Program Overview
West Side United co-founded the West Side Healthy Parents and Babies (WSHPB) Program with Lurie Children’s Hospital. The program launched in June 2023 and is designed for Black and Brown birthing parents and their babies. Enrolled families are assigned a support staff member from pregnancy through the first year postpartum to:
- Ensure access to care, educational resources, and other support services to help navigate the healthcare system
- Aid and model behavior to empower self-advocacy for families and their loved ones
Service include:
- Breastfeeding support
- Pregnancy/Childbirth questions
- Connection to community resources including:
- Support groups
- Housing advocacy
- Home visiting
- Employment services
- Educational support
Click here to read a letter of support from Vice President Kamala Harris.
Program Aims
- To support families living on the West Side of Chicago, from pregnancy to one year postpartum To provide holistic, family-centered approaches to care coordination as universal services
- To empower families through health education and access to care, resulting in more optimal prenatal, birth, postpartum, and infant outcomes
- To help birthing people navigate a challenging health care system by providing FREE family-based prenatal guidance and postpartum support
- To reach EVERY growing family on the West Side of Chicago without regard to income level or insurance status To promote healthier parents, children, families and communities through a generational health initiative that
reinvents health equity for stronger families
West Side Healthy Parents & Babies will work alongside existing medical and social support systems to connect every growing family on the West Side to high-quality health care and strengthen West Side parents, children, families and communities from day one!
To learn more or enroll, visit the WSHBP website.