A vacant building on East Seven Mile sat long enough for most people to drive past it and stop seeing it. Three years ago, Detroit native Irene Hamilton-Sparkman walked inside and pictured something the neighborhood could use right now: a safe, licensed place where babies and small children are cared for, taught, fed, and protected while parents handle work, school, court dates, doctor visits, and everything else that keeps a household standing.
That vision is now Lil Love Bugs Daycare Center, an early childhood education facility at 13513 E. Seven Mile Road in Detroit’s Pulaski neighborhood. The Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and the City of Detroit marked its grand opening on December 4, 2025, after the center opened in July and began serving children from infancy through age 5.
Safe childcare is not a luxury for Detroit families. It is a basic layer of stability. When childcare options are limited, unaffordable, or low-quality, parents make impossible decisions: missed shifts, reduced hours, job loss, leaving children with unlicensed providers, or piecing together care that changes week to week. A regional plan summary for Detroit and Wayne County reports that licensed childcare slots in Wayne County can serve only 21% of children ages 0–12, and that 89% of Wayne County zip codes are considered childcare deserts for infants and toddlers. That gap hits hardest for families who need infant care, families without flexible work schedules, and families already navigating transportation barriers…