Awareness

As of 2021 there are 13.6 million single parents in the United States raising over 18.5 million children.  Almost one-fourth (23%) of all children in the United States currently live with only parent, which is the highest percentage in the world (Pew Research 2019), and these numbers have increased by nearly 200% since 1960. 

The statistics become even more staggering when it is broken down by ethnicity.  Roughly 64% of black and African American families are single parent households, 52% of American Indian families are single parent households, and 42% of Hispanic or Latino families are single parent households. The financial consequences of single parent households is often devastating.  

“60% of children living in poverty in the United State live in families headed by unwed mothers (National Women’s Law Center, 2020).”

On average single parent households spend 34% of their household income on childcare.  The Covid-19 pandemic has caused greater implications on the finances of single parent households. 

More single parents (32%) have become unemployed during the pandemic than other households (25%) (Center for Translational Neuroscience at University of Oregon, 2020).  Hiring statistics show that the number of single mothers with jobs was 22% lower in April of 2020 compared to April 2019 (Nonprofit Quarterly 2020).  33% of single parents are struggling to pay for food and housing which is two times as many compared to pre-pandemic levels.

These statistics are staggering and gut-wrenching. The school system, extracurricular activities, parental employment, childcare services, and overall programming in the United States has been created and designed for households with two parents.  However, the statistics tell a different story.  There are more children (19 million) under the age of 18 living with a single parent, while (15 million) children live with two parents (Center for Translational Neuroscience at University of Oregon, 2020). 

But why does it matter?

At One City we believe that many of the challenges we see in our cities can be addressed by coming alongside single parents and the children within single parent households. With the cultural shift in the United States with more children living in single parent households and more parents having to parent alone there needs to be more assistance, guidance, resourcing, and equipping of single parent households in our nation and that is the mission of One City!  We want to invite you to come alongside us and make an amazing difference in the lives of single parent households that will create ripple effects for many generations to come.