families. We thought that with families not having jobs and not having money they might be keeping diapers on babies longer. We’re one of the few agencies that deliver diapers.
How does a parent qualify for the crisis nursery?
H: There’s no real qualification. If a family believes they’re in crisis, more than likely they are, but generally social workers refer families.
How do you swing this financially?
H: It’s free emergency childcare; we make our money basically by donations and grants. We’re doing a virtual walk right now, which we call our Monster March.
Do you get many volunteers?
H: We do get childcare volunteers who are fingerprinted and background-checked, and they can come in and help take care of the children. We’d love to have people help us write grant [proposals]. We have a couple of volunteers who help us with the fundraising, but we could always use more.
How did Pinwheel Place get its name?
S: The pinwheel is a national symbol for child abuse prevention. Pinwheels are whimsical, so that’s what we want all children to experience—to be children.
What is it like to work with your mom?
S: It’s nice because we know each other and our personalities. It’s nice to work with someone you’re that close to.
How do parents in need get in touch?
H: They can visit pinwheelplace.org, call 732.542.1026 or e-mail info@pinwheelplace.org. Same for people who want to volunteer.
What do you do in your free time?
H: It’s not much free time; usually I’m visiting with my parents during my free time. But I do like to read and hike. I usually go over to the Manasquan Reservoir.
S: My hobbies are reading, writing—and I love movies. My favorite movie is Homeward Bound.
