New Moms

New Moms is a nonprofit organization with the vision of a world where every family thrives. Our mission is to strengthen families by partnering with young moms as they progress towards housing stability, economic mobility, and family well-being. Started in 1983 when our founder recognized the need of young, houseless mothers in her community and began handing out diapers and formula from the trunk of her car, New Moms is now an organization with close to 100 employees working at three locations throughout Chicagoland.

New Moms supports mothers in the three areas in the life of a young family that we have identified as the most important: ensuring stable housing, providing job training and career coaching, and supporting young families in their needs. New Moms has 58 apartments for moms with one or two children: 40 units of transitional housing at our location in the Chicago neighborhood of Austin as well as 18 units of permanent housing at our location in the suburb of Oak Park. New Moms owns a social enterprise called Bright Endeavors, located in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, that hires cohorts of moms and trains them to mix, pour, finish, and ship the candles that are produced there. During their participation in this paid, 16-week program, moms attend job training courses that discuss skills essential in the workforce such as financial management, interview skills, and resume writing. Towards the end of their program, they work with employment coaches and specialists to secure long-term housing. Our family support programs include coaching with licensed case workers to set goals, reach milestones, and make decisions about the future; a doula program that works with moms from 28 weeks of pregnancy to 6 weeks postpartum; and an Academic Coaching program that relieves some of the financial pressure on young moms pursuing a college degree or certification through direct deposits to the young mother's account.