County Receives $9,000 To Help Families In Need During COVID-19

Press release from the County of Santa Cruz:

June 24, 2020

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY – The Public Health Division’s, Family Health Unit has received $9,000 from the Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance) to purchase and distribute diapers and baby wipes to Medi-Cal families in need.

“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the families we serve with children ages 0-5, as well as our community partners have been reaching out to us for support, and reporting not only a decline in income for families, but also increased difficulty accessing the most basic of necessities, diapers being at the top of the list,” said Susan Paradise, Manager of Family Health. “Many new parents are not leaving the house for safety reasons, and do not have the financial or technological resources to order diapers on-line. We have found that right now, one of the best ways we increase the wellbeing of families is through the distribution of these basic resources to help parents provide for their infants and young children.”

Diapers and baby wipes will be distributed to families through Thrive by Three Initiative partners including Encompass Early Head Start, Families Together, Salud Para La Gente, Santa Cruz Community Health Centers, and the Santa Cruz County Public Health Nursing Home Visiting Programs as well as the Dominican Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Birth Network.

The grant received from the Alliance gave a significant jump start to the diaper drive initiated by the Perinatal Mental Health Coalition (PMHC) of Santa Cruz County. The mission of the PMHC is to improve awareness of mood disorders during pregnancy and postpartum and aims to expand resources and support systems, provide education, and encourage early recognition and treatment. “Depression and anxiety during pregnancy or postpartum impacts one in five women in Santa Cruz County. Diaper drives are one of many ways to lessen stress placed on families, especially right now,” says Dominique Teaford, the Public Health Nurse who facilitates the Coalition.

Tiny Tots Diaper Service and Parent Resource Center and the California Breastfeeding Coalition have promoted the drive and brought in thousands of dollars and diaper donations from kind and compassionate community members.

With support from the Alliance and all the community partners, Family Health continues to provide support and access to resources for the County’s most vulnerable members of the community.

This press release was produced by the County of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author's own.