SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery provides free, emergency child care for anyone who needs it. Other times, parents drop their kids off when they have a medical procedure, court session, death in the family, or something similar. 

The nursery's current building can fit 10 kids, with a ratio of four children per adult. Lately, they have been hitting this capacity limit more frequently. 

"When I looked at the numbers compared from October to November, we were about the same number of intakes, but we've doubled the number of turnaways this month," said Chriss Wilson, Executive Director of the nursery. "We've had 18 turnaways from Nov. 1 until yesterday, which was the 10th." 

Wilson said they have the same number of staff they have had previously, but children are staying for longer periods of time. This means one less space for someone looking for care. In 10 days, the staff provided 650 hours of care. 

Wilson added that they have also seen more families come to the nursery to use their formula, diaper and clothing pantries. Especially with SNAP benefits being closed, she has seen families feeling desperate. 

"We had people coming in literally saying, 'You don't have the kind of formula that my child takes, but I'll take whatever you have.' I've heard people talk about 'We're going to have to water it down because we don't have enough,'" Wilson said. "And that's really scary because we want the kids to be helping, and the parents want their kids to be healthy. But I feel like they feel their hands are tied." 

The nursery accepts donations of specific items as well as money. They are hoping to announce an update on their facility in the next year. For more details or to donate, click here. 

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