PREVIEW: Mom Starts Here Celebrates 10 Years of Parental Support
09/15 @ Ryan’s Wake, Troy
Photo by Tom Miller
“As a parent, I think everybody needs someone to bounce ideas off of, someone to kind of vent to. Even better, if that person has some sort of background or experience or training.”
If I may quote a lyric from pop-punk icons New Found Glory out of context for a moment: “It’s been a summer…”
Fellow parents, you know what I’m talking about. It’s the end of August. Maybe you’re just hitting that point of checking the calendar religiously for how close the first day of school is. Maybe you hit that point a month ago; I’m not here to judge. Either way, something about this summer has felt particularly stressful on the parenting front, and it’s not just the fact that we’ve been going the extra mile trying to avoid specific brands of lettuce.
And while they may not cater to this specific type of stress (“Can Mom and I have five minutes, please?!?”) local nonprofit organization Mom Starts Here was created in part to alleviate certain stressors. Specifically, those that coincide with having a new child. So having the chance to chat with founder Kyla Schmidt on a day when my elementary school kids were driving me especially nuts seemed appropriate.
“As a parent, we all think that we know what we're doing until we have to do it,” she tells me. “And then once we're doing it, everyone has an opinion. But no one really knows your kid like you do. You're the expert in your kid and in what's happening with them and your home. There's a whole lot of advice — some good, some bad — and it's difficult to get good, quality support.”
It’s been 10 years since Schmidt began this organization with the intention of providing such support, and it’s been a rousing success. It’s rare to start such an immense undertaking with a specific set of goals in mind, and a decade later be able to recognize all of those goals as being met. It’s a testament to Schmidt’s dedication to families in our area.
“When I first started, I was trying to redistribute gently-used baby items and act as a resource for moms,” she recalls. “I was really focused on being part of the support system that that mom needed to put things together and have what she needed to bring a baby into the world. And it still is that at its core.
“I would say over the years we've added and tweaked programs in response to community needs. We've learned so much from working with families about what they need the most, and what kind of support isn't necessarily readily available. Then, we just really respond to the needs that we’re hearing from the parents. I would say that the original goal of the organization has certainly persisted and been fulfilled, largely.”
Hearing her talk about her work, I could almost detect a sense of proud wistfulness in her voice. It’s easy to tell when a person is both earnest and leading with their heart; Schmidt is clearly one of those people. When I asked her about her proudest moment of the last decade, she couldn’t narrow it down past “a hundred tiny moments.” Either she’s an expert at dodging questions (aka a politician) or she just really loves what she does.
It’s definitely the latter.
“It's when a mom repeats back to us our mission without even fully knowing what it is,” she responds. “When they say, ‘I'm less stressed. You guys were there for me. You've become like family. I don't know what I'd do without this. I feel like I have what I need. I don't need to worry about baby stuff. But more importantly, I have that ongoing place that I can go when parenting gets hard or when life gets overwhelming. And I know that you're going to be consistent and welcome me with open arms and get me where I need to go with kindness and compassion and accurate information and non-judgment.’ That, to me, is the best because it means that we're doing a good job at fulfilling our mission without even explicitly telling our families what that is.”
We first highlighted Mom Starts Here in one of our Nonprofit Spotlights back in April of 2025. Schmidt told my colleague Adem Jones at the time that, “A parent is the most impactful person in the life of a child…Giving them what they need and walking with them is the most impactful way to address the crisis that we have in our communities around poverty and children suffering.” Of course, not much has changed since then in that regard, but looking back on the organization’s humble beginnings, the growth and impact in being able to address some of those crises is undeniable.
On September 15, Schmidt and her team will celebrate a decade of this inspiring work with an event at Ryan’s Wake in Troy. The event will allow time for reflecting on how far Mom Starts Here has come, including testimony from some local moms that experienced much needed assistance firsthand.
“It’s an opportunity for us to celebrate the accomplishment of a decade of serving families,” Schmidt says. “But it's also an opportunity to connect with additional community members that might be curious about what we do or want to get involved in different ways.”
Schmidt is quick to clarify that the event is for anyone and everyone, and also casual — like a happy hour after work. Attendees can learn more about the organization, meet likeminded parents, and discover ways to support the nonprofit’s mission.
“Anyone is welcome. You don't have to be involved or associated with the agency at all. It's a great opportunity to learn more and be in a casual environment.”
It’s difficult to stress just how challenging becoming a parent for the first time is to the uninitiated. Of course, it’s the most beautiful adventure in the world, but it doesn’t come without its hurdles. For those who may be experiencing financial hardship or other personal pitfalls, this is compounded immensely. Having an organization like Mom Starts Here readily available to contact for help without judgement is an invaluable resource. It’s not just the fact that they offer physical items like diapers and carseats to those in need, no questions asked, or the fact that they offer immeasurable nonmaterial support through peer groups and other educational resources. Perhaps what’s most important is the fact that they’re always willing and able to lend an ear. To an overwhelmed new parent, a simple “How are things?” can be like finding a winning lottery ticket.
“There's a lot of judgment and ‘ick’ around getting parent support in those environments. What we try to do is create a space where we'll meet families where they're at. And rather than providing education where we're formally sitting down and saying, ‘Here are the 50 things that you need to know to be a good parent,’ we're saying, ‘How's it going? How can we support you?’ We do peer support and provide evidence-based parenting support. That's kind of our solution to the natural resistance that any parent has about being told what to do: we just don't tell people what to do.”
On the precipice of celebrating ten years of Mom Starts Here, it’s as good a time as any to take a moment and reflect. But for Schmidt, it’s equally important to look ahead and not slow down.
“When we dream about the next ten years, we want to increase our collaborations with other agencies, our integrations with other existing service models, and also create more of a space where parents can come in and have their stress relieved to some degree,” she tells me. “We're looking into providing potential drop-in childcare solutions in future models of the organization. Somewhere you can come, take a load off and be enriched and inspired to grow personally as a parent, as an individual, and have that reset. Almost like a mom’s club kind of model. And so we're talking a lot with other community partners and figuring out how we can walk in that direction as an organization over the years.”
The mission continues, and I think I can confidently speak for parents across the Capital Region when I say, we’re grateful for it.
And sorry for beginning such an important article with a New Found Glory quote. But also, go listen to Sticks and Stones while the weather’s still nice. Who knows? It could be just the thing to calm a colicky baby.
For more information on the event and the organization, visit www.momstartshere.org
To purchase tickets, click here.
