With demand doubled, diapers and donations are needed to help local families

Even before the pandemic, many families across the Las Vegas Valley were turning to Help of Southern Nevada’s Baby First Service to meet basic needs, such as diapers and formula.

With the pandemic-induced shutdowns and job losses in the valley, HELP of Southern Nevada saw demand for diapers double last year, with the organization now on track to deliver tens of thousands of diapers in 2021.

Now the nonprofit is seeking the public’s help in fundraising and donations to expand its services to more valley families.

Abby Quinn, chief communications officer for the nonprofit, said its two diaper banks served about 15 to 20 families a day every month before the pandemic. Since last March, with many new parents out of work, Quinn said diapers for newborns and toddlers reached a new peak throughout the pandemic.

“It’s a basic need, and just like food, water and shelter: You can’t leave the child in a soiled diaper,” said Quinn, adding that many parents often try to see how they can make diapers last longer. “That should absolutely not be something that they need to worry about. They should always have access to change their child’s dirty diaper.”

Demand for diapers soared

The diaper banks now see 35 to 40 households a day.

Eligible parents can receive 50 diapers, size newborn to size 2, once a month for their children up to 3 years old. Also, 25 training pants, size 3, 4, 5, and 6, are available once a month for each child up to age 3.

The organization also realized many parents were still going elsewhere to pick up additional diapers during COVID-19. Quinn said the diaper bank made changes to ensure families had enough to last them through the month.

“The demand for diapers has increased, and the amount that they’ve needed from us has increased,” she said. The need is so great in large part because many valley households saw sizable drops in income and no federal anti-poverty program such as the Women, Infants, and Children program or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program covers diapers.

Diapers can cost upward of $25 per box, Quinn said. At its current pace, HELP of Southern Nevada anticipates giving out 60,000 diapers this fiscal year, more than double compared with last year.

Quinn noted that most day care facilities require parents to provide their own diapers. For families with a shortfall, that could mean a guardian cannot go to work.

“It’s an absolute top of mind,” said Quinn of the anxiety young parents have. She said clients have told her that they tried to make diapers last longer.

“It’s really traumatic for a parent to know that their baby’s diaper is dirty, but they don’t have enough diapers to get through the weekends,” she said. “These diapers are really just saving the parents a lot of money.”

Cloth diapers aren’t always an option for many of the families HELP of Southern Nevada serves as many are in low-income housing and do not have access to washers and dryers. Quinn said that would mean a client taking a bus with their children to wash cloth diapers at a laundromat.

“That’s not really ideal for low-income families,” she said.

Expanding to help more families

Demand for diapers hasn’t leveled off and isn’t likely to for at least several years, Quinn said.

“I would say, absolutely, with the elevated amount of diapers we’re giving out, we’re looking at at least another year if not two,” Quinn said. “We’re going to have to solicit more donations because we’ll be going through diapers faster than we normally do.”

HELP of Southern Nevada has an agreement with a company that provides wholesale diapers at a low cost: 30,000 diapers and a pallet of diaper wipes for about $4,000 to $5,000.

Quinn said her team is trying to get companies, businesses and other donors to raise the $5,000 donations so the organization can place more diaper orders.

“It’s a good return on investment when you think about trying to make a huge impact: Being able to raise $5,000 to turn it into 30,000 diapers is huge for a company to say, ‘You know, that’s what our donation went towards,” she said. “If we increase the amount of diapers we’re giving, we’re definitely going to have to do a lot more asking and a lot more donation drives from the community.”

At the end of the day, Quinn said, the Baby First Service is to ensure parents across the valley have enough diapers each time they visit.

“We want to make sure that they can come here, get what they need and not have to worry about, again, for another month,” she said.

If readers are in need of diaper assistance through HELP of Southern Nevada, the nonprofit can be reached at diapers@helpsonv.org. Readers can contact aquinn@helpsonv.org if anyone would like to donate or host a diaper drive.

Contact Jonathan Ng at jng@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ByJonathanNg on Twitter.