Motherly Intercession Receives Funding from Flint Women and Girls Fund

According to The Sentencing Project, between 1980 and 2019, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 700%, rising from a total of 26,378 in 1980 to 222,455 in 2019. Continuing, more than 60% of women in state prisons have a child under the age of 18. That’s where Motherly Intercession comes in.

Motherly Intercession focuses on assisting children of incarcerated parents; as well as the parents themselves during and post-release. The Community Foundation of Greater Flint recently awarded their organization $15,000 from the Flint Women and Girls Fund to help promote their Social Connections Support Group initiative.

Through various partnerships, participants will have access to affordable health care, transportation, meals, and childcare to address barriers to participation.

“A lot of time parenting classes focus on the children and not the parent,” said Necole Hayes, Executive Director at Motherly Intercession, Inc. “We feel you must better yourself if you want to be a better parent. We want people to do good for their children, themselves, and their communities. Our goal is to help these parents transition out successfully.”

The Social Connections Support Group is designed to assist women who live within Genesee County who are currently incarcerated in the Genesee County Jail, previously incarcerated, or have been impacted by incarceration. The support group is designed to help these women to have a more solid foundation to start rebuilding their lives and their children’s lives to chart a successful path forward.

“The sessions cover budgeting, saving, ways to earn additional income, creating resumes, mock interviews, and a list of companies that will hire a person with a criminal record,” said Hayes. “The group will also cover topics such as physical and mental health, emotion regulation, and healthy relationships.”

Project Goals:

- Help women to establish and maintain positive relationships with their children

- Teach and promote positive parenting behaviors

- Reduce recidivism among program participants

“These funds will help us cover more curriculum and more topics,” said Hayes. “These funds will help us provide parents with transportation and childcare that they may have not had otherwise.”

For more information, visit unlocktheirfuture.org.