BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — A new program is giving early childhood educators in Battle Creek a rare financial lifeline: rent-free housing.
WATCH: Local daycare workers receive rent-free housing thanks to new program
The First Home, First Teacher program, created by Friends Center for Children in New Haven, Connecticut, launched locally through a partnership with Pulse at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, Neighborhoods Inc. of Battle Creek, Community Action, Battle Creek Community Foundation, and United Way of South Central Michigan.
Two local teachers will soon receive the keys to their new homes through the initiative.
Haylee Settes is one of them. A mother of two boys, she has spent the past six years working at a local daycare.
"I fell in love with the field, and taking care of children all day, and growing with them. It just became like a passion, more than a career," Settes said.
Despite that passion, the pay hasn't kept pace. According to the state of Michigan, the average daycare worker earns less than $30,000 a year. With average rent in Battle Creek sitting around $1,100 a month, the math is difficult.
"If you think about taxes and what we bring home, that's well over, if not half of my income alone on just having a place to sleep at night," Settes said.
For Settes, the program represents more than just a roof over her head.
"Being here now today, and it's like, 'Okay, this is home.' The boys like, 'Do we get to sleep there?' I'm like, 'Yeah.' It doesn't even still kind of feel real," Settes said.
She said the opportunity will change her family's future.
"We're going to be able to save. We're going to be able to eventually buy our own home and not have to just pay thousands into nothing, and so I can work in the field that I love," Settes said.
Kathy Szenda Wilson, Executive Director of Pulse at the W.E. Upjohn Institute, said the program is about more than housing — it's about recognition.
"To be able to create the space and lift up a profession that is so easily overlooked and invisible to so many people — and they deserve all the dignity, all the respect, and they deserve to live a life that isn't so stressful," Szenda Wilson said.
The organizations behind the program say they are just getting started. Their goal is to provide housing for 30% of the early childhood education workforce over the next 20 years.
"We're going to build wealth in the sector, and we're going to actually begin to generate some incomes that we can continue to house our incredible teachers," Szenda Wilson said.
For Settes, the relief the program brings goes beyond finances.
"Just that breathing room just makes work easier. It makes being a mom easier. It just makes really life easier in general," Settes said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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