William Joseph Crisis Nursery

William Joseph Crisis Nursery is Kentucky’s first crisis nursery, created to support any parent anywhere in the state during moments of overwhelming stress, instability, or emergency. Our mission is simple and deeply needed: to keep families together by providing safe, short term care for children while caregivers work through crisis situations.

We currently serve families across Kentucky through our community diaper pantries located in Louisville, Frankfort, and Hazard. These pantries reduce financial strain, strengthen caregiver stability, and connect families to supportive services long before a crisis escalates.

Our crisis nursery home is located in Frankfort and will open in October 2026. The nursery includes five bedrooms with five beds and three cribs, designed to offer a calm and secure environment for children ages zero to five. We will provide free, voluntary care for up to thirty days so parents can address emergencies, attend rehabilitation programs, serve short term judicial sentences, stabilize housing, or care for another child experiencing a medical or emotional crisis.

We welcome all children. We do not discriminate, and because we are not federally funded, we are not restricted by county lines, disability categories, gender, or demographic limitations. Any Kentucky caregiver in crisis can turn to us.

One recent family shows why crisis nurseries are urgently needed. A mother of four in Central Kentucky faced every parent’s nightmare when one of her children attempted suicide and required immediate hospitalization. She wanted to stay at the hospital with her child, but she had no one to care for her three younger children. With no safe options available, those children were placed into foster care, not because of abuse or neglect, but because their mother needed to be at the bedside of a child fighting for their life. A crisis nursery would have kept all four children safe, supported, and connected to their mother during one of the most traumatic moments a family can experience.

Our vision is a Kentucky where no parent faces a crisis alone, where children remain safe and supported, and where families stay connected through the moments that matter most.