Long Island diaper bank and volunteers trying to help struggling moms and dads
HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y. -- It has been a tough summer for parents of young children. They had to wait for a COVID-19 vaccine and there was a formula shortage. Now, the price of necessities, including diapers, is on a sharp rise.
As CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported Tuesday, diaper banks and volunteers are trying to help struggling moms and dads.
The line stretched around the block outside the Huntington Assembly of God. Inside, there were smiles and tears from Melissa Graves, a school teacher from Guatemala who recently relocated to the area.
"It has been very difficult with the economy, her husband's job," Graves said through an interpreter. "Prices keep going up and this has been a tremendous help. What babies need most is diapers, right?"
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Clean dry diapers are critical for ensuring good health and to prevent illness and infection. Disposable diapers can cost up to $80 per month per child, and with inflation, prices are even higher.
"To get the diapers, it's a life saver," Courtney Muller said.
Muller, of Greenlawn, was with her 4-week-old, running on empty, and feeling overwhelmed.
"She's a newborn and I'm not working right now," Muller said.
Food pantries and government assistance can help with groceries, but diapers are not covered under federal and state programs.
"It's a national public health crisis," said Heather Edwards, of the allied foundation National Diaper Bank Network. "Currently, SNAP and WIC benefits and Medicaid do not cover diapers, so families have few options."
"It's a bless for everybody to see the people from the community that share," Huntington mother Fiorde Santos said.
All of the diapers, formula and baby clothes at the Huntington Assembly of God were donated by a tradition of devoted volunteers, sharing joys and struggles.
"My parents started Helping Hands Rescue Mission in 1965. Both have passed away now," Kim Gambino said.
Gambino has taken up the cause and her community has responded.
"So we are carrying that on. The way they started is the way we want to finish, with lots of love," Gambino said.
The mothers in attendance with their babes said they feel that love, dignity and respect.
A study out of Yale University found struggling to afford diapers contributes to higher rates of maternal stress and depression.