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Valley non-profit puts out urgent call to the community

Posted at 10:31 PM, Feb 23, 2023
and last updated 2023-02-24 08:11:11-05

Maggie's Place has put out an urgent call for pull-up diapers.

The non-profit provides housing for women who are experiencing homelessness and are pregnant.

Moms can live in the provided housing for up to a year after giving birth, but the organization continues to provide support as their kids grow.

"I was living in alleys," said Sophia Palma. "I was struggling so hard."

The mother of five remembers living on the streets of Phoenix. At that time she was pregnant with her daughter, but with nowhere to go.

That's when she found Maggie's Place.

"For the first time I felt like I belonged somewhere," said Palma.

The non-profit helped provide her with a home and access to resources like counseling and classes.

"They helped me get back on my feet with my DCS paperwork, filling out food stamps, access jobs," said Palma.

She's now what the organization calls an "alumni mom," and still comes to the non-profit's Family Support Center in Phoenix for help.

"We say, 'once a Maggie's Place mom, always a Maggie's Place mom,'" said the vice president of philanthropy for the non-profit, Whitney Thistle.

Thistle said hundreds of families come to their Family Support Center each month for continued assistance.

"One of the highest needs that our moms come here for is our donation closet," said Thistle.

The closet is stocked with essentials like food, diapers, and wipes.

Thistle said for some of their moms, the items from the closet allow them to pay other bills.

"You're lucky if you go to maybe a Family Dollar, and you can afford it," said Palma. "But it's not enough, you still need more."

Inflation has eased slightly since last summer, but across the country, the latest numbers still show prices up by around 6% in the last year.

Thistle told ABC15 they've seen an increased need for essential items in the last nine months, but this week the non-profit put out an urgent call for pull-up diapers.

"Last time I checked we had about two or three boxes," said Thistle.

She said they normally get a lot of donations for newborn diapers.

"That's what people think of, and our highest need is usually for those larger size diapers and pull-ups for those kiddos that are growing," said Thistle.

The non-profit is hoping people can help them stock up through donations, giving their moms one less tough decision.

"You sometimes are making the choice between one or the other," said Thistle. "We really want to help alleviate some of that pressure and that stress."