The Broomfield Early Childhood Council — a group that works to support young children and their caregivers to create a better future — is celebrating 10 years this month.
“When you have a kid, people think you should just know how to do it and how to figure it out. It’s really, really hard though — as we’ve evolved as humans, we’ve realized raising children takes a whole community,” said Jessica Jones, the director of the organization.
The organization originally started under Broomfield’s human services department, according to its website. In 2015, the BECC became a nonprofit, and has been working toward supporting young children and their caregivers ever since, Jones said.
“We have science and feedback that says early childhood are formative years, and we can trace a lot of our behavioral issues and relationship issues back to early childhood,” Jones said. “If we can build strong humans, we’re setting ourselves up for greater success in the future, and that’s what’s really important to us.”
The BECC provides a variety of services to the community, from connecting parents to universal pre-K services to training for caregivers and classes for parents seeking support in the early years of their children’s lives.
“We’ve supported everybody from single moms and dads, multigenerational households and a lot of parents to just help caregivers get on the same page, really trying to meet them where they’re at,” said Mercy Manresa, BECC’s family engagement program coordinator. “We help them understand all the good things they’re already doing and help enhance those with little tips and tools that they can take with them to have things run smoother in their households.”
Among her work at BECC, Manresa facilitates the Incredible Years program, a course for caregivers of children from 3-6 years old provided in both Spanish and English that focuses on preparing children with the social, emotional and academic skills they need to grow and learn — as well as finding the joy in parenting.
“We have helped parents just realize how truly amazing it can be to be a parent — and that they can find fun and have fun with their kids instead of just feeling like they’re managing tasks all the time,” Manresa said.
Caregivers aren’t always taught how to care for a child in their formative years, so the BECC seeks to serve as a source of guidance.
“When you buy a car, you get an operator’s guide that teaches you where all the buttons are located — but we don’t come with that. We aren’t born with a manual,” said Anita Rich, BECC’s board president.
Melissa Mossoni is now on the BECC’s board, but when she found the organization, she was a parent who needed support with her first child.
“I was a mom who didn’t know where else to turn for help when it came to understanding the needs of my child at a young age,” Mossoni said. Mossoni’s daughter was struggling with her speech, and although her pediatrician dismissed her concerns, Mossoni knew something was wrong, she said.
“The pediatrician kept saying (her speech) would come if we gave it time, she kept saying ‘It will come, it will come,” Mossoni said. “But it never really came, and as a parent, you have to follow that gut intuition.”
After months of trying to find solutions, Mossoni turned to the BECC, who provided free development screenings, resources and referrals to the speech and occupational therapists Mossoni’s daughter needed, she said.
“I honestly don’t think we would be where we are today without the early childhood council,” Mossoni said.
Mossoni’s daughter went from struggling with her speech and communicating through sign language at 18 months old to now being a “thriving and overachieving 8-year-old,” she said.
To celebrate its 10-year nonprofit anniversary, the BECC is hosting an event to recognize all the partnership, collaboration and hard work its team has contributed. The event on Oct. 16 is set to be hosted at The Crescent Grange, 7901 W. 120th Ave. Visit broomfieldecc.org/anniversary10 to RSVP.
“The small but mighty group behind the Broomfield Early Childhood Council often goes unrecognized, but I’m really proud of the work that they do,” Mossoni said. “As cheesy as it sounds, it really does take a village — and Broomfield is a beautiful village.”