Iowa’s 1^st Five – Healthy Mental Development Initiative builds partnerships between medical providers and public service providers to enhance high quality well-child care. Medical providers make a referral to 1^st Five and a developmental support specialist contacts the family to discuss the family’s concerns. 1^st Five developmental support specialists provide resources and referrals to help meet the needs of the family.

See Facebook page for specifics and flyer when announced: https://www.facebook.com/p/Earlham-Christmas-Share-100064458145535/

Our Child Development Center at Camp Sunnyside provides education in an integrated setting where children with and without disabilities ages six weeks to five years old have the opportunity to learn and grow together in a fun and unique environment.

Achieving Independent Methods (AIM) is a wrap-around program for clients to learn and grow all while utilizing one program. The program offers a full range of direct services, including employment, housing, health services, recreation, daily living skills and socialization. A representative payee can assist with bill payments and money management.

The Easter seals Iowa Assistive Technology Program helps Iowans learn about and access the assistive technology (AT) they need as part of their daily lives to live, learn, work, play, and participate in community life safely and independently.

Camp options for people with and without disabilities where they can learn and grow

Clients Socially Integrated is a community-based day program for adults with disabilities focused on learning transferable skills that lead to independence in the community. This is achieved by spending the day out in the community, learning to navigate the public transportation system, relationship building, problem solving and deciding as a group what activities to do.

The program provides training in skills such as socialization, communication, problem-solving, creative thinking, peer relationships and more. Life Club clients make friends, get out to see different community attractions and choose and lead activities they enjoy. Team members focus on strengths and independence as clients participate in activities

Project SEARCH is an internship program that places young adults with special needs in a real working environment, giving them skills to prepare for the workforce. The goal of the program is community-based employment for clients. Internships take place at Mercy Medical Center.

The Easter seals Iowa Respite program provides temporary care for children and adults with disabilities, allowing parents/caregivers a break while providing the clients with a safe and supported social environment.

Easter Seals Iowa offers agricultural work site and home modification consultations, peer support, services for the family, information and referrals, and medical equipment loan services. Team members are knowledgeable about resources throughout the state that can address the unique needs of rural family members with disabilities, and actively pursue services that will enhance their lives

Supported Community Living (SCL) provides people with disabilities the opportunity to live as independently as possible in the community. Service includes support with safety, housekeeping, finances, communication, employment, socialization, transportation and wellness.

Supported Education is a unique program designed to give participants support and guidance as they develop marketable skills through post-secondary education. Participants are provided with ongoing support throughout the semester with registering for classes, accessing campus resources and communicating with faculty.

Supported Employment assists clients in both obtaining and maintaining community-based employment. A job developer supports clients in determining employment opportunities they are interested in and in finding a job. Job developers also support clients to fill out applications, prepare resumes and perfect interview skills. Once a job is obtained, a job coach assists clients to learn job responsibilities, the culture and values of the work environment, job accommodations and explaining how employment affects their benefits.

Eastside Church of the Nazarene operates a food pantry in conjunction with the Food Bank of Iowa.

In addition to the regular food pantry, they serve as a pantry site for Des Moines Public School (DMPS) through the Food Bank of Iowa. Serving families with students from Philips Elementary School, Willard Elementary School, Hoyt Middle School, Brubaker Elementary School, Stowe Elementary School and Pleasant Hill Elementary School.

Eddie Davis Community Center is located in Valley Junction in West Des Moines. The community center offers services such as a food pantry, meal site, and clothing closet.

Ellipsis community programs are focused on strengthening family life, reestablishing the self-worth of the individual and teaching basic skills for living in the community, all while maximizing opportunities to keep families together. We tailor our program delivery for each child or young adult, employing a variety of techniques and strategies depending on individual needs and situations. Our prevention and diversion programs and our behavioral health support and after care programs are designed to ensure kids can stay in their homes while receiving services ranging from personal and family-based therapy to crisis stabilization, and can take place in the home, remotely or in other community settings.

Community food pantry open to all every 4th Thursday of the month.

The Early Childhood Parent Navigator program provides refugee parents with early childhood development education and support in their native language. The program also works to increase opportunities for family engagement with schools and service providers, increase enrollment and support of refugee children in preschool and kindergarten, and help teachers and school staff better understand refugee parents.

We exist to empower people of all gender and sexual identities in all life stages through the provision of quality reproductive health care that includes abortion services, gynecology services, safer sex promotion, and active education. We promote respectful, client-centered and participatory health care through informed decision making, client rights, advocacy and expansion, and support of pregnancy choices.

We offer non-judgmental, quality health care services. Our goals are inspired by our belief in the larger ideals of feminist philosophy: political, economic, and social equality.

