Infant Crisis Services Building Gets Facelift

OKLAHOMA CITY -- There's always been an outpouring of love for babies in urgent need at Infant Crisis Services. But the size of the charity's building was holding the organization back.

Fortunately, that problem has been solved. A new building is allowing for many more children to get the help they deserve.

The staff members don't judge families coming in, they just help. The charity believes every child is entitled, no matter what the family is going through.

Karla Cobos is the mother of 2-month-old Oswalt. He is a baby boy who was in danger of not having food, formula and diapers this week.

"I'm on maternity leave, so, I don't have any income right now," Cobos said. "So, this is really an emergency situation."

But at Infant Crisis Services, Oswalt's mom is getting help with the necessities she needs for her newborn boy, and a bit more.

"We hope the families leave here with a good feeling that they haven't felt like they were judged, that they were treated with compassion and kindness," Infant Crisis Services Director of Operations Jo Lynne Jones said.

Each week, the organization hands out more than 7,200 diapers to Oklahoma's babies. Thanks to the Donald W. Reynold's Foundation, which paid for the new facility, they'll be able to stock up on, and hand out thousands more.

"We were hemmed in by size at our old building," Jones said. "We had pretty much capped out at 40 or 50 babies a day. We suspect in this building that we will double that."

With the new building in place, Infant Crisis Services will be able to concentrate the charity's efforts and any other donated money on the true necessities in a new life.

True necessities that are hard to come by for so many families in Oklahoma, where child poverty is prevalent.

Necessities that Oswalt's mother is thankful for.

"It's really fabulous that they're here," Cobos said. "They're really helping me, and Oswalt."

The charity is hoping to serve 1,000 more babies this year.

Infant Crisis Services is located north of the state Capitol, on Lincoln Boulevard.