(269) 345-5595 Ext. 305 cradlekalamazoo@ywcakalamazoo.org

Resources

Pregnant or have young children?
Live in Kalamazoo County?
Seeking resources for your family?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, we can connect you to resources that meet your needs!

To get started, fill out our Resource First Intake Form. Cradle’s Community Health Worker will contact you and assist with connecting you to resources.

Questions? Please contact us at (269) 366-6201 or mdemoss@ywcakalamazoo.org.

Breastfeeding/Lactation Specialists

Bronson Breast Feeding Center

At Bronson they know that breastfeeding can have its ups and downs, especially in the beginning. That is why the Bronson BirthPlace in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek provides support through their Breastfeeding Centers. These services are available to everyone in the community as well as for those who deliver at Bronson. For more information about services and contact information, follow this link or call 269-341-8849.

Borgess Hospital/Ascension

Services are offered to those who have delivered at Borgess. 

Seeds for Success

A home based program that offers FREE breastfeeding and lactation support to anyone in Kalamazoo County. For more information: call 269-373-5042, or visit them online.

Twenty Hands

This Maternal Infant Health Program has Board Certified Lactation Consultants who offer breast feeding support and guidance during pregnancy and postpartum. Learn more about eligibility requirements and how to enroll by going to their Facebook Page, or calling 269-459-8091.

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

WIC is offered through the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services as well as the Family Health Center. Both locations have Board Certified Lactation Consultants available for those who qualify for their programming. For more information about WIC at the Family Health Center, visit their website or call 269-488-3732. For more information about WIC at Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, visit their website or call 269-373-5002.

Cultural Competency

Cultural Competency Classes

Eliminating Racism & Claiming/Celebrating Equity (ERACCE) Trainings

ERACCE is dedicated to organizing and facilitating antiracism workshops, providing mentoring, and transferring knowledge to individuals and institutions interested in resisting and dismantling structural racism and other forms of oppression. ERACCE creates conditions in which individuals understand, integrate, and act upon antiracist history, language, analysis, and practice, and engage in processes of transformative work within their institution(s). To find and register for an ERACCE Training, follow this link. 

YWCA Kalamazoo

Using powerful videos, open and honest dialogue, and interactive learning experiences, YWCA Racial Equity workshops work to create awareness, build personal and collective responsibility, and provide skills to challenge systemic racism in our daily lives and throughout our community. YWCA recognizes that individually we are all on a journey of continuous learning, especially when it comes to understanding racism and how it manifests in our lives. Racial Equity workshops not only support individuals seeking knowledge and awareness, but guides them toward implementing antiracist practices and policies in their place of work, play, or worship.

For more information on YWCA Racial Equity workshops, follow this link.

Cultural Competency Assessment Tools

Project Implicit

Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition – thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. The goal of the organization is to educate the public about hidden biases and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet. To take the Implicit Bias test by following this link.

Tools for Assessing Cultural Competency

There are numerous assessment tools available for evaluating cultural competence in clinical, training, and organizational settings. This appendix examines three resource areas: counselor self-assessment tools, guidelines and assessment tools to implement and evaluate culturally responsive services within treatment programs and organizations, and forms addressing client satisfaction with and feedback about culturally responsive services. Follow this link to view the list.

Cultural Competency and Health Equity Articles/Videos

Miriam Zoila Pérez: “How Racism Harms Pregnant Women – and What Can Help” Racism is making people sick — especially black women and babies, says Miriam Zoila Pérez. The doula turned journalist explores the relationship between race, class and illness and tells us about a radically compassionate prenatal care program that can buffer pregnant women from the stress that people of color face every day.

Health Equity – In this video, learn more about the state in which everyone, regardless of their race, class, or gender has the opportunity to be healthy without unfair obstacles in their way.

Doula Services and Training

Rootead

Rootead is a 501(c)3 organization in Kalamazoo, MI. Their mission is: Birthing Justice & Body Awareness. They offer doula services for birth and postpartum. To set up a consultation with a Doula, please complete their Doula Inquiry form on the redbirthgreen.com website or call 269-720-9200.

Emergency Services

Public Safety

  • All Police Departments in the Kalamazoo, MI Area: Dial 911

Hospitals

  • Borgess Emergency and Trauma Center: (269) 226-7000
  • Bronson Trauma and Emergency Care: (269) 341-7654

Crisis & Suicide Intervention/Prevention

  • Gryphon Place 24-hour Crisis Line: 269-381-HELP (4357)

Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Survivor Assistance

  • YWCA Kalamazoo 24-hour Crisis Line: (269) 385-3587

Public Records for Criminal and Court Records

Need something not listed here?

Call 211 for answers and information.

Family Support Programs

Call 269-888-KIDS (5437) for support finding the right program for you! Someone will help answer your questions and enroll you in one of the following programs.

Healthy Babies Healthy Start

A family support program for pregnant women and their families. Our goal is to provide you with one-on-one support during your pregnancy.

Services are offered to families that live within the 49007, 49006, 49008, 49001, 49004, 49009, 49024, 49002, and 49048 zip codes. By working together, we can help you have a healthy pregnancy and give you continued support until your child turns two!

For more information: call 269-373-5279 or visit us online. Hay servicios en español.

Healthy Families America

A support program for families, pregnant women, and infants to age 3. All expectant parents and parents of newborns in Kalamazoo County are eligible to participate in the Healthy Families America assessment. Families will receive parent education as well as support in helping to overcome stress and trauma.

For more information: call 269-373-5042, email dmpric@kalcounty.com, or visit us online.

KRESA Early On

A support program for families, with a developmentally delayed child to age 3.

Kresa Early On is a network of services for families who have a child, birth to three years of age, with an identified condition, a developmental delay, or are at risk of a developmental delay. At age three, the Early On staff person will assist the family in transitioning to the community services that will meet their needs.

