Vigil supports family of toddler who died at day care

WASILLA — It was a display of faith.

More than 300 people gathered Wednesday evening for a candlelight vigil to remember the life of Faith Phillips. The 19-month-old died Sept. 9 from injuries suffered Sept. 6 when her head became stuck in a piece of playground equipment at a local day care center.

The vigil, organized by community outreach group Fight for Life, didn’t propagate a particular message, other than support for Faith’s family, said Nita Wainwright, a spokesperson for the group.

“It was amazing. A lot of people turned out in support, some who knew the family and others who didn’t,” Wainwright said. “It was just support for the family. … Not everyone knows that pain, but some do and it’s pretty hard to imagine.”

Victoria Kellie owns The Baby Store Toys and More at 617 S. Knik-Goose Bay Road in Wasilla, across the road from Illuminations Child Care, where the fatal accident happened. Since then, Kellie’s store has been a drop-off point for people donating food and items for a yet-to-be-scheduled auction for the family. As a mother of a 22-month-old boy “who likes to climb everywhere,” the tragic accident has hit a nerve, Kellie said.

“I don’t’ know the family, but I’ve heard they are just super-wonderful people,” she said. “Pretty much every day somebody has brought in some food for them.”

Kellie was one of the hundreds to file into Wasilla Middle School Wednesday for the vigil. She said Faith’s parents, Brittany Phillips and her fiancé Andrew Stokes, “were super thankful for the community pulling together. It was hard on everybody and it was very emotional.”

That her son is about the same age as Faith makes this tragedy “hit so close to home,” Kellie said. “My son just climbs everything and we work right across the street from the day care, so it’s a reminder that it could’ve been anybody’s child. It makes you stop and think.”

Faith Phillips was found unresponsive and unconscious at around 11 a.m., Sept. 6. The child had apparently wedged her head into a window on a piece of playground equipment and suffocated. She was taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, then flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. She was pronounced dead and taken off life support at 5:42 p.m., Sept. 9.

While preliminary evidence points to the child’s death as being “a very tragic accident,” Wasilla Police Chief Gene Belden said an investigation is continuing to determine the circumstances of the accident.

“We have not received some of the specialty reports that will be coming along, such as the coroner’s report,” Belden said. “It was a pure accident and everything leans toward an accident. There’s nothing we found that says the contrary.”

Those reports could take another two to three weeks to come in, he said.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be criminal charges resulting from the toddler’s death, Belden said. Just because it may have been an accident, whether negligence or other factors contributed to the accident have to be investigated.

That’s also what has prompted the state Department Health and Social Services to launch its own investigation into what happened at Illuminations Child Care, said Ree Sailors, deputy commissioner for Family, Community and Integrated Services for DHSS. In the mean time, the state has suspended Illuminations’ day care license and the facility remains closed, which is standard operating procedure in a case like this, she said.

“This is not unusual, particularly when you have a death like that,” Sailors said. “We’re looking at how well they are complying with the standards — did what happened, was it related to something in our standards (and) those kinds of things to make sure that when the center re-opens that we believe it’s safe for children.”

The department regularly makes announced and unannounced inspections of licensed day care facilities, Sailors said. Illuminations was fined in 2011 by the state, and at the time of Faith’s death, the state had another open investigation for the center.

Because both the recent investigations are still open, Sailors said she couldn’t comment on specifics in those cases. She did say that, on the whole, Illuminations past record with the state isn’t bad.

“Its record over the years, they’ve had a pretty decent level of compliance, actually,” she said.

In the days following Faith’s death, her parents — Phillips, 19, and Stokes, 20 — released a statement through Anchorage attorney KeriAnn Brady, who’s also an extended family member.

“As every parent knows, coping with the death of a child is the greatest burden any parent can possibly bear,” they say in the statement. “The loss of Faith has been totaling (sic) devastating for the Phillips-Stokes family. Faith’s parents … and extended families are struggling to cope with this tragic loss. They realize that is not something they can do on their own.”

That’s where Fight for Life comes in, Wainwright said. Along with working to help the parents, the group has also launched a Facebook page, Together For Faith, to focus community support. Fight for Life provides aid for people dealing with tragedies or emergencies.

“When things like this occur and people are unable to work, we try to help,” Wainwright said. “When people work paycheck-to-paycheck, we are more than happy to step up to help.”

Fight for Life doesn’t give money, but will try to arrange help with things like rent and utilities. In the case of Faith’s family, Brittany Phillips is a college student working two jobs while Stokes was recently laid off from his job.

After witnessing the outpouring of support at Wednesday’s candlelight vigil, Kellie said wrapping her mind around what it means to lose a child is difficult.

“My head plays back and forth as a mother,” she said. “This is a tragedy that should’ve never happened. But at the same time, it’s a time for closing for the family. Love your loved ones and as a community it’s nice to know you can turn to these people we call neighbors and friends.”

Contact reporter Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

Several community efforts have been set up to help the parents of 19-month-old Faith Phillips, who died Sept. 9 as the result of an accident at a Valley day care.

• The Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, one of the employers of the child’s mother, Brittany Phillips, has set up a donation account at Wells Fargo Bank, account No. 3754992216.

• A Facebook page called ‘Together For Faith’ has been set up at http://tinyurl.com/9k2x3ob.

• A fundraising auction is planned for a yet-to-be-determined date and place. To donate to the auction, contact Fight for Life through the ‘Together For Faith’ Facebook page.