Martha’s Foundation: A Sanctuary for Teen Moms

Myrtle Watson, who founded Martha’s Foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has spent her career as a nurse educator and a tireless advocate for at-risk teens who become pregnant. Her work with teen moms convinced her that services for pregnant teens should include a residential facility tailored to young moms and their babies. No other agency in the Tulsa area offers this service.

Beyond residential care, comprehensive services should address a client’s unique needs. One of the tools used by the foundation to assess their clients’ needs is the ACEs quiz, which identifies how many of ten possible Adverse Childhood Experiences their clients have suffered. The score helps staff better provide each girl with appropriate support.

Whether or not a young person can overcome childhood challenges depends on a lot of factors, including a child’s inherent resilience. Dealing with a single challenge like sexual abuse, emotional neglect, or alcoholism in the home is difficult by itself. But multiple adverse experiences increase a child’s risk of long-term negative consequences.

I first met Watson, affectionately known to staff and students as Miss Myrtle, when I was teaching teen moms at the Margaret Hudson Program. She was the onsite nurse educator at the Tulsa campus. Watson told me recently, “I’ve been working on the idea of Martha’s Foundation since 1991,” which she named for her late mother. This was long before MHP closed its doors in 2016. Her idea began to take shape in 2007, and the first residential home for teen moms and their babies opened in 2020. Because of Covid and school closures, no girls were in residence at that time.

“Girls who come to us have often been abandoned by parents,” Watson said. “They’ve suffered sexual abuse and more.”

MFI’s motto is “A community of hope for today and a new promise for tomorrow.” Their stated mission is “to provide residential living for pregnant and parenting teens and to provide transitional living for girls aged out of foster care.”

“Girls who come to us have often been abandoned by parents,” Watson said. “They’ve suffered sexual abuse and more.” Some clients are in foster care. Some report as many as five or more out of ten adverse experiences. According to the CDC, only about one in five high school students report four or more ACEs.

Clients can be referred by several Tulsa area youth programs. Youth Services of Tulsa offers many valuable programs, including a shelter for homeless teens. If a teen mom seeks to enter the Tulsa youth shelter, she must surrender her baby to foster care, however. Entering MFI’s program instead can be critical to keeping mother and baby together.

Martha’s Foundation works with sometimes highly traumatized youth.  “Some of our girls haven’t had any security in their homes and don’t trust anyone. That can lead to a mother who doesn’t relate to her baby. She can’t understand infant needs and treats them as though they were adults,” Watson told me. “We have had clients who are unable to share their stories until they reside with us for about one or two months.” Getting a traumatized teen to trust is a monumental task. It takes time, patience, and a loving environment.

The goal of Martha’s Foundation, Inc. (MFI) is to provide a secure residence, monitored 24/7 with onsite adult staff who have experience with at-risk teens. Staff and volunteers support the girls and their babies with counseling, mental and physical health resources, basic life skills training, and transportation to and from school or health appointments. “We transport them everywhere they need to go,” said Watson. This is possible thanks to a van recently donated to the program by a local philanthropic organization, the Zarrow Family Foundation.

Once a girl graduates from high school and/or a training program, MFI staff help her obtain transitional housing and suitable employment. “Many of our girls get CNA [Certified Nursing Assistant] licenses. We have one in nursing school at Rogers State University now,” Watson said.

MFI also has a robust outreach program to keep tabs on former residents as they move out into the community. Staff connect girls to services like local food banks or diaper donations on an ongoing basis. They can assist in connecting girls to social security benefits they may qualify for, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs. The organization also participates in the Oklahoma Pregnancy Care Network and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services licensing services.

Several Tulsa agencies partner with MFI, like Strong Tomorrows of the Tulsa Public Schools district, ensuring teen moms can complete their education. Strong Tomorrows doesn’t provide residential services, though. SoonerCare provides health care for pregnant women and their children through health insurance and Medicaid, which MFI clients benefit from. MFI connects the girls and their babies with Doulas, as well as OB-GYN and pediatric specialists.

The current MFI residential facility provides three girls with a private bedroom to share with her baby. According to Watson, the average stay in the residence is six months, though a girl might stay anywhere from a month or two to a year. “Our goal is to purchase additional property to allow us to double our capacity and house six clients.” Watson is optimistic that may happen in the next year or two.

MFI services may be limited by the number of girls they can serve in residence, but they have graduated or discharged numerous clients who are still served by the outreach programs. Their January 2025 newsletter announced that they will focus this year on equipping young parents with critical skills through workshops, mentorship, and one-on-one support. Participants will learn management of finances and time, child development principles, and how to build relationships with family.

Watson is optimistic about the future of the organization she founded. The most recent newsletter cites the upcoming births of two babies. “Martha’s Foundation will be welcoming two beautiful new babies into the family this spring. Our program participants will have the chance to bond with and support one another during this exciting chapter … Together, we are making a lasting difference in the lives of those in need. We look forward to sharing more updates and success stories in the coming months.”