Safety net widens for Hilltop families as Jeremiah’s Place opens crisis nursery in Knoxville

A single dad needs to dash to an emergency doctor’s appointment but has no care lined up for his young daughter.

A working mother is unexpectedly assigned overtime at her job, and her babysitter can’t stay the extra hours with her toddlers. 

A couple suddenly facing homelessness needs safe, short-term care for their infant. 

These are the types of stressful situations that Jeremiah’s Place, a crisis nursery founded in 2014 in the city’s East End, encounters daily.

“No family should have to choose between an emergency and having child care,” said Tammy Aupperle, executive director of Jeremiah’s Place, which recently opened its first branch facility in Knoxville. 

“The need for our services reaches far beyond a single neighborhood,” she said.  

Jeremiah’s Place-Hilltop began accepting children ages 2½ to 6 in July, and on Aug. 12 it hosted local political leaders, funders and community partners for a tour and ribbon-cutting event. 

Although Jeremiah’s Place offers round-the-clock emergency care at its primary site in Larimer, the Hilltop location will operate 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays because of staff limitations, said Aupperle. 

It has capacity for up to eight children. 

Jeremiah’s Place’s primary facility in Larimer accepts infants and babies and can accommodate up to 15 children during daytime hours, said Aupperle. 

All care is free, and because nearly 100 percent of the families Jeremiah’s Place serves are “low to extremely-low income,” said Aupperle, the agency also provides free diapers, wipes, food and clothing.

It relies on contributions for most of its revenue, which totaled $1.9 million in 2024, according to federal tax data. 

“When a family is in crisis, they shouldn’t have to worry about the bank account,” said U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, who was among the civic officials invited to the tour. 

“Care is essential infrastructure,” Lee said. “This location means families will have that support right in their own community.”

When Jeremiah’s Place decided to expand, it assessed ZIP code data from existing clients to determine where they were concentrated and where satellite centers would have the greatest impact.

The city’s Hilltop neighborhoods — located south of the Monongahela River and including Knoxville, Allentown, Arlington, Beltzhoover, Bon Air, Carrick, Mount Oliver, Mount Washington, South Side and St. Clair — “rose to the top,” said Aupperle. 

Through conversations with the Hilltop Empowerment Collective, a network of nonprofits, Jeremiah’s Place formed a partnership with the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center, which has offered Head Start and other early childhood education programs in Knoxville for decades.

“They are incredibly unique,” said Sue Buffton, director of early childhood programs for the council, which provided the space to Jeremiah’s Place.

“There’s a lot of child care in the city, but this is the only one set up for a crisis if mom is in the hospital or there are domestic violence issues,” she said. “And it’s nonjudgmental. It’s all about how to support and build long-term stability.”

Jeremiah’s Place-Hilltop is sharing space with the council’s Head Start and pre-K programs in a Rochelle Street building constructed in 1960 for the St. Canice parish elementary school.

In the Jeremiah’s Place classroom, backpacks are stashed neatly in cubbies near the doorway, and colorful posts on the wall track the daily lineup beginning with an 8 a.m. welcome and breakfast. 

Puzzles, games, toys, tables and chairs fill shelves and activity areas; a reading nook features comfy cushions. 

Adults and children access the space through a separate entry with a video security system. 

It opened with two full-time employees and one part-timer, and Aupperle expects to add more as word spreads about the new location. 

The Birmingham Foundation, which focuses its grantmaking on early childhood education and assisting struggling families in the Hilltop communities, provided $8,000 to Jeremiah’s Place for furniture and repairs. 

The foundation also “did a little matchmaking” to connect Jeremiah’s Place with the council. 

Emergency child care “is so needed here,” said Michelle Figlar, the foundation’s executive director. 

“If we can help a family with a crisis … we can possibly enroll them in Head Start,” Figlar said. “And that’s the beginning of a community connection.”

As it gets established in the Hilltop, Jeremiah’s Place continues to renovate a facility in Wilkinsburg where it plans to relocate its primary nursery. 

Jeremiah’s Place acquired a site on South Trenton Avenue in 2024 from the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh for $430,000, according to Allegheny County real estate data. 

With its larger footprint, the nursery will have three bedrooms and be able to accommodate up to 12 children overnight, said Aupperle. 

Plans also include a sensory room, separate dining area, outdoor and indoor play areas, garden, and storage space. 

About 25 people will work there, including administrative and child care staff. 

Since its launch in 2014, Jeremiah’s Place has provided short-term care for almost 3,000 children from 11 counties.

Last year, it served 400 children from 253 families, Auperlee said. 

“And there’s always a wait list.”