All children have the right to a loving place to grow and be cared for. But for some children this right is often violated and even taking away from them. Homelessness hinders a child's natural ability to develop properly. At The Nurturing Place, children are given the chance to grow through patience, love and professionalism.

The Nurturing Place, located in Jersey City, New Jersey, is a nationally recognized Early Childhood Development Center for children living in St. Joseph's Home or attending Kenmare High School. It is not day care, but rather, a place where disadvantaged children are taught through play and experiential learning. Because children are the future, the key to breaking the chains of poverty, The Nurturing Place is, in many ways the heart and soul of the York Street Project.

It is an unfortunate fact that too many of the children at The Nurturing Place have spent a part of their lives in homeless shelters, or at best in dysfunctional family environments. They are the innocent victims of poverty. Instability and deprivation have stolen their childhood -- and The Nurturing Place works to win it back.

At The Nurturing Place, infants through seven-year-olds are observed and placed into developmentally and age-appropriate environments. Under the instruction and supervision of a professional staff, children are taught in comfortable, loving and secure surroundings. Additionally, a Summer Term Enrichment Program ensures that the children receive the year-round attention they so desperately need. Parental counseling is received from the staff at The Nurturing Place, and mothers are encourage to take an active role in their children's education.

On February 13, 2001, The Nurturing Place received the wonderful news that they received their Accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). A two-year process for The Nurturing Place staff, programs seeking accreditation undergo an intensive self-study, collecting information from parents, teachers, administrators, and classroom observations. This prestigious recognition has been achieved by approximately 7% of early childhood programs nationwide. NAEYC Accreditation is a rigorous, voluntary process by which early childhood programs demonstrate that they meet national standards of excellence.

As a program of the York Street Project, The Nurturing Place strives to give children a firm foundation in their education to build on. Many children who have graduated from The Nurturing Place have gone on to be enrolled in gifted and talented classes in their schools. For more information and volunteer opportunities, please contact Sr. Barbara Moran, csjp, Director of The Nurturing Place at (201)413-1982 or e-mail Marion Fitzgerald at mfitzgerald@yorkstreetproject.org.