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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Our perspective is influenced by our experiences. Having worked in a social work environment for years, I had a different reaction to Phil Shaltz's nonprofit to provide diapers to those needing them. It is not always the welfare maom that needs diapers. It is the outcounty resident that had an unexpected expense like a medical emergency, a home repair or car repair bill that shot their budget all to pieces. These are usually temporary needs.
But there are the young families that lack the resources to provide the necessities of a young child. The cost of child care for a baby or toddler that is not potty trained is incredibly high and out of the reach of even many employed moms. Phil Shaltz and his wife have been volunteering for children's agencies that told them, rightfully so, that there was a need for diapers in the community. They were informed that parents were recycling diapers because they could not afford replacements. This is a serious potential health risk for the young children using these recycled diapers and that was the need Shaltz and hi wife wanted to help with.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Feb 15, 2013 7:07 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:25 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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It did not occur to me that this offer would anger residents, but I understand their response. I too am tired of the public response over minorities who only want free stuff and don't want to work for what they need to care for their families. The residents are right and the community needs jobs so families can be self sufficient.
That residents view the offer of diapers as a "band-aid', a handout, and that is understandable. The issue of the lack of jobs for Flint residents and the unavailabilty of a proper education to train for jobs is a valid argument. On his own Shaltz cannot fill the need for the number of jobs needed. the strong job market is in the suburbs, outside of the transportation reach of many Flint residents. Shaltz is an investor in downtown, but the main players have preceeded him by years.
Residents need to direct their anger at the real power brokers. Publications that are over a decade old were created by the Greater Regional Chamber of Commerce and have outlined many of the proposals that are being implemented in the city now. Then you have the Mott Foundation, FARO, Prima Civitas and the other downtown and uptown entities that have mapped out the future of Flint for years to come.
Last edited by untanglingwebs on Fri Feb 15, 2013 7:09 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:37 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Long before the announcements were made that federal money was coming to Flint, there were rumors that it was coming and that plans were already in place for the expenditure of this money.
That is the real source of the anger in the community. People are angry that the real government, the shadow government comprised of a network of prominent agencies, has all of Flint's future mapped out and that future is bypassing huge segments of the population. |
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Fri Feb 15, 2013 6:41 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Crain's Detroit
Originally Published: May 18, 2009 11:30 AM Modified: May 18, 2009 2:02 PM
Michigan gets more than $3.8 billion in federal stimulus funds
By Amy Lane
Michigan has received more than $3.8 billion in federal stimulus funds in the first 90 days of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, state officials said Monday.
“Citizens in every county of our state are beginning to feel the benefits from recovery act funds,” said Leslee Fritz, director of the Michigan Economic Recovery Office, in a news release.
“In the days ahead, we’ll see additional funding creating more jobs and providing more services to those in need.”
The state has received more than $1 billion for transportation infrastructure, $931 million for education, $464 million for Medicaid, $302 million for public sewer and drinking water infrastructure, $243 million for weatherization assistance,
$183 million for expanded worker training
and $67 million for state and local law enforcement agencies.
In all, the state has received more than $3.6 billion in funding allocations, local governments and agencies have received $228 million directly, and tribal governments have been allocated nearly $7 million.
A new feature on the state’s recovery act Web site, www.michigan.gov/recovery, lists funding recipients in each of Michigan’s 83 counties. |
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Fri Feb 15, 2013 7:11 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Good editorial and the comments hit both sides of the issues. The unemployment rate is high and includes many who never were on unemployment before. The small amount they receive on unemployment can't match lost wages. families with no sick leave benefits cannot afford even a small bout of illness. The belief that every family requesting assistance for emergency food and diapers is a welfare recipient is just wrong.
Men of all races walk out on their families and leave them in a lurch. The agency i worked for helped the wives of doctors and lawyers that literally screwed their families and manipulated the assets to leave them destitute. True that extreme did not happen often, but it was an eye opener.
People should stop judging and hating.
Editorial: Diaper Bank fills a pressing need for community's poor families
By Bernie Eng | beng1@mlive.com
on February 16, 2013 at 10:00 AM, updated February 16, 2013 at 10:02 AM
The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan brings in a truckload of 265,000 diapers into their warehouse to be be distributed to other agencies and food pantries as they request them. The diapers are an expensive commodity and they haven't received them in stock lately. Sammy Jo Hester | MLive.com
The following is an opinion of The Flint Journal editorial board:
Infants and toddlers go through a lot of diapers in the course of a single day: Six to 10 on average.
Diapers, as every parent knows, are not cheap. Yet, amazingly, assistance programs such as Women, Infants and Children and bridge cards do not cover their purchase.
