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Access to a sufficient supply of diapers is essential for the health of southern Arizona’s infants, disabled and elderly, and the quality of life of our community, but too many individuals don’t have the resources to adequately provide for this basic need.
As long as poverty exists, children and adults in our community will need diapers. The need is already great… and it’s growing: just this past year, those living below the poverty line in Pima County grew by 27% meaning that 1 in 4 children are born into poverty annually. Each year the Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona receives requests for 1.5 million diapers and incontinence supplies while we were only able to distribute 600,000 diapers in 2009.
Resources for free or discounted diapers are few. Food Stamps cannot be used to purchase diapers, and diaper manufacturers don't donate diapers, even to crisis nurseries and shelters. The Diaper Bank’s goal is to bridge this gap in available resources for our community’s neediest and most vulnerable populations.
Infant and Children Needs
Shortage of diapers can lead to serious impacts on the wellbeing of those in need. Parents without sufficient resources often allow children to wear diapers for too long during the day, or try to clean and reuse disposable diapers, putting children at risk for staph and other infections. The likelihood of abuse increases when a baby is in a household facing the stresses of poverty, and increases even more when that baby is crying due to the discomfort of a soiled diaper and the health issues that can result.
An analysis completed by the Children’s Action Alliance of Arizona in 2009 concluded that at current costs, a family of four earning $33,920 annually (based on two parents earning $8.15 per hour, equating to 160% of the current poverty rate) would spend all but $54 of their monthly income on housing, utilities, child care, transportation, food, and taxes. That $54 each month pay for diapers, clothing, personal items, school supplies, haircuts, and other needs for four people. Diapers for one child cost nearly $100 per month, leaving working families struggling to provide the most basic necessities.
At the same time, daycare facilities require that parents provide sufficient disposable diapers to meet the needs of their children while in the facility. In order to do so, parents may have to make difficult choices between purchasing diapers, paying bills, or buying groceries.
Disabled Needs
Many disabled people are obliged to wear diapers for a variety of reasons, incontinence and inability to use a bathroom unaided among the most common. This is a life-long, everyday reality for many disabled persons, and both the prevalence and the frequency of bladder problems associated with many disabilities increase with age.
According to Pima County government statistics used for planning services for disabled adults, in 2007, 13% of Pima County residents between the ages of 16 and 64 were disabled - 76,940 people. Of those disabled adults, 31% live below 150% of the federal poverty level. These numbers only include people with disabilities who are living independently, either alone or with family - not those who are institutionalized and have greater access to care.
If not for the Diaper Bank’s monthly incontinent supply donations to our partner agencies, many of our community’s disabled would suffer decreased quality of life, ranging from constant discomfort due to accidents to being unable to leave their homes. The Diaper Bank is also committed to providing information to disabled adults about the potential to overcome or reduce incontinence, especially for clients for whom mobility is the primary problem. We provide information about aids designed to improve independence, such as commodes and personal urinals, aids to be used in the bathroom, such as raised toilet seats, and the incontinence devices we supply, such as briefs and pads.
Elderly Needs
Pima County has one of the highest concentrations of older adults in the southwest; according to U.S. Census predictions, by 2015 approximately 24% of residents will be at least 60 years old, and that population is expected to continue to increase faster than other demographics, and faster than in almost all other states. At a time when Southern Arizona’s communities need to be building infrastructure and planning to care for our increasing aging populations, services are instead being reduced for even the lowest-income seniors.
More than 10% of Pima County’s elderly population lives below the federal poverty level, currently $10,830 per year for a single-person household, leaving many unable to pay for critical services. In “A Report to the Community,” the Community Needs Assessment Process 2006–2009 Area Plan on Aging report, the Pima Council on Aging (PCOA) identified as major problem areas for our community “lack of sufficient income to meet basic needs; lack of transportation and affordable health care, including dental care; need for in-home support, including home maintenance and repair; isolation and need for advocacy. The overriding concern of seniors is to find ways in which to continue living in their own homes for as long as possible.”
The supplies distributed by the Diaper Bank through our partner organizations is part of a larger continuum of services that not only supports southern Arizona’s older adults in remaining in their own homes, but also contributes to their dignity and quality of life. If not for the Diaper Bank’s monthly incontinent supply donations to our partner agencies many of our community’s elderly would be unable to leave their homes to due to fear of embarrassment, and would live in compromised comfort even while at home.
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