In honor of Diaper Awareness Week, Isla Vista Youth Projects (IVYP) has announced it is now the first certified diaper bank in Santa Barbara County.
In February IVYP took a leap to help families in the Goleta Valley Community. As a place-based organization, IVYP provides comprehensive services to families in need, with an eye to strengthening families, preparing children to be successful in school, and addressing health and educational disparities.
“Many families in Santa Barbara County struggle to provide the basics for their children,” said Lori Goodman, executive director of IVYP. “The child poverty rate in this county is unacceptable. Approximately one in five children in our county are suffering.
“Diapers are a critical need. When we looked into it, we found that there are no diaper bank agencies in our county. Given that we already have systems in place to distribute other items like food, we knew that this was something that we could and should take on.”
Ensuring that infants and toddlers have access to clean diapers helps lead to healthier families.
In 2017 some 40,000 infants and children were treated in California’s public hospitals suffering from symptoms directly connected to diaper need. By providing diapers to parents, IVYP is helping their children to stay healthy and safe, and easing a financial burden that has only grown since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disposable diapers can cost as much as $100 per month per baby. Most babies go through 12 diapers per day, which is a cost that adds up very quickly, especially when the health of your child is at stake. Since February, IVYP have distributed more than 30,000 diapers to babies in need.
IVYP has a history of connecting families in the Goleta Valley to the resources and concrete supports they need through the work of their Family Resource Center. Demands for services through the Family Resource Center have increased by some 500% since the pandemic began. More and more local families are experiencing extreme hardship and need help.
To support these families, IVYP has the opportunity to develop new, more creative ways to reach out to vulnerable families. The diaper bank serves as an entry point for families to receive additional support like parenting classes, housing support, food distribution, and Medi-Cal and Calfresh support.
Now that the IVYP has become a certified diaper bank, the next step in the process is to grow the organizational capacity to meet the needs of the community.
“We don’t want to outgrow our funding but want to make sure that we are providing as much as we can for families,” Goodman said. “As we grow, we anticipate needing additional storage, increased staff, community outreach, and of course more diapers. All of this requires a financial investment. We are grateful for the support of local foundations and individual donors who have contributed to this project.”
To learn more about receiving diapers or to donate to the diaper bank visit IVYP’s new website: www.ivyp.org.