12/27/2023 0 Comments First year diaper stockpile chartMore families are accessing public service support systems for the first time, leading to an increased demand for basic needs, such as diapers and wipes. WestSide Baby distributed 2.4 million diapers in 2020, compared to 1.5 million in 2019. Even as we move into 2021 and as King County moves “up” in reopening phases, our community will continue to need extra support for months to come. More on this topic: Angela Garbes’s piece in NY Magazine Impact for Basic Needs 22% of all King County workers who self-reported as White filed a new unemployment claim during this time compared to 46% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander workers, 35% of American Indian/Alaska Natives workers, and 34% of Black/African American workers. There are obvious disparities in initial evaluation of the unemployment claims. Figure 2: King County workers filing initial claims per capita by race/ethnicity, March 8 – JRace & Equity Data King County residents filled 554,000+ unemployment claims from March 1 – December 1, 2020. In the first week of March, about 2,000 claims were filed, in comparison to 47,000 in the first week of April alone. One major highlight is the impact of this crisis on families with young children:ģ4% of adults with children under 5 who said COVID-19 had an impact on their ability to afford basic needs, compared to just 21% of respondents without children. This data is important for understanding our community’s social and economic challenges resulting from strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19 since mid-March. New data released from Public Health Seattle & King County and the Washington State CORONA Study both shed light on a couple of important socio-economic and health factors related to the basic needs gap in King County. Social and Economic Factors of COVID-19 in King County Finally, when social service providers, such as public health nurses, do not have diapers to supply to the families they support, they are unable to meet the needs of the family and are therefore unable to build the trust needed to meet the family’s goals. When parents do not have enough diapers, their mental health struggles and they are not able to access childcare programs, forcing them to miss school or work. When babies are not able to be in a clean diaper, they experience negative physical health outcomes, such as diaper rash. Negative Effects of Diaper Needĭiaper need is defined as the lack of a sufficient supply of diapers to keep a child safe, healthy, and dry. Inequity based on the color of a child’s skin or their country of origin (or their parent’s country of origin) should not determine their health outcomes and providing basic needs will decrease the negative health outcomes associated with poverty and racism. This is the root of WestSide Baby’s mission and vision, and what guided our Rapid Response programming beginning April of 2020. Figure 1: Families experiencing diaper need by child’s race, – Compared to White families, families who identified as Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander were 31% more likely to experience diaper need than White families, and Black families are 22% more likely to experience diaper need than White families. – Families living in South King County, for example, are 9% more likely to experience diaper need than average in King County.įamilies are impacted by race and racism: The Diaper Need Crisis Continues In 2021: WestSide Baby Responds To An Increased Need Due To COVID-19 In King County Basic Needs Gapsīefore the outbreak of COVID-19 in our community and the subsequent shutdown of businesses and community resources almost one year ago, we already knew that 21% of children in King County lived in families struggling with diaper need. We also know families are disproportionately impacted by diaper need:įamilies are impacted by where they live:
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |