Krista McClure just gave birth to her third baby.

Well, sort of.

While she didn’t deliver a human baby, she did just birth the launch of Detroit Parent Collective (DPC).

“I think it’s magnificent,” McClure says. “I’m super-excited!”

DPC represents Detroit’s first combined co-working space and co-op pre-school, and brings a variety of resources to support parents.

In Wayne County alone, there are 182,798 families with children under 18 years of age. Thirty two percent of those households are headed by single working mothers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey, which provides statistics about Michigan families and working parents.

Although these parents are working, doesn’t necessarily signal that their childcare options are adequate or even working for their family, according to McClure who cautions that many parents, particularly working mothers often have few choices, much less affordable ones, today.

She created DPC to fill that market void.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the space — located on the northwest side of Detroit — serves as a co-working facility that welcomes entrepreneurs. There’s a lounge, office tables, a studio where additional programming events will be held, and on-site childcare for co-working members. There will also be a small retail space that will showcase local families who are product manufacturers or “makers.”

The co-op preschool is open on alternating days from 12:30 p.m. until 3 p.m., and is led by a master teacher, with parents visiting to present individual skills and talents to the class. The school, which will max at 12 students, employs the Montessori curriculum.

DPC has launched an Indiegogo.com campaign to raise $5,120 for families who want to join the co-op, but don’t have the financial means. The pre-school cost is $80 per week and the co-working space membership is $160 per month. Making sure the DPC is inclusive to everyone, no matter their economic class, is one of McClure’s biggest priorities.

“I want to make sure that this space is welcome to everyone from all walks of life,” she adds.

“All walks of life” includes a target population McClure had in mind when she formed DPC: young, at-risk parents, much like McClure once was. Having left a women’s shelter in Detroit, McClure went to Seattle for a few years, where she discovered co-ops set up in a manner that inspired her vision for DPC. Upon coming back to the city she reflected on the discovery and those who helped her in the women’s shelter.

“I kept thinking to myself, ‘How can I really offer what has been kind of given to me to other young women or at-risk women?’” she says. Then the idea for DPC was born.

The co-op is only 2,000 square feet, but eco-friendly. McClure says it also has a very homey and quaint feeling, something that will be replicated in other locations if DPC is later able to expand.

“Being able to duplicate this to grow into other locations is really like bringing that village back…” she says. “We have this idea that it takes a village to raise a child or children, and this is where the village happens. This is where we build trust, this is where we get to know who our neighbors are, where our kids build relationships.

“That’s the village.”

Editor’s Note: Detroit Parent Collective is located at: 8418 West McNichols Rd in Detroit (48221). For more information call email detroitparentcollective@gmail.com

Check out their website at: detroitparentcollective.com

This feature is a part of TheHUB’s Small Shops series sponsored by Bank of America.

To learn more about Bank of America’s many programs and resources for small business owners visit: https://www.bankofamerica.com/smallbusiness/business-financing.go