Families are facing unique challenges in 2022. A global pandemic changed hospital births. Breastfeeding is hard to do, and formula is hard to find. Postpartum depression can be detrimental.

In order to address all of the above, one local nonprofit organization is connecting expectant and new parents in the Commonwealth to birth workers who care. For over 30 years, Healthy Start Pittsburgh has supported healthier pregnancies, safer births, and stronger families.Their goal is to end infant mortality, especially for Black families.

Infant health disparities are striking. In 2019, Black babies in Allegheny County died before the age of 1 at a rate over five times higher than white babies. But there’s hope. Families who receive Healthy Start services show far better outcomes than the general population of Black women and babies in Allegheny County.

There’s still more work to be done to change the trajectory of our region, and Healthy Start is leading that charge. Living out their mission looks like free perinatal care, community-based education, and one-on-one support to new parents in their homes. The organization envisions a society where everyone has the opportunity for optimum health and wellbeing, despite race, economic status, or zip code.

One of their focuses in 2022 is safe infant feeding during the formula shortage. What’s best for one family may be different from what’s best for another family. Whether a mother decides breastfeeding, formula feeding, or supplementing is best for her and her baby, HealthyStart is here to help people like Lovie.

Lovie Jewell Jackson Foster—mother, wife, yoga teacher, and social butterfly—chose a combination of breastfeeding, infant formula, and human donor milk to nourish her three children. In 2014, Lovie gave birth to twins, Magnus and Justus. Her breastmilk supply alone wasn’t enough for her growing boys, so supplementing with formula worked for Lovie and her family. Eight years later, as she awaited the adoption of her third child, Lovie took steps to relactate and found a human donor milk resource. Her adopted daughter, Angel, was born in 2021 and has been breastfed by Lovie and supplemented with human donor milk and formula ever since.

As a Black woman, Lovie’s choice to breastfeed was not the norm. Even though breastfeeding is recommended, a 2018 report from the Allegheny County Health Department demonstrated that mothers who identified as Black consistently had the smallest percentage of intention to breastfeed. Healthy Start’s Center for Urban Breastfeeding offers free, on-demand lactation support to Black mothers in Allegheny County. Last year, they conducted 67 lactation visits.

In addition to the infant formula shortage, Healthy Start is working to support physical and mental health. Their Doula Program supports pregnant moms every step of the way, including labor. They also offer in-home therapy to new moms experiencing postpartum depression. This holiday season, Healthy Start asks that you give a gift to connect more families with birth workers who care. bit.ly/ConnectFamiliesWithBirthWorkers

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEALTHY START

Landforce provides transitional environmental job opportunities for people who have been excluded from employment because of criminal backgrounds, mental health or substance use disease, or other life experiences. Restoring urban ecosystems provides the opportunity to help a formerly neglected space become a much-loved natural oasis. It also enables Landforce crew members to get paid for their labor, practice their skills training, and work with a career coach while at Landforce before moving onto other employment.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sojourner House found much to celebrate, including its 30th anniversary. The non-profit defined these years around resilience and endurance rather than a disruptive virus. The Pittsburgh drug and alcohol recovery agency may have had to adjust how it worked, but Sojourner House’s faith-based mission of supporting diverse women in recovery and their families endures. More than 120 families reside in Sojourner House apartments in several Pittsburgh locations—from the fourteen-unit Sojourner House Treatment Center founded in 1991 to the Sojourner House MOMS supportive permanent housing program for more than 70 parents and their children.

Executive Director De’netta Benjamin-Miller says, “One common thread among our programs is recovery from substance abuse disorders. The other connection is that parents can have their children with them during their stay. This is an important distinction in our approach to recovery.

”Consistency in group sessions, counseling, and healing activities provide tools for client success. Community volunteers provide a wide array of support, from leading bingo to planting flowers. For Mother’s Day, moms may be treated to a self-care and beauty event, while kids can “shop” onsite for lovely gifts donated by local retailers. Workshops in professional development support job search and networking skills. Clients explore expression in a long-running creative writing program that includes the presentation of work in tearoom readings. Sojourner House events like the Yoga in the Street workshop for Recovery Month had moms and kids stretching together. One evening clients might be selecting new outfits at Treasure House, while Beverly’s Birthdays may provide a baby shower for clients on another day.

Daughters and sons attend school, as well as after school programs, led by partner Homeless Children’s Education Fund. Younger children participate in activities with a child are specialist. However, the need for fresh air and safe outdoor gathering spaces led to new opportunities for Sojourner House. Following a two-year campaign born of Covid safety realities, Sojourner House has completed enhancements on its double lot known as MOMS Green. Rotary volunteers and staff spruced up existing features,and added a learning shedas well as anew open-air pavilion. The facilities and outdoor spaces will be used by Green Educators and staff as they provide essential support for clients, their children, and other family members.

“A sensory garden planned for spring 2023 will symbolize what the mothers at Sojourner House experience alongside their children,” says Benjamin-Miller, “that hope grows from seeds perhaps yet undiscovered.

”Opportunities are open to get involved with Sojourner House’s innovative programs. Volunteers play a part year-round, indoors and outdoors. They may be found leading a bingo game, reading to children, or dropping off their club’s holiday gift donations. Soon the Annual Victorian Tea returns for its 19th year to the elegant Omni William Penn Hotel on Sunday, April 16, 2023, at 2 p.m. For details about any Sojourner House program or events, email info@sjhpa.org or call 412-441-7783 x104.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY SOJOURNER HOUSE

For 125 years, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium has served as home to thousands of amazing animals and has welcomed community members of all ages to learn about our shared world. A proud regional institution rated among the top in the country, it is the Zoo’s honor to care for over 600 species and operate as a resource for conservation, education, and research.

