A Hobart mother who started a support group for other mums while on maternity leave is now preparing to launch a co-working space with on-site childcare.
Madi Clark founded The Mum Connection in November 2024 after finding herself six months postpartum with her second baby and struggling to connect with other parents.
“All my friends either didn’t have children or they were back at work with their first,” Clark told Pulse.
What began as casual weekend catch-ups has since grown into a registered not-for-profit with more than 2,600 members across Tasmania.
The group recently expanded statewide, launching in Launceston and the north-west coast, and runs walking groups, coffee meet-ups and larger events.
Members join through a Facebook group and can access group chats and monthly discussions on topics such as mental health, returning to work and adjusting to a new identity as a mother.
Clark is now turning her attention to The Parent Desk, a co-working space planned for Glenorchy in Hobart’s northern suburbs.
The lease has just been finalised and Clark said she hopes to open this year.
The space will offer around 25 to 30 desks and is open to both mothers and fathers, whether or not they bring children.
Clark said the idea grew from conversations with mothers in her group who were anxious about returning to work, struggling to access childcare or stressed about breastfeeding while away from their babies.
“Imagine if there was somewhere we could take our kids, but they’re like near us, we can go and feed them, we can go and see them if we need to,” she said.
Similar spaces exist across Australia but Clark said nothing like it currently available in Tasmania.
Childcare will be provided by The Mum Connection’s own team, which includes early childhood educators with more than 15 years of experience.
The childcare component will attract childcare subsidy and parents using it will get desk access included in the price.
All revenue will flow back into the not-for-profit, with plans to eventually open additional locations.
Clark said the goal is to remove the barriers parents face when trying to balance their careers and their children.
“It’s about removing the barriers but also providing that space for parents so they don’t have to choose between their career and their child or their goals, but also have that community aspect with other parents around,” she said.