Healthy Beginnings is a home visitation program for pregnant moms and/or postnatal parents and parenting families. The program uses a family-centered model which promotes healthy birth outcomes and family education. This program has received the Iowa Family Support Credential.

6th floor of the Insurance Exchange Building in downtown Des Moines

Eternity church offers a mobile food pantry that travels to other locations in the Des Moines metro throughout the week on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Tuesday’s mobile food pantry is located at the corner of 4th street and Euclid Avenue
Wednesday’s mobile food pantry is located at 2600 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway
Friday’s mobile food pantry is located at 314 East Army Post Road

Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families helps families and individuals improve their financial position and connects them with their work and career goals.

The Center is a partnership between the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines, United Way of Central Iowa and Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). The partnership is providing solutions to three crucial needs identified by local residents: workforce training, employment opportunities and grocery and retail services.​

Innovative grief support services that promote hope and healing to individuals, children, and families. Ranging from dinner club gatherings for young adults, to opportunities to attend local events, Amanda the Panda engages participants in activities that promote socialization and help individuals, children, and families rebuild after the death of a loved one.

Stork’s nest is part of an educational incentive program. Participants can earn points for healthy behaviors suck as keeping medical appointments, WIC participation, breastfeeding, and school attendance. These points may be redeemed at the Storks Nest for needed baby items such as diapers, clothing, strollers, cribs, car seats.

One of Iowa’s oldest and most trusted non-profit organizations has a new name. HCI Care Services & Visiting Nurse Services of Iowa is now called EveryStep.

Our people and programs provide support and education to young moms; assistance to immigrants and refugees; wellness services to communities; in-home care to people who are ill, injured or facing the end of life; and compassionate support to families during times of grief and loss.

Bidwell Pantry operates a Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC) food panty. People seeking assistance can visit one of the DMARC food pantries to receive a three-day supply of food once per month.

Bidwell Pantry has additional daily food items available. Bidwell Pantry also provides clothing, and household items. All services are first come, first served.

• Offers a wide range of services for children and families including behavioral health intervention services, outpatient mental health therapy, and foster care and adoption services.

• Family Connections is a team of nurses, social workers, and early childhood educators who offer resources and programs for pregnant and parenting families in North Iowa. Family Connections provides comprehensive home visits for residents of Cerro Gordo, Hancock, and Worth counties as well as parent education classes available for individuals in all counties.

Family Connections is a program designed to help families improve their overall health and well-being. Families work one-on-one with a family development specialist who helps the family understand the importance of regular health screenings and their role in their child’s physical and mental development. The family development specialist also empowers the family to discover their own goals and dreams for the future. Family Connections utilizes a comprehensive goal-setting system.

• Helps families with children under the age of 2 and pregnant women prepare for a new baby and provide the best care possible after the baby arrives. In home services are available to pregnant women and infants with medical needs.

• Family Foundations is a program available to pregnant women and families with children up to the age of 5 years old. Offers services in Webster, Calhoun, and Pocahontas counties.

• Provides families in Linn County with group education and assists with resources and connections for children. Provides parenting information and 6–8-week family learning groups.

• Family STEPS is an in-home parent education and family support programs that use a family-centered approach.

Healthy Child Care Iowa supports registered nurse child care health consultants (CCHC) throughout Iowa. The child care nurse consultants provide on-site consultations, technical assistance, and training to child care providers.

There is a toll-free talk line available to child care providers and families for health related questions and to be connected to a child care nurse consultant. The Healthy Families hotline number is 1-800-369-2229.

Firefly is a vital part of Western Iowa, offering crucial support services through their family, health, and literacy programs. Our dedication shines bright, empowering families and promoting well-being for all. Firefly ensures that everyone has access to essential services to be school ready, healthy and thriving by age 5.

Iowa’s 1^st Five – Healthy Mental Development Initiative builds partnerships between medical providers and public service providers to enhance high quality well-child care. Medical providers make a referral to 1^st Five and a developmental support specialist contacts the family to discuss the family’s concerns. 1^st Five developmental support specialists provide resources and referrals to help meet the needs of the family.

The Food Bank of Iowa Mobile Pantry Program is designed to provide a flexible food assistance resource in locations that don’t have access to traditional resources. At each mobile pantry distribution, a Food Bank of Iowa truck delivers a customized load of food—produce, meat, bread and non-perishable items are common—to the prearranged mobile pantry site. Local volunteers set up a distribution system that looks much like a farmers market, distributing food to families and individuals in need throughout the scheduled time.

Food Book of Iowa partners with school districts across the state to provide food pantries in area schools. Information about which schools have Food Bank of Iowa pantries is available on the Food Bank of Iowa website.