Generations of families have formed fond memories at the Pittsburgh Zoo. From toddlers delighting in tigers to grandparents appreciating gorillas, every visitor has the opportunity to encounter awe-inspiring wildlife. Your family may have met friendly Lewis the giraffe or our loveable red panda, Kovu. You may have heard a lion roar in person, felt a smooth sting ray, or discovered just how big elephants really are. You undoubtedly had a day to remember.

While the Zoo honors the past, it also recognizes the challenges of the present. An increasing number of animals, both in the Zoo’s care and in the wild, are threatened or endangered, frequently from habitat loss and actions of humans. Pollution and climate change has a drastically negative impact on people and animals alike.

New discoveries, practices, and ongoing education gives the Zoo the tools to make a difference for future generations. Beyond the Zoo’s featured residents, it takes action for animals and protects their counterparts and habitats in the wild. The Zoo currently participates in 93 conservation programs on all seven continents. Whether it’s rescuing and rehabilitating stranded sea turtles, caring for a one-year-old elephant at the International Conservation Center in Somerset, PA, or making sustainable choices right here in Pittsburgh, the Zoo is making an impact.

The Zoo cannot affect change alone; it relies on the partnership of donors and visitors like you to maintain, revitalize, and inspire. The Zoo requires support for daily maintenance and animal daily care, ongoing conservation initiatives, and the active participation of learners in its educational efforts. You can support the Zoo multiple ways, such as making a donation, becoming a member, adopting an animal, or participating in programs, classes, and events at the Zoo. Your actions now set up the next 125 years of biodiversity.

Donate to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium here.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE PITTSBURGH ZOO AND PPG AQUARIUM

In 1902, a small group of compassionate Pittsburghers established a specialized home to care for a five-year old boy severely injured in an accident.

From those humble beginnings, The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh has continually grown with the world around us. Just as health care and society has changed, the organization has adapted its services to best address individuals with unique abilities and their loved ones.

From polio care to early intervention, The Children’s Institute has responded to the needs of the community with innovative programs that foster healing, growth, and independence.

As the organization celebrates its 120th anniversary, the team is proud of its growth and the impact it has had on the community. More than 6,000 kids and families rely on The Children’s Institute each year and trust the organization to provide unique services for young people with special needs.

Through it all, The Children’s Institute remains rooted in phenomenal care and innovative practices. While located here in Western Pa. with satellite offices across the region, the organization is known throughout the country and beyond for its comprehensive and compassionate care.

From Emil to Anniyah, from Christopher to Amiyr, The Children’s Institute continually improves the quality of life for amazing kids and families by providing expert resources and care.

The staff serves families through educational services, autism services, outpatient physical and behavioral health services, early intervention, and child and family services. To best meet the needs of families, many services are available both in-person and via telehealth.

As it looks forward to the next 120 years, The Children’s Institute seeks to be the lifelong partner to individuals with a disability and their families. It will continue to reach more individuals with an array of exceptional services and be an influential voice on the subjects of disability, education, family support services, behavioral health, and more.

The Children’s Institute will build on its 120 year legacy, and will continue to provide compassionate, personalized care for every child. Just as it has done since 1902.

For more information about The Children’s Institute, please visit www.amazingkids.org or call 412.420.2400.

You can also help ensure each child receives the care they need, regardless of their family’s ability to pay, by making a gift to the Amazing Kids Fund at www.amazingkids.org/giving.

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE CHILDREN’S INSTITUTE

A member of a nationally recognized movement with a mission to eliminate racism and empower women, YWCA Greater Pittsburgh has been working for equity and change for over 150 years.

The organization understands that racial and economic equity are inseparable from women’s empowerment and that meaningful change requires deliberate action that challenges the status quo and centers the experience of women of color. Women and girls of color face daily discrimination and social injustice. They are more likely to experience gender-based violence, and they face more barriers to quality care. Women of color are often their families’ primary source of income, yet many lack access to childcare, safe housing, and health care.

In response, the YWCA offers accessible childcare, an education continuum from 6 weeks through middle school, emergency basic needs, supportive housing, and its Center for Race and Gender Equity. All of the organization’s programs are designed to empower the individuals that it serves educationally, socially, and economically.

In 2020, the YWCA introduced renewed Strategic Direction in support of The One Imperative: to thrust collective power towards the elimination of racism, wherever it exists, by any means necessary. Through collaborative action with nonprofit partners and the Greater Pittsburgh community, the YMCA will continue to work to reduce disparities and address their impact as long as they persist.

Achieving the YWCA’s mission of eliminating racism and empowering women and creating a Greater Pittsburgh that works for all, not some, will require active and continued participation from each of us. Help Greater Pittsburgh women and families thrive by making a donation today.

ywcapgh.org/donate

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY YWCA

Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s mission is to leverage the power of community to achieve lasting solutions to hunger and its root causes. Ending hunger takes us all working together —food pantries and meals programs, schools, volunteers, donors, grocery stores and regional distribution partners. Eliminating hunger is a community initiative. Last year, the Food Bank distributed enough food for 42 million meals, including more than 10 million pounds of fresh produce, through a network of more than 1,000 agencies, partners and programs across an 11-county service area known as the three rivers region.

Through new and unique collaborations among service providers, including streamlined referrals and co-location opportunities, more people in Southwestern PA can lead healthy, productive lives. Through the Community Connections department at the Food Bank, partnerships are being expanded with social service providers and other community organizations in areas beyond food. These collaborations will enable the Food Bank to serve individuals in a more comprehensive way throughout the three rivers region and work to make sure that folks are not only food secure today, but for years to come.

For more information: Find Food / Donate / Impact

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE GREATER PITTSBURGH FOOD BANK