Earlier this year, three St. Louis-area mothers found themselves preparing for childbirth while also navigating the detention of their husbands by immigration authorities. For volunteers with nonprofit Abide in Love St. Louis, the question was simple: What would they need if they were in the same position?

For volunteer Kaitlyn Gresham, the answer started with a single diaper delivery. She responded to a request to bring supplies to a pregnant mother who couldn’t easily leave her home. “It was an easy thing to jump in and do,” Gresham says.

The need quickly grew well beyond a single delivery, and a much larger effort took shape. Volunteers collected diapers, formula, and baby clothes; organized a community-wide, virtual baby shower; and assembled care packages for the three expectant mothers. As more families were referred by school social workers, immigrant advocacy organizations, and other community partners, those deliveries evolved into ongoing relationships with families navigating immigration detention.

“We thought, ‘Oh my goodness,’” Gresham recalls. “What a wild situation to be in where your husband is recently detained, you have other kids, and a baby on the way very soon. Many of us are moms, too. We had to help.”