The Food Bank of Iowa Mobile Pantry Program is designed to provide a flexible food assistance resource in locations that don’t have access to traditional resources. At each mobile pantry distribution, a Food Bank of Iowa truck delivers a customized load of food—produce, meat, bread and non-perishable items are common—to the prearranged mobile pantry site. Local volunteers set up a distribution system that looks much like a farmers market, distributing food to families and individuals in need throughout the scheduled time.

Food Book of Iowa partners with school districts across the state to provide food pantries in area schools. Information about which schools have Food Bank of Iowa pantries is available on the Food Bank of Iowa website.

Collaborates and combine resources and programs to best serve children and families across Iowa.

Combine and collaborate with programs and resources to best serve children and families across Iowa.

The Friendship Center has been in existence since 1982 and has been a fixture in the MLK neighborhood of Des Moines, for more than 20 years. The Friendship Center begun through the ministry of the Baptist Convention of Iowa, the center now exists as a nonprofit organization. The Friendship Center offer several services that meet family and individuals’ physical needs in the community.

The Friendship Center offers a food pantry & clothing closet during their monthly Family Game Nights.  Anyone is welcome to participate. The Friendship Center also offers a supplemental Food program to neighbors in the immediate area.  Baby supplies and personal care items may be available as well. English as a Second Language classes are offered with childcare.

Connects Iowans to the education and training needed to improve careers and skill sets.

Provides free programs that are educational and therapeutic in nature to individuals with Down Syndrome from birth through adulthood, their families, and the community.

Girls on the Run is a transformational physical activity based positive youth development program for girls in third and eighth grade. We teach life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons, and running games.

Girls on the Run is a transformational physical activity based positive youth development program for girls in third and eighth grade. We teach life skills through dynamic, interactive lessons, and running games.

Empowering cis-girls & women, non-binary, and trans youth & adults through self-expression, creative agency, and mentoring in music & arts-based education, collaboration, performance, and production.

Provides free healthcare for everyone

Granger Public Library offers a community refrigerator inside the library. Community refrigerators are open to anyone to take what they need to feed themselves and their family. Members of the local community stock the refrigerators and shelves with perishable and nonperishable items. The availability of items at the refrigerators change daily and throughout the day.

“Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity (GDM Habitat) brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope. GDM Habitat is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every person should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. We are about building with people in need regardless of race or religion. We welcome volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds”

HOPES-HFI is a home visiting program and serves families with young children. The program goals are to promote child health and development, improve family relationships, and encourage positive parenting and family relationships.

HOPES-HFI is a home visiting program and serves families with young children. The program goals are to promote child health and development, improve family relationships, and encourage positive parenting and family relationships.

Database of housing resources throughout the state of Iowa intended for Iowans seeking to maintain or acquire safe and affordable housing.

Home improvement store with new & gently used building materials, hardware & appliances, plus paint.

Home improvement store with new & gently used building materials, hardware & appliances, plus paint.

“Hamilton County Public Health has offered a wide variety of home and community based services since the 1940’s. HCPH provides quality compassionate care to the entire community from pre-birth through death. HCPH staff is made up of Nurses, Direct Care Workers, Social Workers, educators, financial specialists, clerical, volunteers, many with specialized training, to better serve our clients and their families’. HCPH has received National Credentialing of its HOPES program”

Harrison County Home & Public Health Department is a member of the National Diaper Bank Network. The diaper bank is open for Harrison County residents. A variety of diaper sizes are available; however, supply cannot be guaranteed.

“HACAP (Hawkeye Area Community Action Program) is a dynamic nonprofit organization committed to enhancing the lives of families and individuals in our communities. Our mission is to break down the barriers of poverty through a wide range of programs and services tailored to meet the diverse needs of those we serve”

Community Health Partners offers the Healthy Families Program to parent(s) who are expecting a baby or have a newborn infant. Healthy Families is nationally accredited by Healthy Families America. It is a free, voluntary, culturally humble program that focuses on family strengths and healthy parent child interaction and bonding. The goals of the Healthy Families Program are safe and healthy children and families, empowered parents, and school ready children. Priority for service is given to single parents, first-time parents, and teen parents.

Provides public transportation to Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison, Marion, Story, and Warren counties.

“Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA) works in partnership with public and accredited non-public schools to provide educational services, programs and resources for improving the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth in central Iowa. Heartland AEA staff members serve children from birth to age 21, families, educators and communities.”

Henry County Public Health offers programs and services to protect and promote the health of all people in all communities.  We focus on preventing people from getting sick or hurt.

“Founded in 1967, HOME, Inc. is Des Moines’ oldest housing nonprofit dedicated to empowering our neighbors by helping them overcome the barriers to obtaining and maintaining safe, stable, affordable housing. We do this through education, housing counseling, neighborhood revitalization, and affordable housing development”.

Order a free Christmas meal to be delivered to your home. Des Moines Metro residents can call 515-265-4277 or reserve a meal online at hopeiowa.org