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A housing collaborative including the Leelanau Peninsula Economic Foundation, Sleeping Bear Gateways Council, Housing North, and the Northwest Michigan Rural Housing Partnership will hold a series of community focus group meetings in June. The dates are: June 4 at the Glen Lake Community Library in Empire; June 6 at the Leland Library; June 12 at the Friendship Center in Suttons Bay, and June 13 at Northport School. Each event is 5-7 pm. Join the Leelanau County Housing Collaborative for these interactive evenings to help bring Housing for ALL to Leelanau County.

One year ago the Leelanau Early Childhood Development Commission launched a campaign to recruit more people to open home-based childcare facilities in Leelanau County—where a dire lack of affordable childcare options has imperiled the ability of young parents to return to work. The commission is well on its way to reach that goal, with three more facilities set to open soon. But the LECDC has also been forced to pivot and work with the state’s licensing agency to include centers outside the home, as well.

For families lucky enough to be on her roster, Rhonda Mack’s home near Lake Leelanau is an ideal safe and nurturing place to leave their young children during the workday. Many more families are stuck in limbo, unable to find affordable childcare for infants and toddlers. The crisis is particularly acute in rural areas. Mack’s business is a model that the Leelanau County Early Childhood Development Commission (LECDC) hopes will inspire at least four or five more home-based childcare businesses to launch during 2022. This month LECDC kicks off a multipronged campaign to recruit others to set up their own home-based child care facilities.