Infants sleep safely in new cribs
One mother had been sleeping on the couch with her newborn child, since neither she nor her infant had a bed.
Another woman is expecting a child and is living in a homeless shelter. She will use the crib given to her to keep her baby sleeping next to her in a safe place in the shelter.
These and other mothers served through the Black Infant Health program on Florin Road now have cribs to give to their newborn babies, thanks to donations from Book of Dreams readers.
Readers helped buy 10 cribs that have been distributed to mothers in need.
"This was such a blessing," said Zuri Colbert, a community health outreach worker at the Black Infant Health program. "(One mother) was so very grateful and happy. She got a crib that turns into a toddler bed so it will be a bed that works for them for five years."
The Black Infant Health program serves low-income women with newborn babies. Program workers have been advising women not to sleep with their babies because of the increased risk of smothering them. The new cribs will help to allow the mothers to put that advice into practice.