Babies on parade: Flint families share resources and stories during citywide celebration

At the center of the celebration, Celeste Lord-Timlin discusses how she and her family were able to set themselves up for success thanks to the Rx Kids Flint program.

Celeste Lord-Timlin of Flint was excited to learn that she was pregnant with her first child in 2023, but she and her husband both knew that they would have an expensive year ahead of them.

“My husband and I have good jobs in community development, but with inflation and the rising cost of food, diapers, and daycare, everything was really difficult,” said Celeste as she spoke to the growing crowd during the second annual Rx Kids baby parade at the Applewood Campus at the Flint Cultural Center. 

The event—inspired by baby parades held during the 20th century as a way to to raise awareness about issues impacting child welfare—welcomed dozens of community members, families, and, of course, babies, as they gathered to share resources, success stories, and celebrate the impact that the Rx Kids program has had on Flint communities.

As Celeste continued telling her story, she told the audience that the nausea she had during her pregnancy further exacerbated the couple’s financial situation.

“I was nauseous all the time, and I was working full-time while also a full-time student in a dual graduate program. There was no way I could do it all, so I had to go part-time for my graduate program, which meant I lost my FAFSA for that semester,” she explained.

If her tuition went unpaid, Celeste would lose her good standing in the graduate program, putting her dreams even further out of reach. 

However, with the help of Rx Kids Flint and the no-strings-attached cash payments they offer to every pregnant person and infant in the city, Celeste was able to pay her tuition, allowing her to attend school part-time for the remainder of her pregnancy and graduate from the University of Michigan-Flint with a master’s degree in June 2024.

After her daughter was born, Celeste said that the financial support her family received from the Flint Rx Kids program allowed her and her husband to adjust to their new lives as first-time parents. 

“[Rx Kids Flint] allowed us to adjust our lifestyle, and helped us enjoy being new parents rather than just stressing about finances,” said Celeste as she stood alongside her husband and their now 13-month-old daughter, Siobhan. 

“I want people to know that when you invest in our kids, when you invest in our mothers, you invest in community—and you invest in a better world,” Celeste added. 

Evidence shows that no-strings-attached cash prescription programs, like Rx Kids Flint, have proven to reduce food insecurity and financial hardship, improve health outcomes for children and parents, and better school performance, with many of these benefits extending into adulthood.

Since the program launched in 2024, Rx Kids Flint has helped improve the lives of over 1,800 families through no-strings-attached cash prescriptions, which families often use to cover the cost of baby supplies, food, rent, and utility bills. 

Related: A cash-assistance program in Flint is giving new moms some breathing room

“This is a community that has come together and said we can do so much better for our babies,” said Rx Kids program director Dr. Mona Hanna, during the baby parade.

“We want our babies to grow up healthy, happy, and successful,” she added.

Fighting for a better future

The success of the Rx Kids program comes at a critical moment, as the Trump administration and other Republicans continue to pass legislation attacking reproductive health care, from stripping millions of American women of their health insurance to slashing public health programs across the US. 

Since the program launched in 2024, Rx Kids has helped improve the lives of over 2,900 Michigan families—from Flint to Kalamazoo to the eastern Upper Peninsula—through no-strings-attached cash prescriptions, which families often use to cover the cost of baby supplies, food, rent, and utility bills. 

With funding provided by Rx Kids, nearly 70% of participating families have said that the program has helped improve their health and that of their infants, and 66% say that the program has made getting health care more accessible for their household.

Rx Kids has also been shown to create a lasting impact on the mental health of parents, with 84% of program participants saying that the money from Rx Kids has helped them become more confident as parents.

And soon, more Michigan families will be able to access the critical lifeline that Rx Kids provides. Starting Aug. 1, pregnant residents of Clare County can apply to be part of the program.

“This is more than financial assistance. This is a powerful public health intervention grounded in dignity, science, and love,” said Dr. Hanna in a statement that was released after Rx Kids delivered over $10 million in cash prescriptions for Rx Kids families earlier this year.  

“It is a proven cure for the pathogen of poverty in Michigan, and potentially nationwide.”