Mother's Outreach Network

Mothers Outreach Network is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. dedicated to facilitating the power of Black mothers from underserved communities.Our mission at Mothers Outreach Network, based in Washington D.C., is to build a collective strength that allows mothers to thrive as parents and their families to achieve economic stability, through civic engagement, legal information sharing, storytelling, data collection, legal advice, and civic action such as campaigns for systems change. These mothers will thereby be equipped to press for not only their individual needs but also, systemic reforms.

We focus on providing legal information and civic education training to women who are fighting for their families’ economic stability while disentangling themselves from the foster care system or from the criminal justice system.

Organizational History

In 2009, Melody Webb founded Mothers Outreach Network (MON), a 501(c) (3) organization to mobilize African American mothers subject to systems of disempowerment such as the foster care system and the criminal justice system, to uplift them from a socio-economic structure that inadequately addresses their full potential for economic independence. It advances economic security for women and families through social justice education, grassroots mobilization, and legal advocacy, focused on disadvantaged African American women in Washington, D.C.’s underserved communities. MON is currently an all-volunteer run effort. 

In 2010, MON challenged employment discrimination against African American mothers in the District of Columbia who were returning from prison, in partnership with Our Place DC, which served as the fiscal sponsor while MON’s tax status was pending.  MON engaged in legal screening and referrals, as well as advocacy. MON has received funding from the Women’s Bar Association Foundation of D.C., the Bar Association of D.C., and the Diverse City Fund. 

In April of 2017, MON won a joint grant to launch the Mamas Still Rising Defense Project, an alliance of Mothers Outreach Network with the Black Workers' Center Child Care Cooperative of Cooperation DC, a project of ONE DC. The Mamas Still Rising Defense Project addressed issues that low-income, black mothers face with the child welfare system in the District including access to housing and to sustainable, living-wage jobs which impact their ability to provide for their families.