Safe Sleep Community Outreach Program Success

In May 2022 First Candle launched the Let’s Talk Community Chat program, with Harlem as the first site, in partnership with the Hope Center Harlem and with the support of the Ryan Wolfe Kossar Foundation.

Let’s Chat is an extension of our educational programming, offering families in the community the chance to discuss and learn about infant safe sleep and breastfeeding at monthly meetings in convenient local settings. Joining them are doulas, lactation consultants, and those from the community who have gone through our Straight Talk for Infant Safe Sleep program and become trained facilitators.

Since its inception the program has reached nearly 100 parents directly and expanded indirect outreach, as attending families supported sharing what they’d learned with other family members and friends.

The conversations themselves have covered a range of issues and discoveries, such as coping with housing limitations, job schedules, access to local resources, as well as realizations about infant sleep risks and how they can try and minimize them.

Let’s Talk participants have also helped us in return, giving us suggestions on tools that could be useful in conveying information infant safe sleep and breastfeeding.

We’re pleased to report the progress this pilot program has been making, as we take what we’re learning and apply it as the Let’s Talk Community Chat initiative expands into other communities.

If you or your organization would like to sponsor Let’s Talk Community Chats in other areas around the country, please contact me directly at alison@firstcandle.org