Project Safe Sleep

Project Safe Sleep is Mother To Mother’s program that supplies cribs, mattresses, and crib bedding to Davidson County infants in need. The program operates under the philosophy that every baby deserves a safe place to sleep. Families served by this program are some of the most vulnerable in Davidson County; all are low-income and living in either subsidized housing or shared housing with relatives. These families do not have the space in their home for a full size crib and Project Safe Sleep responds to this need by providing portable or small cribs (along with bedding and blankets) free of charge. The service is easily accessed through the nurseries at Metro General Hospital and Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where Mother To Mother maintains a regular stock of items to be donated to families in need. When a hospital social worker identifies a family in need, they contact Mother To Mother who in turn provides the items to the family upon discharge from the hospital. In FY 2008-09, 151 cribs were distrbuted to individual families and it is our goal to expand this number to 300 during FY 2009-10. This program has been in operation since the inception of Mother To Mother in 2004 and will continue to operate under the solid relationships built with the local hospitals serving high numbers of low-income families.

According to The TN Division of Maternal and Child Health, 81% of sleep-related deaths for infants during 2007 were related to the infant not sleeping in a crib or bassinet. By providing a safe sleep environment, Mother To Mother hopes to decrease the amount of such tragic and preventable infant deaths. Part of Mother To Mother's mission is to expose this group of our society to the joy in helping others. Thus, the recipients are asked to donate their crib back to Mother To Mother so that we can pass it on to another needy family. Through Project Safe Sleep, Mother To Mother will continue to help lower TN's infant mortality figures.