Local moms' 'Hot Mess Express' effort to support struggling mothers grows into nationwide movement

Moms aren't equipped with superpowers even if society likes to paint it that way. They indeed get stressed and overwhelmed with their household and motherhood duties. They hardly find time to look after themselves when their entire time is invested in looking after their kids and family. However, one woman noticed this issue and she wanted to find a solution to it to help fellow moms. The initiative she started came to be known as the Hot Mess Express.

A woman named Jen Hamilton (@_jen_hamilton_ on TikTok) spilled the whole story in a video that detailed the process behind the creation of the organization, which was built to connect with overwhelmed mothers and aid them. "So a couple years ago, there was a post on Facebook in a local moms group. It was written anonymously and it was by a girl who was a couple months postpartum with her second baby. She was asking for recommendations for a cleaning company to come in and help her clean her house because she was so overwhelmed," Hamilton explained in her TikTok video.

“She said, ‘I don't even have the money to do this but I can't keep living like this.’ So people commented and were like, ‘Oh, reach out to this person or this company.’ But I was like, ‘We are missing something big here,’” Hamilton continued. She then decided to take the matter into her own hands and gathered a bunch of other moms to help out the stressed mother. “This is a community. Let's go save that girl. We've all been there. Let's go rescue her,” she said.

Hamilton and the group of local moms showed up at the other mother's doorsteps a few days later, ready to extend a helping hand. “There were like eight or ten of us there, and we sent her away, her and her family. We had taken up a collection and we sent her and her family out for a fun day and we spent the whole day cleaning, organizing, doing laundry. We went to Walmart and got things that they needed. We made sure that there was food in the house. We made crock-pot meals. We went all out. And that was the first ever Hot Mess Express mission,” she recalled.

“I'm so grateful to my friend Brittinie Tran, who is the host of 'Girl, Same,' the podcast, who has taken it on as her baby,” Hamilton said before sharing a video of the group's most recent mission featuring Tran. Now, Hot Mess Express has grown into a cross-country non-profit organization.

“Hot Mess Express has grown nationwide with over 50 chapters since we started a little over two years ago. I am surprised at how fast it took off, but I am not surprised at the need. I think this is something that has been needed for a very long time,” Tran told Scary Mommy in an interview.

“I would love to see enough Hot Mess Express chapters that we are accessible to as many women as possible. There are so many women who don't know our group exists, suffering in silence, thinking they are alone. That's why we work so hard to normalize the struggles of motherhood and normalize asking for help,” Tran added. According to their website, "Hot Mess Express is a group of moms and caregivers who come together to rescue moms in need by doing the housework that can seem impossible. Hot Mess Express is here to alleviate as much stress as possible by doing dishes, laundry, sweeping and organization. Our goal is to leave these ladies with a more peaceful existence."

People online applauded the initiative and praised the group's efforts. @melissaarias097 wrote: "This is the village that our grandmothers always told us about, but our current society doesn’t have space for. Such a blessing." @zozodarlin commented: "This made me cry. I'm 18 years old and just got out of foster care and I'm struggling to live on my own. I wish I had the kind of resources." @jaclynjoyce added: "Jen, this is the greatest thing I’ve ever heard of, completely serious. This needs to be everywhere."