New Mothers Find Community Far From Home

Inside the St. Ann & the Holy Trinity Church in Brooklyn Heights in late April, more than a dozen mothers with their children — some as young as six weeks old —  sat in a circle, waving rainbow-colored ribbons and singing nursery songs in unison. 

Among them was Jaqueline Espinales, a mother from Nicaragua who attended the gathering with her five-month-old son, 13-year-old son, and husband. She nodded her head gently to the music, as her baby rested on her lap. 

Around her, volunteers passed food and name tags to families, walking them through the activities set up for the day: a table where children could create colorful, sparkly Mother’s Day cards; another table where parents could leave words of encouragement on post-it notes; and, for those new moms who are not camera shy, there was a back-drop  with the words “Welcome Baby” for professional photos.  

For Espinales, 34, the gathering was an opportunity to make new memories with her baby and reminisce about when her teenager was a toddler back in her homeland. 

“This moment took me back,” said Espinales, who has refugee status. “I was very grateful to the organizers, the volunteers, and God for being able to spend the evening with my family. It is a welcoming environment.” 

The event, on April 26, was a community baby shower hosted by New Neighbors Partnership (NNP), a New York City nonprofit that supports newly arrived immigrant families through clothing donations, referrals, and social support networks. About 80 people attended to celebrate 16 new mothers ahead of Mother’s Day. Beyond creating a space for celebration, those that spoke with Documented said the organization fosters a community that helps families navigate life in their new homes through support and connection that transcends language. 

A 2024 report found that refugees and asylum-seeking women were at “an increased risk” of developing postpartum depression (PPD) as compared to other groups. About 25% of mothers who have fled their country are likely to face mild to severe PPD, according to the report, which added that migrant mothers face unique factors like pre-migrational experience, lack of support, low income, and stress that can all contribute to PPD. The report concluded that more research needs to be done but that “refugee/asylum-seeking women may benefit from support groups, individual support, self-coping mechanisms, and familial support.” 

Espinales was connected to NNP nearly three years ago by a humanitarian organization that was helping her as she arrived in New York in 2023. “It was so that we would feel connected to other families who are [navigating life in NYC] like us,” she said in Spanish. She said that through community dinners hosted by the organization, she met families who — like her — had lived the immigrant experience. 

Some of the families Espinales met through NNP helped her adapt to the city, by providing practical tips as simple as how to navigate the subway system, or by demystifying complex school resources for her 13-year-old, she said. Among the assistance was also NNP’s clothing partnership program, which connected her to a local family in the neighborhood to share hand-me-down clothing. 

“They would give me a box full of clothes. They also gave me a used laptop that was in really good condition” she said, adding she has also received diapers and clothes for her five-month-old. “It has been of great help because I cannot work during the weekdays [because of the new baby]. My husband works in construction at the moment, so this is a huge help.” 

Shoshana Akabas Barzel, the founder and executive director of NNP, said the idea of the program started by chance in 2017 when her friend had clothes to donate and she recommended donating it to an Afghan mother. “Six months later, my friend came back and said: ‘I have more stuff. My daughter’s grown. Should I pass them along to the same person?’” she recalled, adding that it sparked the idea to turn a one-time donation into a long-standing partnership between families in New York and newly arrived parents.  

“A lot of people relate to that hand-me-down model that so many parents rely on but that is not available to newcomers who don’t have family and friends here yet, and it takes a long time to build that network,” she said. “So we started matching more and more of those newcomer families to local families for long-term hand-me-down partnerships, and the idea really just took off because I think parents … are looking for meaningful ways to donate [their children’s clothes].” 

She explained that NNP also offers referrals, resource navigation, and culturally responsive programs for recently arrived migrants, and that last year the organization assisted more than 600 individuals from 40 different countries in its clothing partnership program. The program has had a higher than 90% retention rate of mothers and volunteers who continue to form part of the program. 

Some of the beneficiaries of the program have become volunteers, like Paula Rivera, 40, who along with her husband, Alex, set up the backdrop and took photos of the families attending the community baby shower. 

“I could describe [NNP] metaphorically like an octopus, that has tentacles with resources for all aspects of family needs,” said Rivera, who migrated from Colombia in 2017 with her husband and then-11-year-old daughter. She said that migrating to New York City was a big change because her family had to leave behind their careers as artists and in social work. “We had nothing. It was very difficult to see how we would live, not survive, in this country, trying to let my daughter understand that we could not go back to our country.” 

The organization helped her with resources for her twins, born in 2021, and her teenage daughter, and even helped her establish her own photography business. “My children will turn five and during those five years I can say that 90% of their clothes and shoes came from the partner families,” she said in Spanish. “I told them to count on me for anything. I like to give back the same love that I have received from them.”

Espinales, the mother from Nicaragua, also said she likes to give back as much as possible. During one of the dinner activities — where families come together to mingle and share food from their cultures — she brought pinolillo, a milk-based drink made with corn, cocoa, and spices. “I only took a gallon because I did not know if they would like it … but they drank the whole gallon,” she said. 

The baby shower event on April 26 was partly funded by a $5,000 grant from the Brooklyn Borough President’s Community Baby Shower Fund, which supports community baby showers events serving neighborhoods with historically high maternal mortality and morbidity rates. Families also received a care package filled with baby supplies, clothing, toys, and other products donated by local companies.

Espinales said that she was grateful to have attended the event, seeing parents smile and enjoying their time there. She said that she was pleased to see that her teenage son had made her a Mother’s Day card, too. “I really liked it because it not only had activities for me, but also for my son,” she said. “He is very detail-oriented and he customized it with hearts for me. It was truly beautiful.”

Correction, May 11, 2026: An earlier version of this article misstated the number of people assisted by New Neighbors Partnership in its clothing partnership program last year. It also misstated where NNP is headquartered. It is based in New York City, not specifically Brooklyn.