Providing Diapers to Children Experiencing Homelessness

Housing and Homelessness

County of Los Angeles

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that about one in 150 Angelenos, or 69,000 people, experience homelessness. The cost of diapers and other childcare essentials greatly contributes to low-income families' financial insecurities and puts them at risk of homelessness. The cost of raising a child is notoriously expensive, costing an average of $17,000 a year, according to a 2022 Brookings Institution analysis. Diapers are the fourth highest household expense for low-income families with children, behind rent, food, and utilities. Disposable diapers can cost families an average of $100 a month per baby, an expense that is not subsidized by the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).?A lack of diapers can prevent parents from obtaining childcare and cause them to miss work or struggle to find work all together.?Childcare support is essential to preventing low-income families from experiencing homelessness.

Baby2Baby distributes diapers and other basic necessities, such as hygiene items, clothing, and wipes, to homeless shelters and low-income housing organizations across LA County. This support ensures low-income children receive essential items, and it allows parents to prioritize other expenses, such as rent and utilities, helping to combat homelessness and housing insecurity. Baby2Baby is uniquely qualified to conduct this work. Since its founding in 2011, Baby2Baby has served more than one million children and has provided over 150 essentials in the Greater Los Angeles area. Baby2Baby serves children living in low-income households, which Baby2Baby defines as those with incomes of no more than 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. Baby2Baby works with over 500 orgs across LA from underserved school districts, hospitals, clinics, resource centers, and more. This grant will support Baby2Baby's distribution of over 500,000 diapers annually to 56 shelters and low-income housing orgs across LA County. Baby2Baby has three warehouses in LA to store its inventory of diapers and other essentials. Baby2Baby provides the partner orgs with a standard needs assessment, which gauges the number of children being served by the org, its most needed items, and its storage capacity. Each week, the warehouse team organizes the diapers and other essentials based on the need assessments and ships them to the partner organizations where they are distributed to children and families.

The program will enhance the health and safety of children experiencing or at-risk of homelessness by providing them with an adequate supply of clean diapers. This support will provide families financial relief that will allow them to focus their financial resources on obtaining other basic necessities, paying rent, and enhancing their quality of life. By providing access to free diapers, Los Angeles families living in poverty will not have to choose between providing their child with clean diapers or paying rent.??During this grant period, Baby2Baby will increase its diaper distribution from 535,883 last year to 625,000 and expand its partnerships to reach more low-income families. In the long-term, this program will address the roots of poverty and help decrease homelessness in LA County. A study by the Diaper Bank of Connecticut demonstrated that when families receive supplies of clean diapers, they are more likely to pursue their education and secure and maintain jobs.

Each year since 2011, Baby2Baby has increased the number of diapers it distributes and expands its partnerships. In 2022, Baby2Baby distributed over 19 million essentials through over 500 partnerships in LA County; nearly 1.5 million of these essentials went directly to homeless shelters and low-income housing. Feedback from constituents demonstrates the life-changing impact of this program. Shelly Palmdale of LA shared, "When Covid hit, my husband and I lost our jobs. Sometimes we would eat just rice and beans, or just rice. We didn't have money to buy diapers. We decided to get all the change that we had in our house to get the cheapest diapers for my daughter. It was heartbreaking. It hurts because you want to do everything you can just to protect them, but when you can't and you have no other option, you're hopeless. But Baby2Baby, they're there to help you when you're at your lowest point. I've never had somebody that cared about us that much, so Baby2Baby for me is a blessing."