There may come a day when 2-year-old Mauricio runs into a real-life problem that feels unfixable. In the meantime, though, nothing in the world is too tall a task for his toy hammer.

As he clack-clack-clacks on the wooden table in a side room at the Oakland office of Brighter Beginnings, the boy glances up at his mother, who has temporarily given up shushing him.

Blanca Panigua-Rodriguez, 27, has a lot more to think about in this moment: receiving a high-school GED, finding a steady job, overcoming her inner demons and making a case to regain custody of her other three sons. These are the kinds of things for which hammers — toy or otherwise — are of little use.

But what does bring her relief is the help she receives from Brighter Beginnings, a Richmond nonprofit that assists mothers across the East Bay with a range of needs, from extra diapers to childcare assistance to an everyday helping hand.

“I’ve felt a lot of emotional distress,” said Panigua-Rodriguez, who lives with her son Maurico and husband Jose in West Oakland. “When I first talked to Brighter Beginnings, they told me, ‘If you need help, just let us know. We’re here for you. You don’t have to be lonely.’ ”

Brighter Beginnings also connects clients to cash aid programs and offers an “early head start” program that sends social workers directly to families’ homes, among other services.

The nonprofit’s mission is to work with parents and families to support healthy births and other aid for children and families to succeed and thrive. The organization’s focus has expanded to immigrant families that come to the U.S. looking to better their children’s future.