By TIMOTHY LAROCHE
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — When someone takes a new job, there’s a hidden start-up cost involved before the first day of work can begin
Whether it’s $25 for work khakis or a $60 pair of steel-toed boots, the small cost of work uniforms tend to be barriers for recovering addicts or people who were recently released from an area jail. Baby Steps Family Assistance Program, a Claremont-based nonprofit, is dedicated to breaking down those barriers.
More than six years after Baby Steps founder Robin Whitteman started giving out clothing and car seats to families from the parking lot of Trinity Episcopal Church, her organization has grown into a cornerstone of Claremont’s nonprofit scene.
With the program getting approval from the IRS this year as a tax-deductible nonprofit, Whitteman said she is gearing up to expand the programs services.
“You can always keep doing and doing and doing,” Whitteman said on Wednesday. “That’s my story… We have a niche that is not being duplicated anywhere.”
Clients who walk through Baby Steps’ doors are provided with clothes, toiletries, food and any number of miscellaneous amenities that form the backbone of daily life. Whether it’s giving clients a pair of donated shoes or a bottle of shampoo, Whitteman said that the organization’s mission is to reduce the cost burden of goods not covered under most federally-funded programs.
The demand for such a service, she said, has been overwhelming.
Last year, Baby Steps provided services to 1,270 people from 476 families. Of those, 400 families resided in Claremont, with the remainder coming from neighboring towns and Vermont.
The organization’s records show that it served single clients from Maine and Massachusetts. The program distributed nearly 12,000 articles of clothing last year, with an estimated value of $106,000.
Already though, the organization is on track to exceed last year’s totals. In the first three months of 2018, the organization served 348 families. In March, 40 of those families were new clients.
“Everybody who comes through our doors, nine out of 10 times are in crisis,” Whitteman said. “Things are piling up for them and we’re almost like a connection center.”
With a rapidly growing client-base, Whitteman said she is working to expand the organization’s capacity while staying focused on her initial mission to build up the community.
Even during a comparatively quiet day at Baby Steps, volunteers sorting clothes add a hum of excitement to the air. Between the organization’s eight volunteers, five employees, three New Hampshire Employment Program employees and single Work Experience Program employee, as many as 10 to 13 people are on staff at any given time.
Follow Timothy LaRoche on Facebook at Eagle Times — Timothy LaRoche, or on Twitter at @TimothyLaRoche.
As your daily newspaper, we are committed to providing you with important local news coverage for Sullivan County and the surrounding areas.