Mothers Of Military (M.O.M.) is a program offered through the USO of Northern Ohio to provide support for military parents.  M.O.M was founded in 2000 by Lucky Harris, a devoted military mom, to fulfill the need for family support groups for loved ones of deployed service members who are not near a military base.  In Northern Ohio, and many other locations with no military bases nearby, families feel disconnected from the military community.  Providing a support group for mothers, fathers, grandparents and other family members, M.O.M. links them to other military families in the area so they can express their pride and show their concerns and emotions.

 Renee Young, one of the many members of M.O.M., remembers vividly the day her son called in 2002 to tell her that he would be deploying to Kuwait.  At that time, Renee felt alone and fearful for her son's safety.  "I could not protect my son, and I did not know what to do," said Renee.  Having a hard time dealing with her emotions and lacking the support of other military parents who were experiencing the same feelings of having a child deployed, Renee struggled through her son's first tour of duty overseas.  Prior to her son's second deployment, Young knew she needed to find some sort of support group, and that's when she discovered M.O.M.  "I had a group of mothers who understood how I felt," Renee explained.  With the support of the other military parents in similar situations, Renee had the help she needed to get through the tough times.  For her and many other military parents, M.O.M "has been a lifeline of support."      

 M.O.M has touched hundreds of military families, providing them with support and supplying them with the resources, laughter and togetherness they need.  For more information on the M.O.M. program at the USO of Northern Ohio, or find out how you can join, visit http://www.uso.org/PUBS/8_15_84.cfm#Ohio. 

 To find other locations where the M.O.M. support network is active, visit http://www.mothersofmilitary.org/.