BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — The longest government shutdown in history might be nearing its end after the Senate voted to advance a stopgap funding bill on Nov 9. In the meantime, the Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce is advocating for the local Head Start program as the community rallies to keep it open.
“How can we help in this time?” asks Tress Cruse. “They are very vital.”
Tress Cruse is the President and CEO of the Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce. They sent out this message to the community advocating for the local Head Start program and the dozens of families who use the services.
“We value childcare and we know that when there’s no childcare, parents cannot work and the ripple effect that has on a community,” said Cruse.
The federally funded program provides free care for children aged 3 to 5 years in low-income families. After seeing community organizations meet the needs of hungry people in Bartlesville during the shutdown, the Chamber wanted to see how they could advocate for other places that lost federal funding.
“If families cannot have care that is reliable and consistent, they can’t work and we know what that’s going to do for the overall health of Bartlesville,” said Cruse.
Cruse says a private donor stepped in to fund the Head Start for the first two weeks of November.
“It means everything,” said Cruse. “They obviously saw the same value, and they saw the value that Head Start does for these families.”
That money runs out on Nov. 14. While lawmakers have signaled a potential end to the shutdown, if it goes past this week, Cruse says they have donors lined up to hopefully keep the program running for at least another week or two.
She says it’s the best of the community coming together.
“We have many donors,” said Cruse. “We have many people interested, and we just want to support Head Start because they are so important in our community.”
The National Head Start Association reports that 20 programs in 17 states have closed during the shutdown, affecting more than 9,000 students.
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