Catholic Charities and Healthy Blue Host CommunityWide Baby Shower

Kirsten Gladen, Catholic Charities of North Louisiana Regional Manager

CATHOLIC CHARITIES’ MISSION IS,“TOGETHER WE INVEST IN PEOPLE TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY, DISTRESS, AND INJUSTICE.” At the center of that is not only helping individuals, but also uplifting the entire family. Since its inception, Catholic Charities is committed to helping mothers and their children. In fact, 76% of individuals served in the Monroe office are single mothers with underage children. So, it was identified early on that the concept of having a community resource that can assist mothers and children was in alignment with the mission. Catholic Charities’ answer is Gabriel’s Closet. This is a resource for mothers to access gently used items, such as clothes and shoes, along with much needed items like diapers, wipes, bottles, bibs, Pack N Plays, car seats, etc. Regional Manager Kirsten Gladen states, “We understand the strain that mothers, especially low-income mothers, may experience when it comes to preparing for an addition to the family. That is why Gabriel’s Closet is such a viable and much needed community resource in Northeast Louisiana.”

Healthy Blue understands that it is viable too, which is why they asked to partner with Catholic Charities to throw a community-wide baby shower for expectant mothers. Healthy Blue is a state-funded Medicaid plan that insures over 300,000 underserved Louisianians to include women and children. Healthy Blue Community Relations Representative RaShad Bristo says, “This was an opportunity to provide resources to a population that may be uninformed on what is available to them.” To that point, the event also served as a resource fair and featured information on rent and utility assistance provided through Catholic Charities, along with financial literacy resources to plan for the arrival of the baby, behavioral health resources to address post-partum concerns, a lactation specialist to address common breastfeeding issues, food and nutritional information, and guidance on childcare assistance programs available in the area. Catholic Charities also partnered with Life Choices pregnancy resource center for the event to give some of the attendees a new car seat for their bundle of joy. State Troopers were also in attendance to provide tips on car seat safety. Kirsten attests, “Education is at the center of everything that we do. We are committed to teaching people how to help themselves. We believe it is more important than enabling people to remain uninformed and helpless.”

The event took place Saturday, October 28th, from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM at Emily P. Robinson Recreation Center in Monroe located at 3504 Jackson Street. We are grateful to Healthy Blue and Life Choices for partnering with CCNLA for this event.