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The Salvation Army’s Los Angeles facility provides crucial support for low-income families while fostering community involvement.
Inside Sal Tex Fabrics, colorful rolls of fabric create a labyrinth of patterns and textures—the starting point of many creative endeavors. For longtime employee Griselda Ramos, this shop was also where her daughter, Elena, spent her early months due to a lack of childcare.
Her boss told her: “Just bring her to work. We’ll manage here.”
While the team kept spirits high, and helped care for Elena, there were challenges.
“It was really stressful,” Ramos said. “When she started walking, we had to be behind her all the time.”
Everything changed when Elena turned 2.5 and could enter The Salvation Army Los Angeles Day Care Center, located within walking distance from the shop.
“When she started at the escuelita, we were like ‘Now we can breathe,’” Ramos said. “It gave us a peace of mind—a whole new level. I can concentrate on what I have to do.”
The parental stress crisis
Parents in America report significantly higher stress levels than adults without children—48 percent claimed their stress is completely overwhelming most days compared to 26 percent of other adults, according to 2023 data.
Major stressors include financial strain from child care costs and employment insecurity, according to a 2024 advisory from then U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy. U.S. child care prices have grown by approximately 26 percent in the last decade, with 66 percent of parents reporting “feeling consumed” by money worries.
“Being a dad is the toughest and most rewarding job I’ve ever had,” Murthy said in the advisory. “The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society…The stresses parents and caregivers have today are being passed to children in direct and indirect ways, impacting families and communities across America.”
The Salvation Army Los Angeles Day Care Center has supported children of low-income families since 1922, evolving to a dedicated day care program in the 1930s. Today, the state-licensed facility serves families working in LA’s fashion, produce and flower districts.
The center is state-funded with fees based on income guidelines, though Director Maria Rodriguez said most families qualify for free care. In these industries, many workers earn minimum wage—or lower. The U.S. Labor Department found in 2022, 80 percent of the surveyed garment contractors violated labor standards, with one paying employees just $1.58 an hour.
“Parents have to work no matter what,” Rodriguez said. “It’s hard, but a lot of them are [in that situation].”
Creating a safe haven for kids
Rodriguez’s heart is with the program—it’s been her only job for 31 years, starting as a high school volunteer.
“I like to make a difference in a child’s life, because sometimes they come from a background that’s not really safe,” she said. “We’re here for support.”
She’s seen students return years later to enroll their own children, something she attributes to the nurturing atmosphere created by teachers like Marietta Diaz, who started in 2011.
“I give lots of motivation and activities for them to feel happy,” Diaz said. “I tell them, ‘You’re safe here. I’ll take care of you.’”
The center serves 70 children from toddlers to preschoolers in eight classrooms. Toddlers engage in play-based learning, while the preschool curriculum encourages exploration of reading, math, science and creative arts.
The center partners with other organizations to provide additional services: Baby2Baby for baby clothing, formula, shoes and hygiene items; The John Tracy Center, UCLA and Kids Dental Kare for dental, hearing and vision exams, respectively; COACH for Kids, a mobile community health program of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, for further medical care and education; Para Los Niños for mental health and family support.
Building community as parents give back
When Ramos first found the LA Day Care over two decades ago, she had a baby girl and no trusted childcare.
“It was a relief to find this center,” she said. “After that, everything just fell into place.”
Now that child is a student at Santa Monica College—and Ramos attributes her academic success to her early education at the center. With Elena now attending, Ramos volunteers as president of the center’s parent committee, which Rodriguez said the center launched to involve parents.
“It’s not only our center, it’s a community center,” Rodriguez said. “We’re all in this together.”
The committee also runs monthly in-house museum exhibitions, one of which featured a celebration of cultures, where parents contributed clothing and artifacts representing their heritages. They also organize the annual fall hat parade, crafting newspaper hats the students decorate and model.
“The parents know how much help the center is, so we try to help back,” Ramos said. “For us to have our kids here, it means a lot.”
Years ago, Ramos noticed worn elastic on crib sheets during a meeting and volunteered to replace them.
“I can fix that,” she said. “How many do you need?”
She bought a roll of fabric and sewed over 50 sheets with a friend.
“We did it with so much love,” she said.
Do Good:
- You’ve probably seen the red kettles and thrift stores, and while we’re rightfully well known for both…The Salvation Army is so much more than red kettles and thrift stores. So who are we? What do we do? Where? Right this way for Salvation Army 101.
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