Welsh social enterprise raises money as part of Children’s Mental Health Week to help single parents bond with their children aged 10-18

As part of Children’s Mental Health Week, Single Parents Wellbeing (SPW) are launching their Compassionate Conversations podcast on 26 Feb, which is all about honest and compassionate conversations around issues affecting young people from single parent households.

Each week Talia and Ihab from the SPW Young Person’s Project will be hosting the episodes and speaking with amazing young people with inspiring stories. They cover mental health, neurodiversity, being a young single parent and more.

SPW are also launching a Children and Young Person’s Zone on its resources page which hosts websites, helplines, blogs, books and the new podcast.

This Young Person’s Project aims to focus on what 10-24 year olds in a single parent household need for a mentally healthy future, especially off the back off COVID-19.

SPW are focusing on young people of single parents as 52% of young people have reported to the NHS that their mental health has deteriorated since 2021 during the pandemic.

SPW is run by single parents for single parent families – and SPW has a compassionate, empowering and positive approach to being a single parent with a focus on wellbeing and preventing social isolation.

A spokesman said:

“We think single parents are superheroes. We challenge the stigma of being a single parent by using the power of our network to ensure that single parents have a voice. We are a community of single parent families. Our peer led approach ensures that no single parent feels lonely and unsupported. SPW offers self-development workshops, a chance to connect creatively, outdoor meetups, other social events, volunteering opportunities and we also have an amazing resources page.

“However, research shows that children living in a single parent household are more likely to experience homelessness and poverty, their parents’are more likely to experience poor mental health,  isolation and loneliness, and single parents tell us that they and their families are still stigmatised within society.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic many of our parent members expressed concern about its negative impact on their children. They have noticed increased incidents of sleeplessness, emotional distress, depressive tendencies and withdrawal from family activities. Parents are worried about the increased levels of anxiety that their children experience. Children who are already disproportionately vulnerable to feelings of uncertainty and isolation have expressed a lack of hopefulness for the future.

“We know that divorce, relationship breakdown and bereavement bring emotional and psychological challenges to CYP; feelings of abandonment and uncertainty, loss of trust, as well
as experiences of parental alienation. Experience of parental separation is an Adverse Childhood Experience, alongside others such as domestic violence and mental illness. ACE’s can have harmful impacts on health and wellbeing through adolescence and into adulthood.

“Single Parents Wellbeing: SPW has over 1800 members all over Wales which is increasing day by day. We are a non-profit organisation, so you can donate, or share of our services to a single parent in need to help build awareness, and support us to continue our work.”

The organisartion is launching a Children and Young Person’s Zone on their website that has lots of blogs, websites, helplines, books and podcasts.  To learn more, please  visit https://www.singleparentswellbeing.com/spw-resources/children-and-young-person-zone

Donations are also welcome, please visit https://www.singleparentswellbeing.com/donate-1