Single Parents Week 2024: Recognition

14/03/2024

In this blog, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) Chief Executive Satwat Rehman explains why the theme recognition is so important this Single Parents Week 2024.

Single parent families often find themselves overlooked or misunderstood within broader society. This is why Single Parents Day, on the 21st of March, is an important opportunity to celebrate the strength and love offered by so many single parents for their children and to challenge the stigma which is unfairly faced by single parent families today.

In acknowledgement of the fact that there are significant inequalities facing single parents which need to be addressed if we truly want to celebrate and value single parents, we and our partners across the UK and Ireland decided to put a spotlight on single parents and their families for a full week, starting Friday 15th March.

The theme for this year is ‘recognition’, which allows us to recognise single parents and all they do, as well as recognising the need for wider supports and structural change to improve the lives of single parent families. Our focus this year is on recognising the financial inequality faced by single parents, the need for childcare, the importance of mental health and wellbeing, and of community and connection.

Single Parents Day itself will be a positive and celebratory day, with events being organised across OPFS local services and by our partners Fife Gingerbread, Parenting Northern Ireland, Gingerbread and One Family Ireland.

- Satwat Rehman, Chief Executive, OPFS

Single Parent Recognition

We’d love your help in recognising single parents, whilst raising the awareness of the need for wider supports and structural change to improve the lives of single parent families.

Find out more about the topics we are spotlighting for Single Parents Week 2024

Open days and events during Single Parents Week 2024

At OPFS, we will be running a series of open days across our Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow and North Lanarkshire services, giving people an opportunity to get to know about support available in their local area as well as to find out more about our national online parent forum and our Lone Parent Helpline and webchat services.

Motherwell: Wednesday 20th March, 10am-12pm. Join in with our craft workshops for kids, wellbeing sessions for parents, cakes and coffee. Call 01698 239961 for more information. Drop in for single parents.
Dundee: Thursday 21st March 2024, 10am-12pm. Join in our craft and activity workshops to celebrate Single Parents Day. Phone 01382 501972 or email dundee@opfs.org.uk to book your place by 19th March.
Edinburgh: Thursday 21st March, 10.30am-12.30pm. Join us for pastries, coffees, teas and fruit and find out more about our Edinburgh services. No need to book.
Falkirk: Thursday 21 March from 12noon – 4pm. Come along to our open day and connect with others over a cuppa, snacks and refreshments. Email Reagan Jordan for more information.
Glasgow: Thursday 21st March, 10am-2pm. Come to our Glasgow offices to unwind, enjoy a cuppa and cake with our staff, and share your stories if you wish – or simply relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Refreshments and a small pamper station will be available.

Connect with a cuppa

Many single parents feel isolated and lonely. It’s important to take some time to yourself. If you are unable to join any of our local Single Parents Day events in person, take a few minutes out of your day to ‘connect with a cuppa’. This could simply mean meeting a friend in your local area, arranging a phone or video call, or going for a walk together. Check out our social media posts, share your photos or messages using the hashtags #SingleParentsWeek and #SingleParentRecognition, remembering to tag us in your posts. Help us to reduce isolation and build a sense of community this Single Parents Day 2024!