Ellison Center

OUR MISSION

When young children and their families are facing challenges, we nurture hope and joy and provide support to strengthen families, while enriching our surrounding communities, through responsive and innovative programs in a safe and secure environment.

OUR STORY

“Like a baby bird sitting in the nest they need someone to keep them safe, nurture them, and strengthen them in order to prepare them to leave the nest and take flight.”

Our Beginnings…

It all started when some like-minded colleagues started meeting after hours for comradery and coffee. First, we commiserated about the lack of appropriate services and resources for early childhood mental health. But then we started dreaming about what could be. We were all working within different systems: the school district, Head Start, private practice, and within a community agency, each of us bringing something unique and important to the table. Our ideas of what’s best for young children and their families, our commitment to the field of early childhood mental health and its’ practitioners, our dreams of a quality workplace and space; and our capacity to teach and mentor others in the community have led us to what is now known as the Ellison Center. All of us have a shared mentor who has taught us, cheered us, and provided us guidance. Jane Ellison has been our wise and steady hero of early childhood mental health and hostess extraordinaire.  Quality early childhood mental health, a positive and reflective work environment, and training to educate the community.