Latest news with #singleparents
CBS News
27-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Moms in the U.S. report large decline in mental health in recent years, study finds
How to check in on your mental health How to check in on your mental health Only about a fourth of moms in the United States say they have "excellent" physical and mental health, according to a new study. The study, published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at 198, 417 mothers with children age 17 and under, finding large declines in self-reported maternal mental health and small declines in physical health from 2016 to 2023. The health outcomes were measured on a four-point scale, including excellent, very good, good and fair/poor. Within the time frame studied, the prevalence of "excellent" mental health declined from 38.4% to 25.8%. "Good" mental health rose from 18.8% to 26.1%, and "fair/poor" mental health rose from 5.5% to 8.5%. Prevalence of "excellent" physical health declined from 28.0% to 23.9%. "Good" physical health rose from 24.3% to 28.1% while "fair/poor" physical health didn't change significantly, the study found. "Mental health declines occurred across all socioeconomic subgroups; however, mental and physical health status was significantly lower for single female parents, those with lower educational attainment, and those with publicly insured children," the authors noted. The study also looked at changes among male parents, finding declines in both "excellent" physical and mental health within the same eight-year study period — but overall, they still had better health scores than their female counterparts. In 2023, for example, the prevalence of "fair/poor" mental health was 4 percentage points higher among female parents compared to male parents. This isn't the first time parental mental health has been put in the spotlight. Last year, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called for changes to national attitudes toward parenting and caregiving in an advisory titled "Parents Under Pressure." "The work of parenting is essential not only for the health of children but also for the health of society. Additionally, we know that the well-being of parents and caregivers is directly linked to the well-being of their children," Murthy wrote in the advisory, highlighting his own experience raising children. As the study authors note, their findings are consistent with documented increases in depression and anxiety among pregnant and reproductive-aged women, as well as the general U.S. adult population. "Our findings are supportive of the claim made by some scholars that maternal mortality may be a canary in the coal mine for women's health more broadly," they wrote. Though more research is needed to identify the specific causes of declining mental health, the authors said leading theories include limited access to mental health care, social isolation, rising substance use disorders as well as broader stressors, from inflation and racism to gun violence and climate change.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Living in a tiny house is preventing me and my toddler from becoming homeless
In my dream, I'm building something out of stones. They are uneven and craggy, the kind I'd admire at the wall of a very old building. Other women are simultaneously working. We aren't quite doing it together, but we are building something, these friends and I, alongside one another, and we are each working towards the same sort of object. It is a chimney out of stones. And as we build more, lifting, hefting and scraping these stones into place, the thing becomes more obvious: we are each building a hearth. It is the centre of the house. The heart of the home. We are each building a hearth and a chimney. I am about to sign a contract and set up a dwelling that is 6 metres long and 2.5 metres wide: a 'tiny house' to some folks. To others, a shack, a shed, a cabin. The contract and set-up of this tiny dwelling will cost me every penny I have from a divorce which saw a house divided. Yet I feel more powerful and sovereign than ever. My daughter is thriving. I'm clawing my way out of a dark night of the soul, but I'm also empathetically aware of the precarity and vulnerability of the larger portion of the population. I am now part of that, too: people trying to creatively, inexpensively create homes for themselves and their children. Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Women and children disproportionately bear the burden of the housing crisis in Tasmania (where I live) and in Australia. Women are experiencing homelessness at rapidly increasing rates, and according to the census from June 2024, there are 1.2 million one-parent families in Australia, 78% of which are single-mother families. While I do hold particular empathy for mothers of young children who are trying to make themselves a home, I advocate for solutions to all types of housing crises. Rent is one of the main reasons I am choosing to move and 'live tiny'; to minimise my overheads and be more available for my daughter. I've come to the conclusion that the concept of security is a fantasy we sell ourselves. Adaptability is a much wiser approach. I thought I had a family home for me, my husband and my child, and that got blown