Babies of Homelessness

Mission

Babies of Homelessness was established in 2016 as a 501(c)(3) to confront diaper need. We work tirelessly to fulfill our mission of improving the health and well-being of parents and children by providing diapers, wipes, and formula to clients and Human Service agencies in King and Snohomish counties. 

Description

Ask any family or social worker, and they will tell you that something as a seemingly small item, like a diaper, is always the most pressing worry that can make all the difference for a struggling family. 

Approximately one in two American families struggles to provide diapers to keep their children clean, dry, and healthy. For families of color in Seattle, up to 42 percent of Seattle's BIPOC families struggle to keep their children clean and healthy. This is a public health issue recognized as "Diaper Need." 

To cope with diaper need, caregivers find workaround solutions to get the most use out of each diaper. Some may leave diapers on longer on their babies, let them go diaperless, or make diapers from rags, plastic, paper towels, and duct tape. Diaper need leads to many problems for both baby and caregiver, affecting not only physical health but also mental and economic health. Families who cannot afford diapers can miss work or school because childcare providers require the parents to supply daily diapers. Parents and caregivers are forced to choose between buying food, paying rent, or purchasing diapers. Diaper need has long been an overlooked consequence of poverty and has become even more pervasive these last few years. 

Many diaper bank programs distribute diapers directly to clients through a partner agency and give out a limited number of diapers at a time. We created a delivery service model with three ways for clients to easily and quickly access basic needs services–direct service, partner distribution, and pick-up service–and we provide an ongoing 30-day supply of diapers for each child for healthier outcomes. 

Our delivery model was created with client input as a way to serve hardest-to-reach and "invisible" families disconnected from the case management system, human services agencies in historically disadvantaged communities, and as a way to eliminate accessibility barriers that were prevalent (e.g., lack of transportation, long waitlists, inadequate quantity of diapers received and embarrassing intake processes). 

As families in King County and Snohomish continue to need diapers, we will be here.

Keep up to date with us:

Website: www.BabiesofHomelessness.org

Facebook: @BabiesOfHomelessness/

Instagram: BabiesOfHomelessness/

Intake Line: (866) 442-6443