All across Europe, COFACE members continuously work to contribute to positive outcomes for diverse types of families in a changing society, including single-parent households. In 2022, our French member UNAF published a survey among 250 families revealing the impact of single parents’ responsibilities and difficulties on their health. The survey showed that only a quarter of the single parents who responded indicated that they were in good health.
Single-parent families, like any family type, are not a monolith but encompass different realities: headed by mothers, fathers, and even by a grandparent raising their grandchildren. These families may have one child or they may come from migrant backgrounds, and include a parent or child with disabilities. NGOs across Europe play a pivotal role in supporting single-parent families. Many of these NGOs are members of our COFACE network, and their work includes peer support, childcare services, family mediation, and more.
COFACE’s member organisations such as La Ligue des Familles and Single Parents Foundation have both recently and respectively put a spotlight on concrete ways to support and empower single parents in Europe from Belgium to Hungary.
“CABANE” – a project supporting single parents in Brussels by Ligue des Familles
Brussels is home to over 65,000 single parents. For these parents, organizing daily life, finding time for themselves, and offering their children the activities they desire can be particularly challenging. To support them, La Ligue des Familles, in collaboration with La Maison des Parents Solo and Le Petit Vélo Jaune, is reviving a project to support single parents, originally created by the non-profit HAMAC. CABANE is an initiative that fosters lasting connections between single-parent families, their children, and local volunteer mentors, creating enriching community ties with support and guidance from La Ligue des Familles.
The support takes place weekly at the same time for one year, ensuring consistency that benefits the child and reassures the parent. Exceptions are possible, but regularity is essential. After the year, families and volunteers can renew their commitment or continue their relationship informally.
Activities can be organised both at the volunteer’s home and outdoors (parks or public spaces), providing the child with a structured yet varied environment and giving parents a break. Activities are flexible and agreed upon based on the child’s age and the parent’s preferences.
Find out more about the project here (in French).
Empowering Single Parents: insights on European best practices from the Single Parents Foundation Hungary Conference
Our member organisation Single Parents Foundation based in Hungary organised a key international conference in November 2024. The Single Parents’ Centre is both a helping and a communal space, which is regarded as a pioneering initiative not only in Hungary but also internationally. It welcomes single parents and their children with various opportunities and a variety of events in two locations, in Pest and Buda.
The international conference focused on single parenting featured a compelling contribution from our COFACE’s president, Antonia Torrens. In her speech, Antonia Torrens reminded participants that while children in single-parent families have the same fundamental needs as children in other family types, their vulnerability is often heightened. Poverty and social exclusion loom larger in their lives, not because of who they are, but because of systemic gaps that fail to support their specific realities.
Our president highlighted the essential role of peer-to-peer and NGO support in providing both practical resources and a sense of belonging for single-parent families. She underscored the importance of EU policies like the Work-Life Balance Directive and initiatives such as the European Child Guarantee. Research on family resilience, including the rEUsilience Horizon Europe project with COFACE as an integral partner, also plays a critical role. To conclude, Antonia Torrens called for robust and targeted social policies, including parental leave policies, that are specifically designed to meet the needs of single parents.
COFACE is inspired by the dedication of its network to advocate for inclusive support systems for single parents in various contexts and we remain committed to fostering stronger and more equitable family policies in Europe.