out of the water with head-spinning rapidity. The concept of living in a dwelling which I own, which sits lightly on the land and can be moved if necessary: land that is owned by a woman, with whom I have good communication, and with whom I have a contract, is my next experiment. There is a network of tiny house dwellers in this part of the world, all of whom are figuring out ways to live with creativity, sovereignty and affordability. It is a cultural underground; a resistance, a community-led solution to the housing crisis. These folks are interested in living lightly on the earth, gardening, serving their community and generally making the world a better place. They are also able to think of these things because they aren't drowning in debt. Some of them are creatively working to build their own tiny homes, so that they can have a safe sanctuary in which to rest, sleep, cook and live, sometimes with children, sometimes with partners and sometimes solo. If I hadn't seen women in my community creating these homes, I don't know if I would have taken the leap. When you've become a single mum the way I have, with the small amount of money I have; when you know you won't be leaving anytime soon, due to the complexities of co-parenting, you decide that tiny house dwelling is not wrong by any means. In fact, it is perhaps the most moral of choices. It is the system, which can frequently and confusedly treat these abodes as 'against council regulations', that desperately needs to change. In news that surprises no one, those who already have wealth and resources benefit, while those without will not. And it's clear to anyone willing to look outside of individualist systems of capitalism, which funnel money towards the top: the banks are talking about loans and mortgages in order to continue making money for the banks. They aren't interested in helping people have homes. This system wants people in debt, which is directly antagonistic to autonomy and wellbeing. A 'lack of housing supply' is a lie, because 'housing' can come in many forms, if only it would be allowed to do so. Sign up to Five Great Reads Each week our editors select five of the most interesting, entertaining and thoughtful reads published by Guardian Australia and our international colleagues. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Saturday morning after newsletter promotion Tiny houses are a huge movement in the US and New Zealand; they fly under the radar in Australia because, legally, they must. And if tiny houses are somehow seen as a threat to wealth-holding landlords, that too, is ridiculous: people like me aren't going to buy a house anyway. Living in a tiny house isn't stopping me from getting a mortgage and becoming a wage-slave for the rest of my life. Living in a tiny house is preventing me and my toddler from becoming homeless, while some portions of the population hoard holiday rentals and penthouse apartments (and should be taxed accordingly). Australia needs to modernise and humanise its thinking around the concept of property. Yes, Australia has a good system of social welfare, but riddle me this – would you prefer that Centrelink help cover my unaffordable rent? Or would you prefer I not claim anything, because I have efficiently solved the housing crisis for myself? If the government upholds unaffordable houses, unaffordable rents, and then wonders at tax dollars going to Centrelink, it's a system in which no one wins. Yet surely my toddler and I benefit if I can provide her with a safe, warm, clean, beautiful tiny home: a home that is ours. Kelley Swain works in the field of medical and health humanities. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania, working on a project about poetry and motherhood
CTV News
22-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Food insecurity in Canada is jumping — and it's even higher among children
As the school year wanes and summer closes in, volunteers at the Single Parents Association of Newfoundland and Labrador prepare for a surprisingly busy time of year. When the final school bell rings on June 26, sending children off for summer vacation, visits to the charity's food bank will jump. 'We will see exponential numbers coming to our food bank in the next couple of months,' said Danielle Seward, the organization's executive director. 'Just looking for snacks and lunches to get through until September.' Danielle Seward Executive director of Single Parents Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Danielle Seward. 'It's a bit of an untold story; just how stressful the summer months can be for food-insecure single parents.' Volunteers are busy fundraising, trying to stock the shelves for the upcoming summer rush — but it seems like the need never stops growing. The latest data compiled by Statistics Canada showed yet another increase in the proportion of Canadians living in food-insecure households. Data collected in 2021 showed 5.8 million Canadians qualified. Data collected in 2024 brought the statistic up to almost 10 million. The measure can range from marginal food insecurity — worrying about running out of food or limiting selections because of money — all the way to severe food insecurity, where individuals skip meals to make ends meet. According to the PROOF research program at the University of Toronto, the estimates are the highest in 20 years of monitoring. Among Canadian children, the percentages are even higher. The data shows almost 2.5 million children live in food-insecure households, which is about one-third of all children in the country. That estimate in Newfoundland and Labrador is even higher — 40 per cent — tied with New Brunswick for the highest of the 10 provinces. In St. John's, Seward says hunger is hitting more families than ever before, and there's no single profile for who is likeliest to make an appointment for their services. 