Rx Kids mom Quianna Jenkins and family.
For Quianna Jenkins, mornings begin with her kids and end with other people’s children. The Kalamazoo mom of three juggles life as a parent with her job as a paraprofessional at Winchell Elementary School, where she works one-on-one with students who need extra support in the classroom.
“I work with kids who need just a little more help, whether it’s learning or behavior or life,” Jenkins said. “And then I go home to my own boys. It’s a full plate, but it’s my purpose.”
That plate got a little easier to manage earlier this year when Jenkins enrolled in Rx Kids Kalamazoo, a groundbreaking maternal and infant cash assistance program that began offering unconditional monthly payments to new mothers across the city in February.
Thanks to Rx Kids, Jenkins now receives $500 a month for her infant son, born in February. That financial support has allowed her to do something she never thought possible.
“I started life insurance policies for all of us,” Jenkins said. “That was huge for me. I never had the money to do that before. I’ve also been able to save. I have an emergency fund now—my little nest egg. I’m working on getting out of debt.”
Jenkins, who moved from Chicago to Kalamazoo nearly five years ago with her children’s father, said she first heard about Rx Kids through Tamika, an advocate from the YWCA of Kalamazoo, a local program partner. She also connected with the program through baby showers hosted by Cradle Kalamazoo, another community collaborator.
“She’s always kept me on point,” Jenkins said of her advocate. “Tamekka told me about Rx Kids and how it could help. I couldn’t believe it at first. Who makes a program like that? No strings, no catches, just support when you need it most.”
Since launching in February, the Kalamazoo Rx Kids program has enrolled more than 280 families, delivering over $535,000 directly to parents. Mothers receive a one-time $1,500 prenatal payment, followed by $500 per month throughout their baby’s first year.
“This is about restoring dignity and providing economic security at a moment when it’s most critical, right after birth,” said Dr. Mona Hanna, director of Rx Kids and associate dean of public health at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. “When a mom like Quianna can afford insurance or save for a rainy day, that’s not just a win for her family, that’s a win for the entire community.”
For Jenkins, the stability that Rx Kids brings allows her to focus on her talents in the classroom.
“My baby is taken care of, and that means I can keep showing up for the kids I work with too,” she said. “They deserve everything, and so do my own.”
She’s quick to emphasize that the program hasn’t replaced work or reduced her drive. It’s simply given her room to breathe.
“I still work. I still hustle. But now I can think ahead. I can plan. I can save,” Jenkins said. “I’m not constantly scrambling.”
Jenkins knows she’s not alone in needing help, and she sees Rx Kids as a model that should be expanded.
“I’m pretty sure if it helped me, it would help other moms as well,” she said.
With strong local partnerships and a growing network of enrolled families, Rx Kids Kalamazoo is already changing the landscape of maternal health and economic equity locally, something Jenkins is quick to point out the community deserves.
“I feel really loved here (in Kalamazoo),” she said. “From my school family to my community supporters to this program, I’m surrounded by people who want to help. And that makes all the difference.”