Ebony Johnson (left), Sonya Brown, Willie Smith and Raymond Monk celebrate Brown’s acquisition of the building. (Photo provided by Northwest Side Community Development Corporation)
By Ana Martinez-Ortiz
In 1989, Sonya Brown started her first child care business. She operated the day care center through her home for years before deciding to try her hand at something else in 2012. She didn’t think she’d be a child care provider again, but life had other plans.
Brown had been working at Johnson Controls for several years, before being laid off. Around the same time, her daughter gave birth to a baby girl.
“My granddaughter was born with a heart condition, and I just didn’t want her to just be at anyone’s day care where she wasn’t cared for properly,” Brown said. “When I got laid off, it’s almost like, this is what my calling was: working in the child care field.”
Brown decided she would not only care for her granddaughter, but she would bring back her home day care center. After starting back up, Brown decided to shift from a family child care center to a group child care center, which would allow her to care for more children. And with help from her brother, she began renting a building.
By 2018, Little Crawler’s Daycare, 4022 N. 27th St., was officially in business. For Brown, whose granddaughter passed away at the age of 5, the day care became a place where she could honor her granddaughter’s memory.
While the building had adequate space, the landlord failed to take care of it and eventually it was seized by the bank.
This past August, Brown purchased the building during a sheriff sale with help from a $360,000 loan she received from Northwest Side Community Development Commission, 4201 N. 27th St.
“For us it was really important about keeping that business operating so that that service can be offered to those families,” Ebony Johnson, the business resource manager said. “And the fact that it’s within one of our designated service areas made it even more impactful for us.”
Northwest Side CDC is a community development financial institution or a nonbank lender, Johnson explained. The organization’s CDFI committee must determine if the organization can proceed with a loan or put it on hold.
When it came to Brown, the possibility that her business could be displaced, which in turn would affect families, is one of the reasons the committee approved the loan, Johnson said.
Renata Bunger, the business development director, explained how the Northwest Side CDC supported Brown throughout the process. Not only did the organization give her the loan, but it stood by her side during the sheriff sale, Bunger said, adding that the organization was able to give Brown the loan with help from PNC funding.
Now that Brown owns the building, the Northwest Side CDC is helping her to improve it. Two rooftop panels need to be replaced, as well as some doors, and the playground needs to be updated, Brown said. An inspector also pointed out several spots in need of tuckpointing.
Johnson explained the organization’s role includes identifying resources and keeping in contact with Brown.
For example, the organization is helping her get the center accredited. At the moment, Little Crawlers Daycare has two stars, but Brown is working with a YoungStar technical consultant to improve the center’s rating and possibly get accredited through the National Association for the Education of Young People.
“It’s not just getting the loan in our portfolio,” Bunger said. “It’s also all this extensive backend stuff so that she stays in and so that her physical asset issues are addressed, the financial management and everything going forward.”
Willie Smith, the executive director of Northwest Side CDC, noted that a lot of child care buildings are older buildings in need of repairs. In Brown’s case, before she was the tenet and couldn’t make changes, now that she’s the owner, it’s a matter of funding.
“In regard to what she needs to repair, there are some additional dollars that we may be able to assist her with,” Smith said. “Another part of that ongoing counseling technical support is assisting her with coming up with a plan with how all these items get corrected to ensure her facility is in great shape.”
It’s about providing capital and planning assistance, Smith said. When the organization began in 1983, its goal was to assist manufacturing companies, he said, and while it still does that to some extent, its main focus is helping small businesses and residents through its lending program, green infrastructure and community organizing.
“You cannot silo the community organizing from the small businesses from the green infrastructure,” Smith said. “It’s all one total movement…for the betterment of the community.”
It’s about bringing life to the community by supporting the businesses in the community, Bunger said, case in point being Little Crawler’s Daycare, which is a female Black-owned business in a Black community.
Milwaukeeans also play a role in uplifting and supporting their fellow residents.
Keep the dollars in the community, Bunger said. Support local businesses, Smith said, and be cognizant of the impact.
Be open to sharing resources, Johnson said, noting that taking a communal outlook on it, might encourage people to share more. She added there needs to be more clarity regarding where businesses can find resources.
Looking ahead to 2022, Northwest Side CDC plans to develop its infrastructure to support more small businesses, pursue real estate development projects and increase the number of high performing businesses.
“Northwest Side CDC is a business that likes helping their community because they’re right down the street from me,” Brown said. “They’re trying to build up this area and they’re very helpful in other areas not just in funding.”
In addition to making necessary repairs, Brown is focusing on other issues such as obtaining and retaining reliable staff. It’s a common problem among many day care centers, she said. Her plan is to offer a SIMPLE IRA Plan to employees which is similar to a 401(k).
Despite all the work that still needs to be done, Brown knows she’s in the right field.
“The rewarding part is seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces,” she said.