As previously reported, The Bay Area Diaper Bank recently closed due to lack of funding. If you think you might be interested in taking over the diaper bank, we can put you in touch with the right folks. Email us info (at) helpamotherout (dotorg).

With permission we are repubishing this communication written by Todd Madigan, Director of Development and Communications at  Sacred Heart Community Service. Like all of the agencies we are working with, SHCS is seeing a huge uptick in the amount of families in crisis. Food or diapers: which would you choose?

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After her second visit in as many days, the social worker made the following entry in her case notes: “The eight-month old is still wearing the same diaper she had on when I visited yesterday morning.”

Julia’s family was struggling. The two jobs she worked provided enough money for rent, but left her strained for the rest of her needs. She wanted so desperately to provide a good life for her two girls, but things were getting more difficult.

Eventually she started receiving food stamps, and on one of her first trips to the grocery store, having just paid rent, she placed her items onto the checkout counter, relieved that her girls would be taken care of for another week. The clerk scanned each item, and after totaling everything, Julia slid her EBT card, thankful that she had calculated so precisely.

Standing at the register with a long line behind her was when Julia was told that food stamps do not cover diapers—they are not a basic need.

The closure of the Bay Area Diaper Bank has struck at the heart of our community’s most vulnerable families. The average cost of diapers for one child is $100 per month, an expense that is simply impossible for most of those we serve. This is all the more troubling when we recall that infants who are not changed frequently enough—with the resultant skin irritation and consequent fussing—are more likely to be abused.

Over the past year, the Diaper Bank has provided a quarter million diapers to some 20 agencies, but its last delivery was this month, coinciding with Mother’s Day. Please consider helping us provide this critical service.

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Thank you Cubes & Crayons for Helping a Mother Out! Most recently, we sponsored a diaper drive at Cubes & Crayons, Silicon Valley campus, benefiting SHCS. C&C members were able to raise about 2500 diapers! Would your group like to try and beat C&C’s record?

We can help YOU host a diaper drive for SHCS .* Simply email us info (at) helpamotherout (dotorg). We have a diaper drive toolkit we can give you with easy steps on how you can raise diapers. If you think you would like to help today with a few easy clicks and the cost of a modest dinner out, consider purchasing a case of diapers or wipes off their Amazon.com wishlist. It ships direct to SHCS and is tax deductible. Check out our FAQ if you have more questions.

*In addition to SHCS, we can help you host a diaper drive for any one of the agencies we are working with throughout California. Check out our partners – the people who are doing direct work with families in crisis. We can help you reach out to one in your own community. Come join us!