 The Berkshire Community Diaper Project, in collaboration with Austen Riggs Center and Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute was established to raise funds to provide diapers for parents who struggle to afford them for their children, since diaper need has been correlated with significant depression in parents and with potential mental health issues for children. The “Diaper Project” has established multiple liaisons with community organizations.
Diaper Need Facts
- One out of three low- income families struggle to buy diapers. In the Berkshires, 2000 children from birth to age 5 are receiving nutritional help from WIC and likely also have diaper need.
- Diapers are not covered by WIC or by Food Stamps, which classifies them with cigarettes, alcohol and pet food as disallowed items.
- Families without washers/dryers must rely on store- bought diapers. If they lack gas money or a car, they must rely on expensive convenience stores.
- Children without a supply of diapers are not allowed at day care centers, so parents miss work when they can’t supply them, thus losing money needed for their families.
- Diaper Need was an even stronger predictor of resulting stress and mental health difficulties in parents than was food insecurity. (Smith, et al, Pediatrics, 2013) Parents who can’t provide diapers feel guilty, powerless, frustrated, depressed.
- Children who wear soiled diapers are at risk of rashes and infections; their irritable crying may also put them at risk for abuse or neglect from frustrated, depressed parents.
How Can You Help
- Drop off diaper donations at any of the above-listed locations or at Berkshire Nautilus in Pittsfield or the West Stockbridge Post Office
- Donate via credit card or PayPal on the Website at: https://www.berkshirecommunitydiaperproject.com
- Write a check to the Berkshire Community Diaper Project (BCDP) and mail to:
Berkshire Community Diaper Project,Inc.
PO Box 5
West Stockbridge, MA 01266
Monetary donations are tax deductible as The Berkshire Community Diaper Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization
DIAPER DILEMMA
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The Berkshire Community Diaper Project, in collaboration with Austen Riggs Center and Berkshire Psychoanalytic Institute was established to raise funds to provide diapers for parents who struggle to afford them for their children, since diaper need has been correlated with significant depression in parents and with potential mental health issues for children. The “Diaper Project” has established multiple liaisons with community organizations.