'It's not just single-parent families that don't have a solidified income,' she said. 'In a lot of cases, it's professional, working single parents.' The diverse nature of that hungry population, she said, makes it even harder for policymakers to target spending programs. 'At one point in time, I would say that our clientele would have appreciated an increase in government support,' Seward said. 'At this time, our clientele is so diverse that — yes, we have clientele that are on income support, we have some that are on employment insurance, but we also have some that are full-time employed.' To tackle childhood hunger, Newfoundland and Labrador is investing in a broader, province-wide school lunch program, aiming to expand the existing offering, which serves 43 schools, to more regions in the coming years. Ashley Byrne, a coordinator with Food First NL, is leading consultation work about the planned expansion. She told CTV News the provincial government will soon issue a request for proposals to invite providers to bid for program delivery. 'These school food programs, they're a bit of a pressure release valve,' she said. 'They help make things go a little bit further at home.' In September 2024, the federal government unveiled a national school food program policy. It wields a budget of about $1 billion over five years to work with provinces and expand local food delivery programs across the country. The program's national policy calls for Ottawa to work towards universal access to school food programs by expanding the pieces already put in place. B.C. Elementary School teacher Brent Mansfield has been touring across the country, trying to advocate for bigger and richer school food programs. He said he's seen their success firsthand, at his own school in Vancouver, helping students come ready to learn in his classrooms, with improved ability to focus and participate in class discussions. 'When we offer school food programs in a non-stigmatizing way, they have that opportunity to be a great social equalizer,' he said.
CTV News
21-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Food insecurity in Canada is jumping — and it's even higher among children
As the school year wanes and summer closes in, volunteers at the Single Parents Association of Newfoundland and Labrador prepare for a surprisingly busy time of year. When the final school bell rings on June 26, sending children off for summer vacation, visits to the charity's food bank will jump. 'We will see exponential numbers coming to our food bank in the next couple of months,' said Danielle Seward, the organization's executive director. 'Just looking for snacks and lunches to get through until September.' Danielle Seward Executive director of Single Parents Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Danielle Seward. 'It's a bit of an untold story; just how stressful the summer months can be for food-insecure single parents.' Volunteers are busy fundraising, trying to stock the shelves for the upcoming summer rush — but it seems like the need never stops growing. The latest data compiled by Statistics Canada showed yet another increase in the proportion of Canadians living in food-insecure households. Data collected in 2021 showed 5.8 million Canadians qualified. Data collected in 2024 brought the statistic up to almost 10 million. The measure can range from marginal food insecurity — worrying about running out of food or limiting selections because of money — all the way to severe food insecurity, where individuals skip meals to make ends meet. According to the PROOF research program at the University of Toronto, the estimates are the highest in 20 years of monitoring. Among Canadian children, the percentages are even higher. The data shows almost 2.5 million children live in food-insecure households, which is about one-third of all children in the country. That estimate in Newfoundland and Labrador is even higher — 40 per cent — tied with New Brunswick for the highest of the 10 provinces. In St. John's, Seward says hunger is hitting more families than ever before, and there's no single profile for who is likeliest to make an appointment for their services. 'It's not just single-parent families that don't have a solidified income,' she said. 'In a lot of cases, it's professional, working single parents.' The diverse nature of that hungry population, she said, makes it even harder for policymakers to target spending programs. 'At one point in time, I would say that our clientele would have appreciated an increase in government support,' Seward said. 