A guest post by Kim Tracy Prince of House of Prince and Help A Mother Out.
It’s cold out in Los Angeles tonight. Yes, it gets cold here, a couple of days a year. I heard a coworker exclaim “It’s going to be 27 degrees tonight in Woodland Hills!” In the past, I would have thought about snuggling up in flannel pajamas with hot chocolate, bringing the plants in from the backyard. But this year, my first thought was about the homeless. Where will they sleep? Do they have coats and blankets? Who will help them get warm? Is the emergency shelter provided by Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority enough?
In the last six months since I hooked up with Help a Mother Out, I have learned way too much about the plight of homeless people in our fair city, and how their numbers are growing as the effects of the recession trickle down to the most needy of people. Before this I have been able to put them out of my mind as beyond saving – drug addicts or mentally ill who would not respond to help in a positive way. As I meet and talk to more and more people who are on the front lines of poverty, who dedicate their lives to helping as many of the suffering as they can, I am learning that the homeless are not a stereotype. They are our neighbors – men, women, children. Babies. Every story threatens to make my heart explode with despair. At the same time each story strengthens my belief that this is what I should be doing.
What am I doing? Six months ago I was just a regular mommy blogger. I had a full time job, two little boys, a husband. Friends. Many connections in the social media world and a perhaps unhealthy obsession with Twitter. No time for anything else. But all that changed when I found Help a Mother Out, or to be fair, they found me.
I have taken on the task of starting a Los Angeles chapter of Help a Mother Out. We have partnered with three organizations that directly serve homeless and needy families. With our help they will receive donations of diapers and other toiletries, sent directly to them by you, the giving public, through Amazon wishlists that guarantee every penny you donate is spent on something that will help a mother or father put a clean diaper on a baby. Without this help, those parents may be forced to choose between rent and diapers, between food and diapers, or they may have no choice at all. When a parent runs out of diapers and has nowhere to turn, what happens to that baby? He may stay in a soiled diaper for hours, even days at a time. He may develop a rash or skin ulcers. He may cry and complain about the discomfort, putting further pressure on an already stressful family. He may be abused because of it.
We don’t really think about the evils of not having enough diapers. It’s a small gesture that can make a tiny difference. I know this effort won’t solve the problem of poverty, but I also know I can’t do everything. I still have that job and that family and that questionable addiction to Twitter. But I can do something. And if enough of you help me help a mother out, together our little somethings can add up and become a huge thing to some parents and babies around here.
To celebrate Help a Mother Out’s arrival in Los Angeles, we are having a party. It’s a playdate at The Treehouse Club in Beverly Hills, complete with music, arts and crafts, snacks, and wine (no children required for attendance). If you are local and would like to come, please check out our event page here, and RSVP to kim@helpamotherout.org. Admission is simply a pack of diapers. If we collect 3,000 diapers, our main sponsor, Huggies, will match that. If you can’t make it to the event, consider visiting the Amazon wishlists – it’s as easy as point, click, and help. Help us help a mother out, won’t you?
