Spotlight: World on My Shoulders

Julia Walker, World on My Shoulders founder. Photo taken by Lehi Snider, age 4.

​Think about all of the benefits that babywearing brings to you, your child, and your family. The comfort, the confidence, and convenience that make life more pleasant, easier, tolerable, livable. Parents everywhere who wear their babies agree with you. Babywearing makes life better for everyone. For some mothers and babies, however, babywearing is something more. It can bring comfort, connection, and the ability to get through daily life when life is at its toughest. 

One tough situation that faces some families is family violence, specifically intimate partner violence. There are a range of effects on the mothers and children who survive, including physical injury, emotional trauma, cognitive distortions, complete separation from social or family support, instant and extreme financial problems, and lasting neurological effects of witnessing and experiencing trauma, especially for babies and children. Babywearing, when utilized carefully, is a tool that can assist some mothers and children who face these obstacles. 

One woman started listening
Julia Walker is a babywearing mom who decided to do something to help moms and their children who have recently left family violence and are living in the shelter system. She had volunteered as a co-leader with her local babywearing group, and while helping members learn to wear, discovered that some were, like her, rebuilding their lives after fleeing partner violence. 

Word spread that she was teaching these women to use carriers, and she quickly exhausted her personal resources. She developed the organization World on My Shoulders to partner with manufacturers, community activists, and other caring individuals to collect carriers and raise funds to sustain and expand the scope of this unique project. 

The story of World on My Shoulders
Julia graciously agreed to answer some questions about WoMS to share about the story, mission, and impact of the organization, and how you can help! 

Q: Can you tell us a little about what you have witnessed about how babywearing helps some moms and babies who have experienced family violence? In what ways can babywearing support some of these families?

A: I experienced family violence so I will answer from the survivor perspective. Wearing helped me in several ways when I fled. I was 34 weeks pregnant and had a one year old when I was severely beaten and finally left. The incident broke my glasses and cracked my orbital and several ribs so I was unable to drive and had to wear to walk. We were both shaken so for weeks after that last attack, I was unable to put my elder child down out of fear.

I had a moderate sized stash, six carriers, and the money I made reselling most of those gave me what padding I had while travelling through the shelter system on the way back to my safe place. Luckily my stays in shelter were short and I primarily happened across some very nice facilities but that isn't the reality for many and wearing can help keep children feeling safe while helping the caregiver to accomplish the daily tasks required to stay in many facilities.

Q: What types of evidence-based practices do you use in working with this vulnerable population? 

A: My evidence based experience is lived experience, knowledge of the communities I serve, and the listening to the needs of the people I am helping. The goal is filling a void beyond shelter. By giving people a lifelong tool, an escape from their trauma, and a connection to a broader community of babywearers that has replaced the community model that has disappeared in mainstream society.

Studies have concluded that babywearing can aid trauma victims by decreasing anxiety and depression for the wearer and the wearee. I have plans for continuing education that will aid me in better understanding infant development and anticipate that will help the wearers also.

Q: Women and children who have experienced the trauma of family violence are often at risk for being triggered by close physical contact. What mental health professionals does WoMS consult or partner with to ensure your outreach efforts are based on trauma-informed practices?

A: All of us are survivors of family violence, either as children witnessing and suffering from the effects or like myself, adult victims with children. Coupling our basic skills as babywearing educators seeking to maintain bodily autonomy for all that we help with our personal experiences within the system, we all have heightenened sensitivity to those freshly fleeing.

Q: Women leaving family violence situations and living in shelters or other transitional housing often are living in very dirty conditions and with minimal or no access laundry facilities or supplies (with which to wash cloth carriers). How do you address this barrier? 

A: With the locales that we worked in so far, this hasn't been an issue, though I primarily ask manufacturers for the easycare items in their catalog. Soul Slings sent us some all cotton wraps and ring slings and BabyloniaUSA sent some BBTais which are extremely easy to spot clean along with BBSlens and wraps.

Q: What cities or community is WoMS currently helping? Who is helping and how? 

A: Right now, I cover Texas, primarily the eastern portion of the state. Autumn Brundige is in SE Oklahoma and is the closest to myself. Hess Stinson is in the greater DC area and Anastasia West covers NYC, particularly the Bronx. I also have an educator in Houston, Angelique Geehan, who will be assisting with our first full sized in person class July 2016.

Q: What are the "next steps" of WoMS? 

A: Right now I am preparing to speak about WoMS at WEAR (a babywearing conference) in Chicago in May. The class in Houston in July 2016 is next then expanding our library by purchasing from some of the companies that already donated: BabyloniaUSA and Soul Slings being priority. We are also in the process of building a webstore with homemade goods. Then, we can gather resources to help us pursue nonprofit status.

Q: How can others help? What kind of support do you need to continue your mission? 

A: Finances are our main barrier. We need money to ship carriers to those who live far from any existing WoMS chapters. We have a paypal specifically for WoMS that is generally empty. We need supplies for our webstore, most of which can be purchased at any craft store. We all are doing this on a volunteer basis so helping us cover the costs for our continuing education would be great also. Also, WoMS is one of my jobs. Recently I started doing professional babywearing consultations in an attempt to fundraise for my family to survive and for WoMS expansion but jobs are far and few between until word of mouth spreads more.

How can you help? 
As you prepare to celebrate Mother's Day with your babies, little and big, consider supporting the mothers and babies who are helped by World on My Shoulders, through spreading the word, sending good wishes or prayers for success, purchasing an item for sale from the webstore on the WoMS site (scheduled to open May 13th. 2016), or making a donation.