Webb with one of the families participating in the Mother Up pilot program
In honor of International Women’s Day, The Community Foundation is highlighting incredible female leaders in our community that understand, advocate for, and inspire inclusion by promoting a sense of belonging, relevance and empowerment.
This month, we’re pleased to highlight Melody Webb, Executive Director of Mother’s Outreach Network and founder of the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition. The Community Foundation is a proud to partner with Mother’s Outreach Network through our Health Equity Fund and is committed to advancing the work of the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition.
For Melody Webb, Executive Director of the Mother’s Outreach Network, you can’t put a price tag on motherhood.
“In my opinion, being a mother is one of the most important roles a woman can have,” Webb shared. “You’re a role model, you’re a caregiver; but for your children, you’re the most important person in their young lives. You’re their advocate; you’re their superhero. And that makes you invaluable.”
A DC Native with family ties to the Civil Rights Movement, Webb was raised with a strong belief in the value of advocacy. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Webb began working with organizations like the Legal Aid Society, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and the DC Court of Appeals – to tackle systemic community issues ranging from youth violence prevention to supporting returning citizens.
“I’ve always seen myself as an aspiring changemaker,” Webb shared. “Rather than work in a big law firm, I wanted to use my legal training to address deep structural, racial, gender and economic issues.”
However, her most impactful work – that of supporting Black Mothers – didn’t begin until 2002, when Webb made the decision to adjust her legal career to become a stay-at-home mom.
Webb with her youngest son, who volunteers with the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition.
The Joys and Barriers of Black Motherhood
For the next four years, Webb embraced the joys and challenges of being a mother to her three children and nurture her growing her family – all the while seeking opportunities to get further involved in local advocacy. She founded an online policy advocacy project, which focused on local and national advocacy issues. The project gained national attention and provided a platform for her to return to the workforce in 2007 – when she joined SEIU as Associate General Counsel and volunteered with the Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential Campaign.
“Working on the Obama Campaign and at SEIU was such a great experience,” Webb recalled. “I enjoyed learning the power of organizing and the importance of supporting those who are the bread and butter of our society, but don’t have their basic needs being met.”
People like Black single mothers. While at SEIU, Webb’s attention gravitated towards women who were service employees – especially single mothers and returning citizens – who were working multiple jobs just to stay afloat. She was deeply moved by the many barriers that they faced just to stay in the workforce and provide for their children.
Participants from Mother Up enjoy a family photo shoot activity organized by Mother's Outreach Network
A recent study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research found that more than 70% of Black single mothers worry about paying their bills on a regular basis. These concerns are compounded by a lack of affordable childcare – forcing mothers to carefully plan their family life around work schedules and the availability of neighbors and relatives.
Inspired by the plight of these women, in 2010, Webb launched the Mother’s Outreach Union (later renamed the Women’s Outreach Network) to support Black mothers in the workforce. The organization initially focused on returning citizens – but eventually expanded to serve all Black mothers by providing know-your-rights trainings and other resources to help Black mothers obtain employment and provide for their families.
However, within a few short months, Webb began to notice another troubling trend – mothers who were losing custody of their children because of poverty.
“If you’re a mom and it takes 2-3 jobs to pay your rent, you’re going to leave your kids unsupervised – which is grounds for a neglect charge,” Webb shared. “If you’re struggling and you’re in an abusive relationship with a partner, you can have your child removed from you for failure to protect your child.”
“These poverty factors alone are not supposed to contribute to a removal, but they absolutely do.”
“Poverty is not neglect”
Before long, Webb returned to the courtroom – this time representing mothers fighting to keep custody of their children.
Webb and volunteers from Mother's Outreach Network visit with women in the community to discuss their needs.
According to the National Women’s Law Center, 1 in 4 single mothers live in poverty in the District of Columbia – an overwhelming number of which are Black single mothers. In FY 2024, 84% of the children in DC’s foster care system were Black – despite the fact that Black Children only make up 52% of city’s child population.
The trend is one that Webb says is unfortunately not unique to the DMV. Nationwide, sociologists estimate that 53% of Black children will experience a Child Protective Service (CPS) investigation by their 18th Birthday.
“If you look at the instability that happens when you take children away from their families, it is far more violent and damaging than if you work with families to help keep them intact."
Webb pointed out that once parents lose custody of their children, they also lose access to almost all of their welfare benefits including WIC, Housing Assistance, and others – making it even harder for them to get to a position where they can get their children back.