Enter businessman Philip Shaltz, who in partnership with ABC12 News anchor Angie Hendershot, founded the Flint Diaper Bank, a nonprofit to provide free diapers through a joint effort with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.
On Tuesday, the first shipment of diapers, 265,000 in all at a cost of $40,000, arrived at the Food Bank’s warehouse. They will be distributed to area families via the nearly 200 agencies and food pantries associated with the Food Bank.
Says William Kerr, president of Food Bank of Eastern Michigan, “We could easily utilize 1 million diapers within the community per year. This is certainly going to be a great aid to those families.”
Meanwhile, Shaltz needs help to keep up the effort. He’s asking local agencies and foundations and even individuals to kick in funds to offset the cost of more diapers.
We urge folks to do so.
As charitable endeavors go, this is an easy one to get behind. First of all, it’s cost-effective. With the exception of the $50 nonprofit filing fee, there are “absolutely zero administrative costs,” according to Shaltz. And donations are tax-deductible.
But more importantly, it’s easy to support because the need being met is so very basic, and the benefit of doing so is tremendous.
This is parenting 101. Little ones need clean diapers. A child sitting in a soiled diaper or who has a painful rash from sitting in a soiled diaper is more likely to cry inconsolably. And parents who are already stressed out because they are just barely scraping by are more likely to shake or abuse their crying children.
Providing diapers could, quite literally, save lives.
Kudos to Shaltz and all involved. The opening of the Flint Diaper Bank is especially timely in Genesee County, where recent data placed the county fourth from the bottom in Michigan when it comes to the overall well being of children.
Shaltz is absolutely right that changes need to be made to state and federal assistance programs so that disposable diapers are included in covered items. In the meantime, the Flint Diaper Bank will make a real difference in the lives of some of our county’s youngest and most vulnerable residents.
jacksondm
I applaud AMY M for her insightful and sensible response to folks who clearly don't have much knowledge of poverty. YES, I raised my kids on cloth diapers too - but I can tell you from my experiences with grand children that the disposable ones are SO MUCH better. As to people having children they can't afford; I recall doing ok as a young teacher - until a lay-off of just a couple of months -- and we had BIG economic problems. Today, with employment as it is MANY of these parents may have been solid tax-payers and contributors for much of their adult lives - only to find themselves in very tough circumstances now. Be not a judge without the facts.
Amy M
My mother used cloth diapers with me because of the cost of disposable Here are a few reasons why today that isn't practical for a low income family. Forgive me for duplicating some reasons already given.
1. There is a large expense in BUYING the cloth diapers as well as the plastic covers and pins. The women receiving these emergency diaper supplies may only need a week or 2 worth until their finances allow them to buy their own again.
2. Have you seen the cost of water in the city of Flint? Washing diapers could end up being a lot more expensive then disposable.
3. If you want these women to find jobs or keep the current ones they have, you cannot take your child to most daycares in a cloth diaper. It is far to hard for a daycare to wash out the cloth diapers as well as the extra times they must be changed.
I will end with this. We may choose to support the charity of our choice. If you feel this is an unworthy cause, don't donate. Who are you to judge a woman you have never known? I know you believe the only reason for a family who is in need, is laziness. You forget that families face UNEXPECTED hardships from job losses, fire, or illness. We are not all so lucky to have family to rely on. The children being diapered have committed no wrongs. Why shouldn't I support a charity that supports at risk youth who will someday grow up and be productive adults?
jacksondm likes this.
burtonguy
If you don't want me judging a woman I don't know, don't take my money to support her kids. I don't want to judge any individual woman because I have not walked in her shoes, but the overall trend of illegitimate births to parents who can't even support themselves needs to stop now. These are the same kids that are overwhelming our court system and prisons.
Linda_Flint
Can any of you haters ever, under any circumstances, understand that the kids who benefit did nothing wrong here?
burtonguy
I am not a hater. My parents could not afford disposable diapers for all of us kids, so they used cloth diapers and washed them, and we did the same. Why isn't an investment in cloth diapers being made instead of expensive and wasteful disposable diapers that clog up landfills? If you can't see this is a legitimate question, I don't know what to say.
prom-mom
You can't buy laundry soap and softener with a bridge card. You can't buy a washer and dryer with a bridge card. You can't go to a laundromat and use a bridge card. Having used both disposable and cloth diapers with my 3 kids, I can say that disposable diapers keep a baby drier than cloth diapers. And please remember, that with all the laundry resources that hospitals have, they all use disposable diapers in their nurseries and pediatric wards. There must be a reason.
burtonguy
Hospitals are not known to use cost-saving measures that an average family struggling to survive should use.
