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MIDVALE -- A local non-profit organization is having a hard time keeping up with demand.
The Family Support Center helps those in need by providing short-term care to children whose parents may be at the end of their rope, or perhaps just struggling to get by.
As the economy goes down, there is more stress and more need for us.
–Miriah Griffith, The Family Support Center
The support center's crisis nurseries are places where parents can drop of their kids for up to 72 hours. The nurseries provide food and a safe place for kids to go, but lately it hasn't had enough baby formula for the little ones.
Like many parents, Alfonso Damian struggles to balance work and take care of his three young kids. The single dad works full time and sometimes needs a little help with his 1-year-old, 2-year-old and 3-year-old.
"I've been through a difficult time with the kids, and this is the only place that has been helping me so far," Damian said.
The crisis nursery in Midvale is a helping hand. For Damian, it means he's able to work while the nursery watches his children.
"It's been great. They are actually here when I need it," Damian said.
The crisis nursery has helped him out with diapers and baby formula, so the recent shortage has been hard.
"As the economy goes down, there is more stress and more need for us," said Miriah Griffith, development director at The Family Support Center.
Griffith says a homeless family recently came in asking for help.
"They were living in their van," she said. "They had a baby and two small kids with them."
The support center called one of its three crisis nurseries to help get food and clean clothes for the kids and formula for the baby.
"The mother indicated the baby had been drinking just water out of the bottle to soothe her crying," Griffith said.
"I got the call and went and looked," said crisis nursery director Susan Mcgray. "[I] called everybody and had absolutely no baby formula that we could redistribute out the community."
Mcgray says her team just doesn't have enough formula and the nurseries have been busier than usual.
"We've had several days where we just don't have room for children," she said.
Mcgray says the support center relies heavily on donations and could always use help from the community.
"Formula, diapers, diaper wipes, clothing, toys -- all of that comes from our community," she said.
Through other resources, The Family Support Center was able to help out the homeless family and get them food, housing and baby formula.
"To see a baby drinking water is unacceptable. We see it all the time. It's hard, it's hard to see it," Griffith said.
CLICK HERE for information on how you can help The Family Support Center.
E-mail: aforester@ksl.com
