DIAPER BANK NC-
Talking Points
What Do We Do
We provide diapers, period products, formula, and adult incontinence supplies to low-income families in need. Families are forced to make tough choices between buying food, paying for rent and utilities, putting gas in the car to go to work, or buying diapers.
• 1 in 2 families experience diaper need
• 1 in 4 menstruating individuals experience period poverty
• There are no government assistance programs that assist with hygiene supplies. WIC and Food Stamps do not cover them.
Diapers can cost over $100 a month
• 63% of Military Families E6 or below state they cannot afford diapers every month.
Why We Do It
When families do not have enough diapers, children are forced to wear a dirty diaper longer than is healthy, to wear a diaper that is too big or too small, to wear a plastic bag, cloth, or towel, to reuse a dirty diaper, or to wear nothing at all. Children are at risk for skin infections; they cry more often when wearing dirty diapers and wake more during the night. Parents experience a lot of stress trying to find diapers and worry about keeping their children healthy and happy.
Locally, students within North Carolina school systems report missing school each month because they do not have the period products they need. We now provide free period products in over 300 public schools across NC.
WIC only supplements formula, and many families resort to using sugar water or thinning out formula the week and a half until their next WIC check comes in to buy more formula. We fill the gap so that parents have what they need to feed their babies.
Adult incontinence supplies are expensive for seniors living on a fixed income. When seniors do not have the necessary supplies, they often stay home and avoid going out into the community.
How Do We Do It
We have three branches around the state. Our main branch is the Triangle Branch in Durham. The Lower Cape Fear Branch is in Wilmington, and our newest addition is the Greater Charlotte Branch in Charlotte.
We had a 4th branch in the Greater Triad but lost the warehouse and over 1 million products in a fertilizer plant fire that contaminated all of our hygiene items. We are looking to rebuild a presence in the Greater Triad.
Families who need diapers need help with other basic needs, too. We do not give out diapers directly to families. Instead, we partner with community-based organizations in each of our branch communities. These organizations serve families by providing many resources and services such as food, housing, parenting education, early childhood education, financial literacy, job training and placement, healthcare, and resettlement for refugee families.
We serve families in 65 counties in North Carolina.
What Do We Provide
We provide a supplemental supply of diapers. We do not provide every diaper a child needs, but we supplement to help a family bridge the gap between what they can afford and what they need. Each month, we distribute over 500,000 diapers across the state and serve 10,000 babies a month. We have help from over 600 volunteers a month who donate their time to help us distribute dignity.
We also provide baby wipes, diaper rash cream, formula, and baby soap.
Who Do We Serve
We serve the working poor. More than 76% of our families have at least one adult household member with 1 to 3 jobs and still cannot afford basic hygiene items.
Something as simple as a diaper has incredible outcomes not only for the families that we serve but also for the organizations through which we serve the families:
The success of our program is measured not only by the number of hygiene products distributed to families in need but also by the outcomes families experience from receiving hygiene products. In 2017, we published in the Maternal & Child Health Journal the first peer-reviewed research study documenting the outcomes experienced by diaper bank recipient families. Specifically, parents and caregivers receiving diapers from the Diaper Bank of North Carolina: felt happier (62%), could increase spending on food (61%), perceived that their children were happier (43%) and healthier (28%), could pay nonmedical bills (27%), had the requisite diapers to send children to childcare (18%), increased work and school attendance (15%), and could pay medical bills (5%). The proposed project will measure the percentage of families’ receiving our products who report reduced parental / caregiver stress, healthier children, and increased household spending on other basic needs.
• Home visiting programs are showing an 83% increase in home visits and client retention
• Duke clinics see an increase in immunizations by working with us to use diapers as an incentive for a visit.