Building Bridges is Fighting Against Infant Mortality by Connecting Resources
What do you need in order to be successful? That’s the question every mother is asked before they receive help from Building Bridges PNCC & CCC Agency. Every mother’s answer is different. One mother might need stable income while the other needs a fresh box of diapers, and Building Bridges is right there to help connect those resources.
Building Bridges has been around for a year with the sole purpose of attacking the high numbers of infant mortality rates in Milwaukee by connecting and providing resources to mothers, and families, to make sure their baby, or babies, not only survive, but thrive.
Building Bridges is a Medicaid/Badger Care Program so most mothers can receive the services for free through their insurance.
Some of the services Building Bridges provides. (Picture by Building Bridges)
As a parental care coordination agency, Building Bridges provides access to low cost or free baby supplies, doula/labor support, employment training, daycare referrals and more. According to Building Bridges Program Director LaKeesha Brown, if they can’t find the resources the mother needs then Google is their best friend. But Building Bridges first starts looking at the network they already have and asking around, until they find what they need. Plus, they receive a lot of donations.
“We go out and find those resources,” Brown said.
As of right now, Building Bridges has 20 clients with the average age ranging from 18-21 years old. Mothers are allowed to stay in the program until their child is seven years old and have the option to reenter into the program with a newborn child one year or under. Brown would rather have a mother reenter into the program over and over again than to see that mother somewhere struggling or, even worse, lose her baby because of a lack of resources and support.
“It’s a non-judgement zone,” Brown said about Building Bridges. “It’s really about supporting the families.”
Although there are other parental care coordination agencies in the city, Brown said Building Bridges is one of the few agencies who makes it their duty to stay engaged in the mother’s life.
“A lot of them are shocked when we reach back out,” she said.
Along with their other services, Building Bridges dives a little deeper. Mothers can be taught how to budget, how to cook healthy meals and even how to baby proof their homes.
“We definitely have a lot of contact with our clients. We try to stay as engaged as possible,” said Brown.
“I want them to feel stable. [So,] that if we step back, they’ll be okay. We don’t want to enable them. The goal is to teach,” she added.
Building Bridges also host monthly family nights and workshops for the parents. Last month’s workshop theme was “stop stressing”. And, three times out the year, Building Bridges host a community resource and baby shower event, which brings in a lot of new clients.
This a voluntary program, so Building Bridges can only help a mother as much as she wants to be helped.
“Call us first. There’s more than enough help here,” said Brown.
To set up your first meeting with Building Bridges, call 414-215-9984.