For more information: call 269-250-9649 or visit us online.

Nurse Family Partnership

A support program for WIC or Medicaid eligible pregnant women having their first baby. Nurse-Family Partnership Is a FREE program for women having their first baby.

Any woman is eligible who is: Pregnant with her first child, WIC or Medicaid eligible, and lives in Kalamazoo County.

For more information: call 269-373-5067 or visit us online.

Seeds for Success

A home based visiting program for pregnant women and families in Kalamazoo County with children to age 3. The Seeds for Success program focus is on parent child interaction, developmental centered parenting, and family wellbeing.

Eligibility Requirements

  1. Reside in Kalamazoo County
  2. Pregnant Women or families with children between 0-3 (please contact us for  availability  if you have children 3-5). 

For more information: call 269-373-5042, or visit us online.

Twenty Hands

A Maternal Infant Health Program that provides support to low income pregnant women and infants up to age one with Medicaid benefits.  Twenty Hands is a home visitation program of registered nurses, social workers, and a lactation consultant. Our goal is building relationships and healthy birth outcomes.  We support women through education and providing referrals to resources in the county.

For more information: call 269-459-8091 or visit us online.

Women and Infant Supportive Health

YWCA Kalamazoo Women and Infant Supportive Help (WISH) program equips families in Kalamazoo County with skills and resources necessary for healthy pregnancies and raising healthy babies. YWCA WISH is a home visitation program that offers a high-quality, culturally relevant, and evidence-informed curriculum. YWCA WISH works with families to meet their goals at being the best parents they can be!

For more information or to enroll, call 269-345-5595 ext. 313.

Postpartum Resources

What to Expect at Your Postpartum Visit

Urgent Maternal Warning Signs

Pregnancy and Birth Control

Safe Sleep

Safe Sleep Classes

Safe Sleep Resources

Safe Sleep Tips

  • Safe Sleep ABCs: babies should sleep Alone, on their Backs, and in a Crib.
  • Always put your baby to sleep on his back on a flat, firm surface, like a crib mattress covered with a tightly fitted sheet.
  • Use only the mattress made for your baby’s crib.
  • The mattress should fit snugly in the crib so there are no spaces between the mattress and the crib frame.
  • The mattress shape should stay firm even when covered with a tightly fitted sheet or mattress cover.
  • Keep cribs empty of bumpers, pads, toys, and blankets.

Safe Sleep Image Gallery

Click the thumbnails to view larger version.

Supplies

St. Luke’s Diaper Bank

St. Luke’s Diaper Bank was created to eliminate diaper need in Kalamazoo, where more than 1 in 3 families struggle to provide diapers for their children. For more information, visit their website or email info@stlukesdiaperbank.org.

Support Groups

Baby/Infant Health

  • Text4Baby: There are a lot of things to remember when you’re pregnant or a new mom. Text4baby makes it easy to get important information, and it’s free. Women who text BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411 receive free text messages three times per week, timed to their due date or their baby’s birth date, through pregnancy and up until the baby’s first birthday. Text4baby sends personalized messages directly to you, and the texts have information you can trust because they are developed by experts from all over the country. There is also an app that provides additional information about baby’s development, pregnancy, childcare tips, and more. Sign-up for text messages here. 

Bereavement Groups

Fatherhood Groups

  • Baby Bump Peer Support Group: This peer support group is for all families in Kalamazoo County. This group offers fun, hands-on activities, education on pre and postnatal topics, engages parents and caretakers with relevant subjects, and offers one-on-one support to those who attend! The group uses knowledgeable specialists from all over to demonstrate various skills and educational themes that will assist parents in how to teach, bond, and interact with their children. There will be child care provided for all youngsters when play groups are not scheduled, so please feel free to bring your children. For additional information, please call (269) 345-5595 or email wish@ywcakalamazoo.org.
  • Healthy Babies Healthy Start – 4Dad Fatherhood Initiative: 4Dad Fatherhood Program offers home visiting services aimed at strengthening families by engaging fathers and providing education on how fathers uniquely contribute to the development of their children throughout pregnancy and the child-rearing process.For more information or to enroll in the program, call 269-373-5279.

Motherhood Groups

  • Baby Bump Peer Support Group: This peer support group is for all families in Kalamazoo County. This group offers fun, hands-on activities, education on pre and postnatal topics, engages parents and caretakers with relevant subjects, and offers one-on-one support to those who attend! The group uses knowledgeable specialists from all over to demonstrate various skills and educational themes that will assist parents in how to teach, bond, and interact with their children. There will be child care provided for all youngsters when play groups are not scheduled, so please feel free to bring your children. For additional information, please call (269) 345-5595 or email wish@ywcakalamazoo.org.
  • Perinatal Emotional Support Group: Kalamazoo’s Perinatal Mood Disorders Coalition offers a support group for pregnant or post-partum women that are experiencing unexpected and challenging mood changes and emotions during this time. A healthcare professional trained in perinatal support will facilitate the meetings in a safe, caring and non-judgmental environment. No registration is necessary and support persons/babies are welcome to attend with you. For more information, review their flyer. 

Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Support Groups

  • YWCA Kalamazoo : YWCA Kalamazoo is dedicated to promoting healing of survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Victim Services provides free, one-on-one counseling and victim advocacy to sexual assault, domestic violence, and human trafficking survivors. Additionally, they offer a variety of free support groups for survivors of both domestic violence and sexual assault. These are held in English and Spanish. All groups meet at the YWCA of Kalamazoo, 353 East Michigan Avenue (unless otherwise noted). Childcare is available for ALL meetings.  Contact a YWCA Advocate/Counselor to arrange for childcare. Please contact their office at 269-385-3587 or visit their website for more information.