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LAYTON -- Tabitha Montoya can remember when she was at her lowest.
"There was a time when I was homeless and it was snowing outside, and I just didn't know what to do with my 15-month-old daughter," she said.
That was last winter, when she just happened to be near the Family Connection Center in Clearfield. The Center is a place where parents can drop off their children for free for a few hours, or even overnight, to have a sort of "adult timeout."
From the Center's website: "Since 1985 our programs have educated and empowered people who have experienced poverty, child abuse and domestic violence. For fiscal year 2009-2010, FCC has provided services for over 18,000 individuals."
A worker at the Center saw her and offered help.
"They let me leave my daughter there overnight until I was able to find a place for my daughter and myself," said Montoya.
Angela Ward, a worker at the Center, feels Montoya's story is a success story.
Unfortunately, Ward says not everyone knows the Center exists.
"We want to make a difference with families," she said. "Some families don't have any kind of a support system, and so we can be that support system for them."
The Family Connection Center has a nursery, toys, coloring books and even meals for children. Ward says the Center is available 24 hours a day with staff members on call for parents who need help.
Ward says sometimes parents just need to get away from their child when things get difficult; like an infant constantly crying or a young child who won't listen.
"Every parent has a breaking point," said Ward. "You're tired, and you're stressed. Every parent has a breaking point."
We want to make a difference with families. Some families don't have any kind of a support system, and so we can be that support system for them.
–Angela Ward, Parent Education
Ward says in 2009, there were about 800 cases of child abuse in Davis County alone. Last year, three children died from abuse.
"If they can come here when they're feeling stressed out before they snap, then those things don't happen," she said.
Ward wonders if those children's parents knew about the Family Connection Center, and if it could've made a difference.
"That's tragic to know that this service is available, and if they would've taken advantage of it, then maybe those three children would still be alive," said Ward.
If a child has obvious signs of abuse, Ward says her staff has to follow Utah State Law and report that abuse.
However, she says her Center wants parents to use their facilities before it gets to that breaking point.
"Sometimes parents do feel guilty," says Ward. "They think, ‘OK, I don't want to do that,' and we try to tell them over and over, ‘This is how you are being a good parent because you are getting help and taking a break before you snap.'"
It worked for Montoya, who now has an apartment in Layton. She says she only wants the best for her daughter.
"It's actually been really amazing to help me get on my feet as a single mother while you go and pull yourself together," said Montoya, "fix whatever is going on in your home life, to get the child away from any kind of abuse or neglect that could happen to them."
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
