A former Denny’s diner has swapped its late-night pancakes and hashbrowns for building blocks and phonics.
In Los Angeles, a space that was formerly home to the diner chain is now a community center and preschool for families experiencing homelessness.
The Betty Bazar Community Center sits adjacent to a 100-family transitional housing facility, The Woodlands. It is a first-of-its-kind approach, offering on-site childcare to homeless parents, which allows them to look for work and access vital resources without worrying about finding safe or affordable care for their children.
Ken Craft, CEO of Hope The Mission, which operates the space, said that families at The Woodlands are often made up of single moms and their children, with roughly half of the community’s residents under the age of 18.
As residents of the space were struggling to both work and find childcare, Craft noticed the dilapidated Denny’s and had a eureka moment.
“In order to go to work, they need child care,” Craft told Spectrum News. “And not just babysitting, but real child care and child learning in their development.”
He reached out to the Childcare Resource Center and the Mary E. Bazar-Robin Foundation, which funded the project and now staffs the space.
“Studies have shown that kids that become homeless are four times more likely to have developmental problems as they go through school, and that’s because of the instability of their living situation and poor nutrition,” Craft told Fast Company.
Although traditional homeless shelters often have volunteers who can watch children, they typically do not also have the means to develop and manage a real preschool program.
Now, the Betty Bazar Community Center will help fill the gap.
Inside the 4,500-square-foot space — which recently underwent a $3 million renovation — is a soon-to-be state-licensed childcare facility and early learning center.
The interior includes meeting rooms and preschool classrooms, with spacious and naturally lit spaces as well as indoor and outdoor play areas.
Situated next to The Woodlands, the grounds act as a pedestrian space where children and families can play safely without fear of cars.
Kadre Architects, the firm that worked on the project, has an extensive relationship with Hope The Mission and has built a menagerie of colorful, creative housing solutions in the Los Angeles area.
According to Fast Company, founder and lead architect Nerin Kadribegovic envisioned an establishment that would serve as both a beautiful landmark in the neighborhood and a welcoming place for children.
“Alongside the transformation, we’ve introduced a new screen structure that wraps around the building, presenting a new face to the city and to the neighborhood asserting itself as a bold boulevard building,” a design statement from Kadre explains.
Additionally, the project is a net-zero facility, relying on a rooftop solar array for power.
But inside is where the real magic happens.
As Craft said, the children at the center are not just being babysat. Programming includes educational support, social integration, and elementary preparedness from CCRC staff.
At its full capacity, the space will serve an estimated 24 children at a time, aged 18 months to 5 years old.
“We’re excited to be on the tip of the spear and help make this happen,” Craft told Fast Company.
“What we’re trying to do is to build really a complete, cohesive center that really addresses all the needs of a mom, of a child, of a teenager.”
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Header image courtesy of Kadre Architects
