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Center helps new parents in need

October, 2000

New parents know how critical it is to have a safe crib and a secure car seat for their child — but for some parents, the high cost of such items can make them seem like a luxury.

A new program of the Cape Cod Council of Churches is trying to change that by providing those items — along with diapers, wipes, linens, clothing and more — free to families in need on the Cape.

“Having a baby is such a pivotal experience in a person or couple's life — you’re really very vulnerable. Then you add the stress of needing financial assistance and it can be daunting,” said Susan Scribner, executive director of the Council.

A Baby Center opened in June, at rented space at the Federated Church in Hyannis, with plans to serve 100 babies in the first year.

Instead, it has served 150 babies in the first 12 weeks and is on a pace to serve 650 in the first year.

“This is the hidden poor — people working in a donut shop bringing home $112 a week,” Scribner said.

To qualify for the program, a parent must be at least seven months pregnant or have a child under 1 year of age, and meet the income guidelines used by the state's Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutritional program. Those guidelines state that a family of two making $20,813 or less a year qualifies for aid.

“Some of the situations would break your heart,” Scribner said. “One woman who came in, her husband had died a week and a half before and she was due to deliver the following week. She had been a stay-at-home mom and had no supplies. She said ‘you are an answer to a prayer.’”

In addition to getting one-time items like the car seats, families can return once a month for diapers, toiletries and clothing.

“We also provide other items that are donated, such as high chairs and strollers, but we have an absolute commitment to the car seats and cribs,” Scribner said. “There are a lot out there in the secondary market, at yard sales or flea markets, and you just don't know if they are safe.”

Scribner said the program is also dedicated to connecting families in need with other social service programs. And, the program, which serves the entire Cape, offers a connection to a local church.

“We tell the client: ‘there is a church in your community that wants to help. They will not ask you to have your child baptized or dedicated or ask you to join the church or have the baby join the church — those are your choices’,” she said.

Those churches volunteer to help with whatever needs a new family might have, such as rides to doctor appointments.

Scribner said the community has rallied around A Baby Center. Cape Cod Hospital set a room aside to collect donations, and sent them over in a hospital van. Highline Cruises sent over a dozen strollers that had been left behind on ferries to the Islands that had gone unclaimed. The Massachusetts Women’s Home Missionary Union just gave the Center a $7,500 grant, and the Federated Church of Orleans gave a $10,000 grant. And, Scribner said, the clients themselves help out as well, bringing back clothing or other items their children outgrow.

“There was this idea that they would just take the stuff and go sell it, and that's a myth,” Scribner said.

The Cape Cod Council of Churches is made up of 68 churches representing 15 denominations. Fifteen Conference churches are members.

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