O'FALLON, Mo. - Originally a maternity home, The Sparrow’s Nest—a nonprofit based in St. Charles County—is expanding their services to offer assistance to low-income families who either have or are expecting young children.

As a part of this new beginning, on Monday, Aug. 18, The Sparrow’s Nest will open a new Family Center at 6730 Hickory Tree Lane in O’Fallon, Missouri.

“We really want it to be a soft place for families with young children to land,” Katie Lyczak, the Executive Director at The Sparrow’s Nest, said. “We will offer a free pregnancy test; we are eventually going to have an ultrasound machine where our nurse practitioner volunteer will be doing free early ultrasounds. We'll have vital, important resources for young families—material resources like diapers and wipes. It’s all free when they participate in our program.”

New clients are encouraged to make an appointment at the Family Center by emailing info@thesparrowsneststl.org.

The facility is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Tuesdays from noon to 5 p.m.

The group currently has a Child Center, located in St. Charles at 1601 South River Road. There, they offer childcare for children from 6 weeks through kindergarten, with the first year made free for families.

The Family Center has no requirements to join. However, the Children's Center does have some requisites, such as being enrolled in WIC and participating in parental activities.

However, Lyczak indicated the organization may grant exceptions based on the parent’s needs. 

“Being a small nonprofit organization, we do have a lot of opportunity to have discretion in enrollment. WIC is an income requirement. However, we have the discretion," Lyczak said. "If we have a student and she's receiving money back on her student loans, and then that causes her to not be eligible for WIC or Medicaid or SNAP benefits, we have the discretion to still enroll her.”

For those looking to support The Sparrow’s Nest on their mission—or if you are in need of their services—visit here.

Lyczak also invites those interested in supporting the organization to an open house for the Family Center on Friday, Sept. 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.