Park Forest's Department of Recreation, Parks, and Community Health (RPCH) is partnering with Gifts from Liam to be a distribution site - giving diapers to families who are in need. 

Residents in Park Forest can request what size diapers they need and request a pick-up time. Assistant Director of RPCH Margret Lewis said the goal is to launch the program by the end of this week. 

"The Village is doing whatever it can to help families who may be in a crunch and need diapers," Lewis said. "While we can't supply them with diapers forever if we can help someone between pay periods or has fallen on hard times, that's what we're trying to accomplish."

Lewis said she and the founder of Gifts from Liam, Anna Calix, recently discussed how the Village could play a vital role in assisting families. 

"Anna and I talked and decided that Village Hall will be the perfect place where people can get their needs met," Lewis said. "It is important to know that we also need people to donate to Gifts from Liam so Park Forest can help those families who need it the most."

Gifts from Liam is a nonprofit based in Park Forest that provides education, services, and resources to at-risk pregnant and parenting individuals to save babies.

People can donate by clicking here on Gifts from Liam's website.

Calix started Gifts from Liam in 2017 in honor of her first son, Liam Angel, who died and was stillborn on his due date. Calix has made it her mission to educate and be a resource for families in the south suburbs and the south and west sides of Chicago with the goal of saving babies. 

"About a year ago, studies showed that one out of three families couldn't provide enough diapers for their babies," Calix said. "Now, that number is up to nearly 50% nationally. So this partnership with the Village of Park Forest will provide families with some much-needed help, and my goal is to continue tackling this problem and raising awareness as much as possible as ensuring families have basic needs met equips them to have healthier and happier pregnancies and parenting journeys with better outcomes ."