“Eighty to Ninety percent of CPS cases involve neglect,” Webb shared. “We can eliminate the vast majority of these cases when we start addressing poverty.”
“Being in poverty does not mean you’re a bad parent.”
“We shouldn’t become a world where our first response is to pull a child out a family,” she added. “Our priority should be to provide more support and be more inclusive for families who are struggling. We need to do more to create a sense of belonging.”
Harnessing the Power of Guaranteed Income
The DC Guaranteed Income Coalition gathers at the Wilson Building to lobby DC Council Members to support guaranteed income initiatives
As Mother’s Outreach Network fought for mother’s rights in DC, Webb became aware of a national movement making waves in the economic mobility space – the push for guaranteed income.
Designed to help lift people out of poverty, guaranteed income pilots provide unconditional cash assistance to a targeted group of individuals living below the poverty line. Beginning in 2018, the movement gained considerable momentum following the COVID-19 pandemic and has inspired more than 100 programs across the country.
Among the most prominent of these programs is the Magnolia Mother’s Trust – a pilot based out of Jackson, Mississippi providing $1,000 to Black, low-income mothers for 12 months. Since 2018, the program has served more than 230 Black mothers, improving not only their economic outcomes, but also their emotional and physical wellbeing.
Inspired by their success, Webb began leading the charge to bring guaranteed income to the nation’s capital. She organized the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition – a coalition of community, philanthropic, and government partners advocating for cash transfer programs like Guaranteed Income pilots to combat poverty in DC and the Greater Washington region.
Through the Coalition, Webb’s advocacy has had a resounding impact on the Greater Washington region. Since the coalition was founded in 2020, twelve guaranteed income pilots have been organized across DC, Maryland, & Virginia – including several supported by The Community Foundation.
Click here to Read About The Community Foundation’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Initiatives!
Mother Up – A Guaranteed Income Pilot for Single Black Mothers
In 2023, Webb and Mother’s Outreach Network announced the launch of Mother Up – a Guaranteed Income pilot providing $500 a month for 3 years to Black mothers in DC living below the 250% Federal Poverty Level (ie making less than $36,000 a year).
The inaugural cohort of five mothers began receiving payments in the Spring of 2023 – with plans to enroll of a total of 50 mothers by the end of 2024 – thanks, in part to a grant from The Community Foundation’s Health Equity Fund.
While the program is still in it’s early stages, Webb shares that the reaction from participants has been extremely positive.
“Moms are reporting that they don’t have to pick between their kids in terms of buying extra clothing,” she shared. “They can pay off bills and debt and can finally afford to spend quality time with their children.”
In addition to providing monthly cash payments, Mother Up also offers additional programming through their Mothers Empowerment group, which provides participants the opportunity to learn about community resources, join fun families activities, and develop a community with other moms. However, Webb emphasized that participation in the group is entirely optional.
“We believe and respect that parents know what their needs are,” Webb explained. “We don’t force or require them to attend anything” – a stark contrast to many welfare initiatives that require participants to attend compulsory programming.
Webb explained that for Mother Up, the approach has paid off – as participants have not only attended events, but also gone out of their way to ask Mother’s Outreach Network for support with additional medical and mental health needs they have. Webb says that even though the organization can’t always meet those needs, the fact that participant’s are willing to be open and vulnerable about them is a positive sign.
“Our relationship with each of the mothers is so important to us,” Webb added. “We work hard to build their trust by valuing and understanding their needs and doing what we can to assist them however we can.”
The Power of a Woman Ready to Rise
Participants from Mothers Up join advocates from the DC Guaranteed Income Coalition in advocating before the DC Council.
Ultimately, Webb explains, the goal of Mother Up is to empower moms to become leaders for their families and communities. The program is working to empower participants to become advocates for their communities by providing them the training and resources to testify before the DC Council and share their lived in experience in other government and community convenings.
“We don’t have enough Black women leaders – especially when it comes to issues like economic justice for moms.”
“Moms are the experts,” Webb explained. “They are the ones who can talk most effectively about what is going on in their lives and dispel the negative and false tropes that often exist around Black motherhood. Their daughters should be the ones to talk about what is going on in their communities and advocate for safer communities.”
“They are the future of our community – and what a bright and beautiful future it can be – if we only take the time to invest in them.”
The Community Foundation is proud to partner with Melody Webb and Mother’s Outreach Network through our Health Equity Fund and the DC Coalition for Guaranteed Income to empower Black mothers and other low-income members of our community. For more information about Mother’s Outreach Network, visit www.mothersoutreachnetwork.org/