A couple of weeks ago, I connected with a woman named Kia Morgan Smith via Facebook. Turns out, she is the founder of an amazing relief initiative for the Atlanta area (Cobb, Fulton, and Douglas counties) called Atlanta Diaper Relief and I am SO blessed to be able to step into a operative role in order to help her expand her reach to service the Gwinnett County area as well.

While meeting with her two weeks ago to drop off a couple of cases of diapers and wipes to support the mission of her 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, we got into a conversation about the need in areas that she hasn’t yet established a network so I told her I’m available to help in any way possible because I can’t ignore the opportunity to reach out to families who are experiencing what my own family experienced in years past, but also to teach my children how to care… and how to help.

If there are two lessons I know to be important for my children to learn early in life, they are generosity and compassion. Why? Well, for obvious reasons… and perhaps some not-so-obvious ones as well. Barry and I had our first three kids before I turned 20. Because of our extremely non-traditional start, we struggled significantly for the first few years.

After Briyana was born, there were times I would go without eating in order to ensure our baby had everything she needed. Barry would donate plasma for cash to buy diapers. We would buy the smallest pack of the cheapest brand and I would try to make them stretch while we rustled up enough money to buy the next small back of cheap diapers.

When I was standing in Walmart selecting two cases of diapers, comparing which variety of the Huggies brand (which we used exclusively for the remainder of our children once we became more stable financially) provided the highest quantity of diapers for each size, I was taken back to those times years ago when as a teen mom I had to sacrifice and scrimp and save just to be able to buy a pack of 20-30 store-brand diapers. It was a harsh reality and reminded me of how blessed we are today to be able to buy ten times that amount and give them to a family who is standing in the shoes we stood in back then.

I am a firm believer in embracing your struggles and never forgetting what God brought you through because He can take you back to relearn the lessons you let slip away once you think you’re “somebody” after a period free from hardship. Lord knows I remember vividly the frustration and heartache — the feeling that things would never get better… then all of a sudden, they did. Some of the facts listed on her website are heartbreaking. Others take me back to a time when we experienced them first-hand. Most are things people who were never in those shoes wouldn’t ever even think about:

  • Government-funded welfare programs like food stamps and WIC don’t provide diapers for low-income families — only nutritional sources. TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and similar programs are often not available to working parents, even if they don’t have sufficient income to cover basic needs.
  • A family experiencing financial hardship often doesn’t have immediate access to laundry facilities. In addition, public facilities do not allow laundering of cloth diapers for sanitary reasons which eliminates that option entirely.
  • An adequate supply of diapers can cost over $100 per month. To many families, this creates a dilemma as they try to juggle their resources so that they have enough to cover food, shelter and utility costs, clothing, and still be able to obtain necessities like diapers.
  • Most daycare centers will not utilize cloth diapers for sanitary reasons, but rather require each child to be furnished with a full day’s supply of disposable diapers, which means parents living in poverty are unable to take advantage of free/subsidized childcare if they can’t afford to provide an adequate supply of them.
  • Uncomfortable babies cry and don’t sleep well at night which results in poorly-rested/higher-stressed parents and siblings, contributing to increased illnesses, reduced performance levels, and absences from work and school. A baby crying from a soiled diaper for a prolonged period of time may be at a greater risk of physical abuse by the caregiver, as recognized in studies of patterns of abuse among low-income families. Babies who spend a day or longer in one diaper are subject to potential health risks.
  • If parents cannot utilize daycare facilities, they are less able to work consistently, which increases their economic instability and results in a continuation of the cycle of poverty.
  • Without reliable transportation, low-income families experience doubled or tripled monthly diaper costs due to being forced to purchase them at higher prices in an inner city convenience store rather than take advantage of savings offered by large retailers.

I realize not everyone is in the Atlanta area, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t do something to diminish the need in your own area. Initiatives like this are needed everywhere and don’t take anything more to start than a compassionate spirit and a mission-focused mind. You can also support this mission by making a tax-deductible contribution online. For those who are in and around Metro Atlanta, you can help in a multitude of ways!

  1. Atlanta Diaper Relief is having its first charity event on September 24th from 2-6pm to raise funds to assist families in need and guess what?! YOU are invited :) Spend one Saturday this month supporting a great cause and having a BLAST with your whole family at Catch Air in Marietta, GA! Click the link for more information.
  2. Host a Diaper Drive. Click the link for more information.
  3. Spread the word about Atlanta Diaper Relief to those who can help the initiative and to those who can benefit from its mission.
  4. Encourage local daycare facilities to allow the placement of a diaper donation box somewhere in their building for parents and staff to fill!

If you would like more information about Atlanta Diaper Relief or would like to contact Kia Morgan directly, feel free to email director@atlantadiaperrelief.org!


Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to my blog's email updates!



                                         



Posted in Atlanta, Health {Inside & Out}, Promotions.