I assume the mother can find a way to wash her clothes without a bride card, so why would cloth diapers be any different? This cook-at-home-hamburger guy does not want to provide a restaurant steak dinner for someone who can't even take care of themselves. I would provide the meat and the frying pan, and I would be happy to provide a cost-effective supply of cloth diapers to a struggling mom. Poor decision-making is just being compounded by enabling irresponsible behavior: Finish school, get a job, get married, have kids, stay married.
Watchin'myBirdie
If your living off of a Bridge card, you shouldn't be breeding more children to begin with. "If you can't feed them don't breed them.". Try putting a condom on or a diaphragm in and you won't have to worry about how the taxpayers are going to buy your diapers in 9 months. |
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Sat Feb 16, 2013 4:21 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Diapers prove to be hot commodity as supplies leave Food Bank of Eastern Michigan warehouse
By Chris Aldridge | caldridg@mlive.com
on February 17, 2013 at 10:00 AM, updated February 17, 2013 at 10:01 AM
FLINT, MI – About a quarter of the 265,000 diapers that arrived at Food Bank of Eastern Michigan Tuesday, Feb. 12, has been placed on order to ship out to food pantries within Genesee County.
The requests piled in Wednesday, Feb. 13 -- just one day after the shipment had been delivered.
“The diapers are a magnificent hit,” said William Kerr, president of Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.
Kerr said of the 1,200 cases of diapers – each case contains about 9 bundles of 25 diapers each -- more than 300 were put on order to ship out Wednesday, Feb. 13.
“It sure shows how many diapers are needed,” Kerr said.
The diapers are distributed via the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan free of charge to nearly 200 food pantries and agencies. The project started when Flint businessman Phil Shaltz and Angie Hendershot of ABC12 News partnered to form The Flint Diaper Bank, a 501c3 nonprofit aimed at tackling the high demand for diapers for low-income families in Genesee County.
Many pantries will begin handing out the diapers by Monday, Feb. 18. A limit of six cases per order has been set by the Food Bank and pantries can make additional orders every two weeks.
“We’re trying to make sure we can share diapers with as many Genesee County agencies as we can,” Kerr said.
Shaltz – president of Shaltz Automation and co-founder of Uptown Developments, a group focused on the redevelopment of downtown Flint – said the need will outstrip the availability for diapers they have.
“I know we’re going to get a second truckload this year, but I don’t know when that will be,” Shaltz said.
A truckload of 265,000 diapers costs $40,000. Shaltz has asked for help in raising funds from organizations and agencies as well as individuals in the community. The response, he said, has been positive.
“We’re pretty pleased and amazed by how the community is supporting us -- it displays that there’s definitely a need out there.”
Shaltz said the two hardest elements in providing the diapers is keeping up with the everlasting need and raising funds to acquire them. He has already started raising money for the next shipment, and says reaching the goal of $150,000 to support one million diapers is going to be difficult.
Mary Tibbs of Christian Love Faith Center ordered six cases of diapers – one in each size – to give to individuals. Tibbs expects to hand them out after Monday, Feb. 18, and thinks they will go quickly.
“This is a resource where they can take that diaper money and put it somewhere else,” Tibbs said. “It’s a big help for families.”
Craig Leavitt of Downtown Outreach Ministries is very excited about the program and says the ministry intermittingly hands out diapers to those in need, though oftentimes there is not enough to go around.
“When you are the provider and (mothers) arrive at your door with a sense of hope to get food or clean clothing and you have to turn them away and see the disappointment on their faces, that’s pretty tough to take,” Leavitt said.
After more data is collected from the project, Shaltz plans to look further into changing legislation to allow families to use Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT bridge card) and Women, Infants and Children (WIC card) to purchase diapers. Currently, diapers cannot be purchased using funds from a bridge card or through WIC.
Still Politically Correct™
“It sure shows how many diapers are needed,” Kerr said. No all this shows is the welfare mentality is alive and well. Its the old gibs me my free stuff at work here. If you put up a sign that said "Free dog Crap" I'd bet they'd be lined up to get theirs.......
Wheaty60
Would they line up if they were cloth diapers?
Some would argue that those in need have no access to washing machines - however, there is a phrase we need to bring back into societies use: Beggars can't be choosers. Before the advent of disposable diapers, cloth diapers were washed - sometimes in a tub or sink - and hung indoors to dry. It's done that way in many countries. Environmentalists will lecture you on the negative impact all of those disposables are having on our landfills. (BTW, it does seem odd that the environmentalists are so very quiet on this issue of late.)
Disposable diapers are nice, granted. But not a necessity. Give them cloth.
jackpole
No, it shows what really is needed is for the women to keep their legs together and for the boys to keep their pants zipped up. Buncha wild animals running around producing offspring with no clue how provide for or raise them properly in society. Perhaps we need to return to orphanages and remove these poor babies from the "parents". |
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Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:29 am |
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