'At this time, our clientele is so diverse that — yes, we have clientele that are on income support, we have some that are on employment insurance, but we also have some that are full-time employed.' To tackle childhood hunger, Newfoundland and Labrador is investing in a broader, province-wide school lunch program, aiming to expand the existing offering, which serves 43 schools, to more regions in the coming years. Ashley Byrne, a coordinator with Food First NL, is leading consultation work about the planned expansion. She told CTV News the provincial government will soon issue a request for proposals to invite providers to bid for program delivery. 'These school food programs, they're a bit of a pressure release valve,' she said. 'They help make things go a little bit further at home.' In September 2024, the federal government unveiled a national school food program policy. It wields a budget of about $1 billion over five years to work with provinces and expand local food delivery programs across the country. The program's national policy calls for Ottawa to work towards universal access to school food programs by expanding the pieces already put in place. B.C. Elementary School teacher Brent Mansfield has been touring across the country, trying to advocate for bigger and richer school food programs. He said he's seen their success firsthand, at his own school in Vancouver, helping students come ready to learn in his classrooms, with improved ability to focus and participate in class discussions. 'When we offer school food programs in a non-stigmatizing way, they have that opportunity to be a great social equalizer,' he said.
The Independent
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
One in ten UK adults have zero savings - while millions suffer under credit card debt
The concerning lack of ability for some people to cope with unexpected costs has been revealed as new data showed one in ten (10 per cent) of UK adults have no cash savings whatsoever, leaving them vulnerable when faced with increased bills. More than 13m people across the nation are thought to be facing tough conditions financially, including amassing debt, have little savings or have missed paying bills. While the headline figure of ten per cent having no savings at all is a worry, findings from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) actually show a far greater scale of people who have minimal ability to manage any sort of shock to their income, with a further 21 per cent having less than £1,000 saved. Most financial experts agree that individuals or families should aim to build an emergency savings buffer of three to six months' worth of essential expenses, depending on circumstances. This can aid to continue paying bills and essential costs like groceries, rent or mortgage repayments in the event of sudden pressures, like health emergencies, loss of work or even surging inflation. In addition to not having enough savings, the FCA data underlined two further issues: 2.8m people who have persistent debt through credit cards, which can be one of the most expensive ways to hold debt, along with a continuing rise in people using buy now, pay later (BNPL) services. More than a third of women (35 per cent) aged 25-34 use these services and a full 40 per cent of single parents do so. While some of these services do not necessarily always charge interest initially - some do of course - missing payments can be extremely costly and building up bigger repayment costs can potentially push greater debt on peoples' future. StepChange, a charity which helps with free advice to people struggling with debt, said in a statement they 'want to see the Government invest in safe options for those who can't afford to save to cope with unexpected costs, including a permanent national crisis support scheme, building on the Household Support Fund and a national no-interest loan scheme, and by working with the financial services industry to expand affordable, low-cost credit.' The FCA also shared encouraging data from those who do seek help. From 1.7m people using debt advice or services in the past year, 61 per cent 'said their debts were more manageable' in the aftermath. Compare the Market data shows more than half (52 per cent) of Gen Z - aged 16 to 28 - do not have a 'rainy day fund' for emergency expenses, while more than a quarter (27 per cent) of all people who do have one have needed to use it recently to cover increased household bills and other essential expenses. Research by wealth managers St. James's Place shows more than a quarter of the nation feeling anxious about the year ahead in monetary terms. Alexandra Loydon, director of advice, said: 'Economic challenges remain, so it's more important than ever to take steps to make your money work harder. While building a financial plan may seem daunting, especially if you've never done one before, this really shouldn't put you off. 'Identifying your key financial goals and assessing your current financial situation are the simple places to start. From there you should focus on building your emergency fund by putting aside a small amount of money each month and ensuring you're getting the best rates of return. 'While these may seem like small steps, they all help you grasp your financial situation and take action to improve it, making a real difference to your financial resilience both now and in future.'
