TOLEDO, Ohio — The largest graduating class in Mom's House history celebrated their achievements Tuesday.
"Mom's House, to me, just means family and support and knowing that if you need anything you have someone there for you," Maya Blosser, a 2023 Mom's House graduate, said.
While pursuing her associate's degree in applied science, Blosser and her son Kingston have also been pursuing goals at Mom's House.
Blosser said the child care center helps her toddler develop fundamentally but that's not where the support ends.
"The kids are the main priority, but it's also about supporting us moms and making sure that we are the best people that we can be and the best moms we can be, and that we have every resource and means to be successful," Blosser said.
Blosser is now one of 16 members who has completed the Mom's House program this year. There are six moms, seven children and three dads in Tuesday's graduating class.
The program director said they average around 10 graduates a year. The graduates are single parents who are able to finish their education, breaking the cycle of poverty.
"Last year is the first year that we actually celebrated a dad graduating out of our program because he spent all 5 years and so we realized that they are just as important to honor as the mom and the child so we have added them," Julie Haas, Mom's House program director, said.
Haas said more than 300 mothers in Toledo have received family wellness and educational training since Mom's House opened in 1993. Haas said the graduates prove that the program's methods are working for Toledo.
"It tells us that we are making a difference and we have nurses, we have pharmacists, we have educators and we have news reporters that are now helping to make this city and this area a better place, because of what they were able to achieve with the Mom's House program," Haas said.
Mom's House is planning a celebration for its 30th anniversary this year.