Obviously, solving homelessness is not easy. How can we prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place? Once someone experiences homelessness, it is harder to get out of the downward spiral and it’s also costly.
Some of us at Babies of Homelessness started volunteering with an understanding that when we lift others up, we rise too. Others came to us from a place of anger that ignited action and the need to give back.
It is passion and love that sustains us to continue the work we do, even when there are times we are exhausted, when the work goes unnoticed, and sometimes we receive criticism for the work that we do because we are not solving everything at once. However, research has shown a huge correlation between the diaper needs of low-income mothers and the occurrence of maternal depression. Diaper need, even more than a lack of food, is a stressor that leads to hardships and mental health struggles. So, if we can alleviate this problem, we, and our community, can continue to work on the rest.
There’s a well-known Chinese proverb that says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Too many people never volunteer because either they feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped to deal with the vastness of the problem.
We all should have hope because small changes can truly effect big changes in the community.
Homelessness is not a political issue, it is a civic issue that affects all of us, socially and economically, whether we experience it ourselves or not. The costs of inaction are enormous.
From a trauma-based perspective, early intervention before the age of six years is a critical window of time to create lasting and positive change. Investing in children with less — providing housing and the basics — research shows that children tend to do better in school, in the workforce and later on in life — then we can solve a lot of problems in our community.
Join us, email volunteer@babiesofhomelessness.org for more information.
