The staff and volunteers of the Crisis Nursery in Urbana are noticing the positive effects of the building’s new security updates as its date of completion approaches the two-month mark.
After receiving a grant of $52,500 from the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Crisis Nursery spent about $38,400 on installing a new fence and security cameras, said Stephanie Record, executive director for the nursery. The nursery spent $9,000 from an Illinois Business Council fundraiser on better lighting for the outside of the building and the parking lot.
The nursery provides 24-hour emergency care to children and families in crisis, and the staff of the nursery has received positive feedback regarding the security updates from visitors, Record said.
She said a series of car break-ins prompted the security updates, but no additional crimes have been reported since the changes.
“I think (people) definitely notice right away that the fence is more secure and more private for the children,” Record said. “People feel more comfortable because that’s up now, and they feel the privacy of the kids is more with what our mission is, so that’s been better.”
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Jake Beach, sophomore in Business, coordinated the Illinois Business Council’s fundraiser, called “A Mother’s Touch,” last year.
He said he was aware that the proceeds were going to pay for lighting for the nursery’s parking lot and is pleased that the funds went toward helping security.
“We went (to the nursery) and we saw what they were dealing with, and they said they needed to up security, so it was nice to see and know throughout the whole process what we were giving to them,” Beach said. “It was fulfilling a need that they had (so they could) continue their great organization.”
In addition to the children and families that the nursery serves, the center hosts 150 volunteers each week, and 65 percent of these volunteers are University students.
Laura Reed, graduate student, said she has been volunteering at the nursery for over a year and is happy with the new security changes as “you can never be too safe.”
“I think they take the welfare of their kids very seriously, and I think it’s a great thing,” Reed said.
Emma can be reached at [email protected].
