St. George's community sick of waiting on government approval for child-care centre
Rhonda Sheppard is waiting on grant approval to start renovations on day care centre
It's a crisp sunny spring morning in St. George's on the southwest coast of the island.
Seven toddlers squeal as they run around the baseball field in the middle of town. All their moms gather around, talking about naps, mittens and the lack of daycare in their community.
"There's limited work here and if you do have work here then you do not have anyone to watch your kids. So yeah, it's a struggle," said Samantha Ploughman, a mom who relies on her mother to watch her kids so she can go to work.
The morning gathering was organized by Rhonda Sheppard, a daycare operator who used to offer child-care services for up to six children at her home. Unfortunately, she had to stop after a house fire in October of 2023.
But even before the fire, Sheppard says she had started the push for a registered daycare centre within the town of St. George's.
For two years now, she has been trying to turn an old store on the main road into a centre to hold up to 35 children.
Sheppard says she has the building, the wait list, even the staff, but she is struggling to receive approval from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
"I figured we would be in the day care by now, but we are not. And nothing's being done," she said.
"Really, I'm just ready to stop. When it's your community just trying and trying and trying."
Sheppard says the application for a capacity grant, to pay for renovations at the designated building, has been before the department for months.
When CBC News inquired about the status of the new daycare, director of communications Angela Sullivan sent an emailed statement that said the department is reviewing applications for new daycare centres.
"The department carefully evaluates each submission to ensure a thorough and fair assessment process," wrote Sullivan.
"The provincial government remains committed to ensuring access to high-quality, affordable child care for families across the province."
For daycare worker Crystal Colombe-Young, the wait is just not good enough.
She used to work with Sheppard at her home daycare and thoroughly misses the work and the children. During Sheppard's morning meet up she runs around the field with the young toddlers, playing tag.
"We need it. There are parents that have to stay home from work or get their mothers and fathers and people in their family to watch their children, right. There is no need. We should have a daycare here. We have the room. We have spaces. Lets utilize it. Let's make it happen," said Colombe-Young.
Sheppard says when the registered daycare centre opens it will be big enough to service the whole region, not just St. George's.
"We can serve people from Flat Bay, people from out west. We can service people from Stephenville Crossing, Mattis Point, anywhere. There's been people calling me from Stephenville and Kippens and Port and Port," said Sheppard.
For the time being, this group of children, parents and grandparents will have to wait, and rely on each other for child-care services.
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