Dr. Mona Hanna, the Flint pediatrician who sounded the alarm about the city's water crisis, is also the co-director of Rx Kids. This program provides crucial financial support to expectant moms and infants in Flint. In January, Rx Kids launched in this city where 59% of those under 18 live below poverty, and it marked a decade since a water supply switch exposed many to lead-contaminated drinking water.

Flint's Rx Kids - A Beacon of Hope in the Face of Poverty and Crisis

Why Rx Kids Was Started

Poverty is the root cause of many health issues among children. During pregnancy and infancy, families face significant financial burdens with expenses like car seats, strollers, and diapers. In the US, there are no paid leave policies, and child care is expensive. Rx Kids aims to address this critical period when families are poorest and most in need.During her work as a pediatrician in Flint, Dr. Hanna witnessed various issues rooted in poverty. Kids came in with failure to thrive due to inadequate diet and obesity because of limited access to healthy food. Missed appointments were common due to lack of reliable transportation. These experiences pushed her to start Rx Kids.

The Impact of the Water Crisis

The Flint water crisis was fundamentally about poverty. As a poor and near-bankrupt city taken over by state managers, it faced lost democracy, water storage problems, and denial of science. Recognizing the crisis led to a focus on recovery. In Flint, amazing efforts have been made, such as providing high-quality child care, expanding Medicaid and nutrition programs, and offering trauma-informed services. However, poverty remains a gap in their efforts. The water crisis has inspired a change in thinking, encouraging the community to reimagine and act to improve the situation.

Program Progress and Future

Rx Kids has so far distributed about $4.7 million to over 1,200 families in Flint. With a goal to eliminate maternal infant poverty, it has shown great success. The program received $20 million in state budget allocation to expand beyond Flint to other Michigan communities like Kalamazoo. It relies on a combination of public and philanthropic dollars from funders like the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and others.For the next year, the focus is on continued expansion to other low-income Michigan communities. They are deeply involved in the evaluation process to ensure data is collected and shared quickly to inform policy and make a lasting impact on children and families.This story is part of a series for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism's 2024 Data Fellowship. Contact Nushrat Rahman at nrahman@freepress.com or follow her on X: @NushratR.