Halifax mom starts diaper bank to help families in need

A Halifax mom starts a diaper bank to help families facing tough times.

What started with a few leftover diapers in Halifax has quickly grown into a grassroots network helping hundreds of families.

Lydia O’Regan launched the Halifax Diaper Bank earlier this month after moving back to the city and realizing there was no local option for families to donate partially used boxes of diapers.

“In Toronto, there was a massive diaper bank I contributed to all the time,” said O’Regan. “When I moved here, I thought, where do I go? And realized very quickly that there wasn’t one in Halifax.”

The bank collects open boxes and loose diapers, along with wipes, creams and even adult diapers for postpartum parents or those with older children who have special needs. O’Regan stores the donations in her Clayton Park apartment and redistributes them to families who reach out through the group’s Facebook page.

She says in the first three weeks more than 60 families dropped off donations while about 95 deliveries were made to people in need.

“It’s been incredibly heartwarming to see the generosity of this city,” she said. “But it’s also been eye-opening to see how many people are struggling.”

Donations can be left at O’Regan’s apartment or with volunteers across HRM including Dartmouth, Sackville, Fairview, and Fall River. She said she’s already been contacted by people in Cape Breton and Yarmouth about starting similar banks in their regions.

Her short-term goal is to keep every size and brand of diapers on hand. Longer term, she hopes to set up official drop off bins and expand to other parts of the province.

O’Regan stressed the diaper bank is meant to provide emergency help, not a regular supply.

“We’re here to get to payday,” she said. “We’re here to get you through an unexpected expense to lighten that burden for you.”

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