Motherly Intercession originated as a grass roots organization in 1999 by Shirley Cochran. She and her husband wanted to identify one family to support at Christmas. Shirley went into the Genesee County Jail in search of one mother who would not be home with her children at Christmas. She distributed an application among the incarcerated mothers and two weeks later received request for support from twenty three incarcerated mothers, which represented fifty eight children throughout Genesee County. Unable to select just one family, Shirley solicited assistance from thirteen friends and family members who helped to raise enough funds to support all of the families that year. 

Upon completion of the service project, the group began to search for service providing agencies in the community to refer the families to for additional services. They quickly learned there were no agencies in Genesee County that specifically targeted this population, and realized the community had an enormous gap in service for the incarcerated families. Troubled by the magnitude of the problems the young innocent children were facing, the group changed their focus to the Children of Incarcerated Parents (CIP’S); Children who have a parent (Mother or Father) who is currently or was previously incarcerated. Motherly Intercession received its’ temporary 501C (3) status in 2001 and evolved to a formal nonprofit after receiving its’ permanent 501 C (3) April 20, 2006.

​The mission of Motherly Intercession is to empower children, and foster a stronger community by preventing the cycle of inter-generational incarceration.
 

Motherly Intercession's vision is for children of incarcerated parents to realize their parents' destiny does not have to be their destiny, and start to chart a successful career path for themselves.