Becoming a new mom can be difficult, and for those who are already mothers, ensuring they have all the supplies they need is not easy. A community baby shower is aiming to help with some of those needs.

Knoxville native Ty Roberts is the executive director of Genissi Charitable Birth Services, a company she created to help support mothers and mothers-to-be in need.

“When I was pregnant with my daughter, there were a lot of things I didn’t have, but there were also a lot of barriers to things I wanted,” Roberts said. “I felt, what better way than to have these moms celebrated and to feel like this is about me, this is about enjoying myself, that someone really cares enough about me to pour into me.”

As executive director of Genissi Charitable Birth Services, Roberts is now planning to host her third community baby shower, aiming to help as many women and newborns as she can.

Roberts said, “I’ll have a mom say, ‘You know what? I need to be around some other women, some other moms, to remind me I’m not by myself.’ You’re talking about 100 or so pregnant women or moms who just gave birth, and that’s the perfect atmosphere for relationships to be birthed.”

Lannette Harris, a mother of two, took full advantage of the baby shower opportunity, finding community and relief in the comfort of being surrounded by others experiencing a similar journey.

“It made me happy there’s a community out there, like you have a community that cares about you, about your baby, about your pregnancy,” Harris said.

Harris received diapers, a car seat and more at the shower. Afterward, she explained the importance of community and what it means to her to have assistance when navigating something brand new, saying, “It means people care about you. The community reaches out and helps us. And you play games and it makes you feel included and loved.”

Both Harris and Roberts know tackling something new in life isn’t easy, and asking for help can sometimes be the hardest part. “Make a decision for yourself that you’re going to do something different for your life and your baby’s life, and when you do that, I promise something is going to change around you,” Roberts said.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in one of these baby showers by Genissi Charitable Birth Services, you can go to https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclVpfixIA7DONp3oNjAIi8fwPjn6jkHSZ5hXQxjGNcTXZCXw/viewform to sign up.