Blind Plea - Listen Now: No One Is Coming To Save Us is back!

Episode Date: May 1, 2025

No One Is Coming To Save Us, hosted by veteran reporter Gloria Riviera, returns for a new season diving deep into America’s childcare crisis. This season, you’ll hear stories about everyday people rolling up their sleeves to demand better childcare in America, whether it’s guaranteeing access for all kids ages zero to five, creating supportive services for families, or ensuring the highest quality education possible.  The goal is to create an unified roadmap that gives us the language, knowledge, and power to advocate for the system our kids deserve  – whether that’s at the ballot box, the PTA meeting or in conversation with our community leaders. For more episodes, follow No One Is Coming To Save Us or head to: https://lemonada.lnk.to/nooneiscomingtosaveusfdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, listeners, I am so excited to let you know that No One Is Coming to Save Us is back for another season. No One Is Coming to Save Us, hosted by me, Gloria Riviera, is a podcast about America's child care crisis. Now in our fifth season, you'll hear stories about everyday people rolling up their sleeves to demand better child care in America, whether it's guaranteeing access for all kids ages zero to five, creating supportive services for families, or ensuring the highest quality education possible.

The goal is to create a unified roadmap that gives us the language, knowledge, and power to advocate for the system our kids deserve, whether that's at the ballot box, the PTA meeting, or in conversation with our community leaders. We're going to play you a sneak peek from the first episode. After you listen, search for No One is Coming to Save Us to hear the rest of the episode. You can also find a link in the episode description to take you there. Today is the day. I just got the email that every single parent dreads to get from their daycare. And it is the email that tells us what our annual tuition rate increase is going to be.

Okay, let's talk about childcare and how much it is in California. How do people afford childcare right now? Having two kids go to daycare two days a week in Seattle, the cost of it will be more than my take-home pay. My son was accepted to local school, so God bless, thank you. But I know some of my friends, they didn't get the schools that they wanted. If you don't have childcare, then you don't have to stay home. If you have to stay home, then you can't work.

If you can't work, you have no income. Parents, we know the childcare crisis is not just another headline. It's a daily struggle playing out in millions of homes across the country. We are juggling drop-offs and pickups every day. Often we are suddenly in deep negotiation with toddlers just to get out the door in time for daycare, only to find out that there was an unexpected closure. When childcare works, it works. But when it doesn't, when just one piece of the puzzle isn't there, the whole precarious arrangement comes tumbling down. We are powerful and we are capable of saving ourselves. The battleground for change is happening right now on social media, at City Hall, and on the playground between

pushes on the swing. I'm Gloria Riviera and this is No One Is Coming to Save Us, a show about the child care crisis in America. Can you believe we're now in season five? When I think about this show I keep coming back to this one thought, the same one that hangs over every parent's head. Who is going to hold my baby when I'm not there? Who is going to show as much love as I would? Where am I going to find that kind of care,

and how am I going to afford it? Five seasons in, those questions still sit right at the heart of everything we're exploring. This season, we're talking about what the child care system should and urgently needs to look like. Whether we're at the ballot box or a local PTA meeting, we need to be unified in what we're asking for. So here is a list of our demands. One, childcare needs to be guaranteed from ages 0 to 5. That's care you can count on during the years it matters the most. Two, it has to be high quality. Child care programs need to

nurture children and pay teachers enough to sustain this important work. Three, it's got to be accessible. No more confusing mazes and financial hoops to get the right care. And four, child care needs to be truly supportive. That means going beyond just the minimum educational requirements for kids. It should also support families' basic needs, like housing, healthcare, and employment. Sounds good, right? Well, it's actually more attainable than you might think. Because real people, parents, teachers, and experts are already rolling up their sleeves

and working to make it happen. What would it mean to have care for your kid from ages zero to five? Someone to hold your baby and your family no matter what you make, where you live, or whether or not you're employed. This week we're zooming in on the people fighting for guaranteed childcare. Mayor Adams has made almost $400 million in cuts to pre-K and 3K programs. Today, parents are rallying outside City Hall over proposed budget cuts that would impact education

for some of the city's youngest students. I want 3K, universal 3K. I want 3K, universal 3K. I want 3K, universal 3K. Raising a child in New York City is tough. Shlepping a stroller up and down subway steps, traversing city blocks with groceries stuffed in and hanging off said stroller, and using your building's laundry room to clean what feels like thousands of pounds of teeny tiny clothes. Don't even get me started on those unanticipated middle of the night.

Ugh, we gotta change the sheets moments. All of that while trying to fit a growing family into ever smaller, ever more expensive apartments. Things got even harder when last year Mayor Eric Adams slashed funding for 3K and Pre-K, the city's free preschool programs for 3 and 4-year-olds. At a time when we should be pouring more dollars into education, into early childhood education, into our public schools, he finds every reason and excuse to pull back. The idea that the mayor would take away something that is helpful, beloved,

and represents our values is unconscionable. Rebecca Bailen, who founded New Yorkers United for Child Care, says that for most New York City families, securing a pre-K or 3K spot is more than a want. It's a financial need. It's what parents are counting on to make their family budgets work. You have parents who are like, okay, I just have to make it till my kid is three years old. I just have to make it till my kid is three. And then you have to say, oh God, the mayor's making cuts. I hope my kid actually gets into 3K.

Otherwise, it's tens of thousands of dollars a year I wasn't expecting or budgeting for. And there's that real sense that this city doesn't want us. Do working middle-class people get to live here? Is it for us?