Today we’d like to introduce you to Chastity Mays.
Hi Chastity, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The Little Resource Center Carbondale (TLRC) began as part of a network of free diaper cabinets, but quickly revealed a deeper need for comprehensive family support. Since late 2023, we’ve grown into a strong, autonomous program addressing disparities in Black and rural maternal health, perinatal mental health, food access, and reproductive choice.
Today, our work includes community-based programming, parenting and life skills education, perinatal support services, and partnerships that bring resources directly into trusted community spaces. This includes initiatives like our “Community Health Worker (CHW) in the Library” model, which partners with the Carbondale Public Library to provide walk-in support, resource navigation, and health education in an accessible, non-clinical setting.
In addition to direct service, TLRC plays an active role in statewide maternal health and workforce advocacy efforts. Our team sits on multiple boards and committees across the state of Illinois focusing on maternal child and family health initiatives.
In 2025, TLRC participated in the Illinois Department of Public Health Birth Equity Seed Grant in partnership with CHOICES Center for Reproductive Health. Through this work, we facilitated training and expansion of the doula workforce in Southern Illinois and completed an in-depth environmental scan of the region’s Maternal Child Health workforce to identify gaps, strengths, and opportunities for investment.
A core part of our work continues to be increasing access to doula support with direct service that reduces financial barriers—because we believe doula care should be available to all families, not treated as a luxury.
We continue to bring frontline insight into state-level conversations, helping inform policies, funding strategies, and system-level improvements—particularly those impacting Black, Latino, and rural communities in Southern Illinois.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road and any entrepreneur will tell you that meeting your goals is not easy but very much worth it. TLRC was started by Chastity Mays and Claire Hughes and it was definitely a passion project that we knew was needed in our community and we continue to work hard for the families of Southern Illinois everyday to provide critical, needed services.
When we first began we did not have a space to call our own. We started inside a corner of Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and then we grew so much we needed our own space. We then moved into a small location that we quickly outgrew and now we have a much bigger space and we are so happy about the growth and support we have received from the community.
Within the 3 years of our existence we have grown into a staff of 11 individuals and every one of them provides a critical service to the community. We have three full-time Full Spectrum Doulas. We have four Community Health Workers and four members of administration.
We’ve been impressed with The Little Resource Center Carbondale, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Little Resource Center (TLRC) is a family and parenting resource center located in Carbondale, IL. We serve families, parents, and caregivers in the Southern Illinois region through material, educational, and emotional support.
We are a non-political and non-religious organization and believe that families are their own best experts. We work hard to identify service gaps and respond to the needs of the communities we
serve through evidence-based and trauma-informed programs.
We serve all families and we began as an emergency drop in center for diapers, wipes, and formula. We just continued to grow to be something more and continued to meet the needs we saw within our community.
We are known for our emergency drop in center but we are becoming more and more known for our Doula services and Community Health Worker services.
A full-spectrum doula is a trained, non-medical support worker who helps people through all types of reproductive experiences. This care covers birth and postpartum support, plus fertility, pregnancy loss, miscarriage, and adoption. They give emotional, physical, and informational help.
A community health worker (CHW) is a frontline public health professional who links local residents with health care and social services. Because they share the culture, language, or life experiences of the people they serve, they build trust to help patients navigate complex medical systems, manage chronic conditions, and access community resources.
TLRC is most proud of being a trusted organization in our community where families can come and know that they will receive the support that they need and deserve.
We want the Southern Illinois community to know that we will always do our best to support families in need and if we are not able to assist we will find a resource that is able to help them.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to TLRC is keeping families front and center of all of our work. We know from experience that families are the expert in their own lives and all we are here to do is to provide the resources they need and uplift and support our client families.
Pricing:
- All of TLRC’s services are free and open to the public.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://littleresourcecarbondale.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tlrcsouthernillinois/
