The Barrow Center opened its doors Monday at Freedom Baptist Church in Henry County. First therapeutic childcare center in southern Virginia

HENRY COUNTY, Virginia – The Barrow Center is now officially open in Henry County. It is the first therapeutic childcare center in Southern Virginia and only the third in the whole state.

On Monday, the Barrow Center opened at Freedom Baptist Church.

Sierra Barrow started the daycare for people with special needs after seeing how hard it was for her sister-in-law to find help for her daughter with cerebral palsy.

“She is completely confined to a wheelchair and has never been able to get child care because her needs are more severe and profound,” said Barrow, who started the Barrow Center. “When trying to stick to a schedule, jobs can only be so flexible. So, most of the time, parents can’t work at all. Then, that leads to less money coming in. So, it will not only help families in the community get out of poverty, but it will also get them back to work.

The Barrow Center will also help the kids a lot because it will give them special education every day to improve their reading, math, sensory, and motor skills.

They take in all children, no matter how sick they are or how much they need help.

“I’m a registered nurse, so whether it’s feeding tubes, tracheostomies, or something else, we can and want to give all children intensive care. We have a lot of kids who aren’t growing up as fast as they should, and kids are being told that every day. So, I think this could happen in every town or city, but it’s scary for people to go into territory they don’t know,” Barrow said.

They also work with local therapists to offer physical, behavioral, and speech therapy right in the home.

“This way, the parents don’t have to miss work to go to these appointments. It makes travel faster. For many families, transportation is a factor and a barrier. So being able to have those things while they’re here really helps to meet a lot of those needs,” Barrow said.