Rx Kids started in Flint, where it provided funds to pregnant people and new mothers. Now it plans to bring that same program to Kalamazoo.
The announcement came Tuesday, during an event held in front of City Hall in Downtown Kalamazoo.
The public-private partnership will give $1,500 to moms-to-be during pregnancy, and $500 each month of the child’s first year.
Local community leaders and officials attended the event, including Kalamazoo Mayor David Anderson.
"The City Commission prioritized this partnership with our Rx Kids as a critical component in our efforts to provide abundant opportunities for people to achieve shared prosperity and to help young people thrive," Anderson said.
Democratic State Representative Christine Morse of Texas Township also took to the stage during the event.
“We hope, over time, to realize better outcomes in maternal infant health as a result," Morse said, referring to Rx Kids. "The bottom line is, in Kalamazoo, birthing people and children will know that they have the support of their community as they bring a child into the world."
Rx Kids expects to begin serving Kalamazoo families in January.
Alyssa Stewart is with the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. She said the program will help hundreds of families in its first year alone.
“It's incredible to think about the 840 babies born to residents of the city of Kalamazoo who will get to experience this love," Stewart said, referring to the number of infants expected to be born in Kalamazoo in the program's first year.
Disclosure: The Kalamazoo Community Foundation is an underwriter on WMUK.
Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program.
