Dear Council members, It is with great disappointment that City Staff is even considering bringing up at those turbulent times a recommendation to eliminate preschool childcare at both MCC and Belle Haven. Children at this age are very much impacted from the situation that we are in right now. While older children and adults can socialize remotely in a more meaningful way, this is not really an option for preschool age children. They are waiting to meet their friends and get back to some kind of structure and normalcy that childcare provides. To consider eliminating such an essential resource at this time is really a slap in the face. And again, the word that staff is using in their recommendation is eliminating, not even reducing or restructuring, but eliminating all-together. Many parents are already struggling currently with many issues and are looking forward to the light at the end of this tunnel. Knowing that there is a safe, stable, and familiar place to send the kids to when things start to go back to normal is a source of comfort. Taking it away is simply cruel. We are all in this situation together. While budget cuts are expected across the board, to recommend taking away one of the few resources that can help people regain their lives back is backwards thinking. I can't think of one reason to justify eliminating childcare, in a city that already has a great shortage of it, even before Corona struck. The damage that you will be creating will be detrimental to lives of the many families who depend on Childcare that MCC and Belle Haven provide for their livelihood, mental sanity and kids' emotional health. Thank you, Osnat Loewenthal Menlo Park resident Received on Mon May 11 2020 - 21:49:29 PDT
