Invitation – CSocD58 Side-event on single mothers and homelessness

17.02.20

UN New York, Commission on Social Development - to raise awareness of the specific vulnerability of single mothers in relation to homelessness and its impact on children.

You are cordially invited to join us at the side-event that Make Mothers Matter will hold on 18 February at the UN headquarters in New York on the margins of the 58th UN Commission on Social Development (CSocD58). The priority theme of this session is “Affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness”,

Our side-event will focus on the vulnerability of single mothers to homelessness and its impact on children – See practical information on the event flyer. The event will also be broadcast live on our Facebook page. You can also participate in the discussion on twitter @MMM4Mothers #NoHomelessMothers

Flyer of the MMM CSocD58 side-event

Speakers bios

Why focus on single mothers in relation to homelessness?

The number of single mother families has increased over the past few years. According to the 2019 UN Women report “Families in a changing world”, globally lone parent families represent 8% of all households, 84.3% of which being lone mother families. Single parents, especially single mothers, are particularly vulnerable to poverty and homelessness – even more so as they face intersectional discrimination linked to race, migrant status, disability or other when accessing housing and/or employment.

Single motherhood can have many causes: widowhood, divorce or separation from a partner or spouse, fleeing domestic violence, unintended pregnancies, as well as armed conflicts, natural disasters, displacement and migration, which can separate families. Although an increasing number of women do choose to have children on their own, especially in developed countries, they remain a minority. In the majority of cases, women do not become single mothers by choice. Domestic violence combined with poverty/financial dependence is one of the main drivers of homelessness of single mothers.

Dire statistics

In the subway in New York – February 2020

Although the reality of families is diverse and eludes generalizations, statistics do show that single parent households are more vulnerable to poverty, and therefore disproportionately affected by the lack of affordable housing.

In the EU, 47% of single parent households were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2017, compared with 21% of two-parent households – And the majority of single parents are single mothers.

In the UK,  according to estimates by Shelter Charities reported in a BBC article, one in every 55 single parent families became homeless in 2017-18. In 92% of these 26,610 cases, the homeless parent was a single mother. The same source states that homelessness has increased by 169% since 2010, and that single parents and their children were eight times more likely to become homeless than couples with children – with again the “vast majority” being single mothers.

And in France, an increasing number of young mothers (2400 in 2017 – mostly migrant women) have nowhere to go when leaving the hospital after giving birth.

Impact on both mothers and children

Homeless situations can leave permanent trauma on both mothers and children.

In addition to possible trauma associated with becoming a lone mother (like fleeing domestic violence, migration, etc.), lone mothers often suffer from economic precariousness, isolation, social stigmatization, self-deprecation and feeling of being a bad parent. All these sufferings, which can lead to anxiety, depression and other mental health issues, are exacerbated in situations of homelessness. Homeless women are also at increased risk of sexual violence.

In turn, these sufferings negatively impact children, especially babies and very young children, for whom a secure and stable environment is so important for a harmonious development. Homelessness also affects a mother’s ability to provide the nurturing care, which is so important for bonding and early child development. And when they are older, attending school and completing a successful education become a challenge. Homelessness threatens a child’s development to their full potential and can jeopardize their future; it puts children at high risk of poverty and homelessness in their adult lives.

Objectives of the Side-Event

The objectives of this side-event, which will take the form of a panel, are:

  • To raise awareness on the specific vulnerabilities of single mothers in relation to homelessness: presentation of the current situation in selected countries and analysis of elements, which put at-risk single mothers and their children (poverty; lack of affordable housing, domestic violence, migration, mental illness, etc.)
  • To specifically highlight the impact of homelessness on children, especially very young children, and the long-term costs to society
  • To present examples of good practices to prevent and address single parent families’ homelessness – E.g. NGO initiatives and government policies to support single parents and prevent and address homelessness (social assistance, shelters, support for participation in the labour force, etc.) – and to make recommendations to governments.

List of speakers

Moderator:

  • Abbey SUSSELL – MPH, BJ, BA Public Charge Fellow at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)

Panelists:

We thank all the participating organisations for their support and collaboration.

 

 

Keywords:

Most read articles

Mothers, unpaid care work and global crises – connecting the dots

02.07.24

UN New York / HLPF - Register now to join us online at this year’s High Level Political Forum side-event.

Lire plus

Investing in mothers key for inter-generational change

13.02.24

UN New York, CSocD62 - MMM's intervention to the Commission on Social Development reiterates that investing in mothers through recognition, education, protection and adequate support is a smart invest

Lire plus

Let’s change the narrative: Invest in Mothers

11.03.24

UN New York, CSW68 - Join us for a discussion on changing the narrative in support of mothers - an online parallel event to the 68th UN Commission on the

Lire plus
See all the articlesof the category

Latest News from MMM and its Network

From local to global: practical solutions to better support mothers

16.12.24

UN Geneva - The working group on discrimination against women and girls has requested input on care policies and programmes worldwide. In addition to highlighting examples of good laws, policies and practices t

Read more

MAV: Turning the Challenges of Motherhood into Professional Opportunities

14.12.24

MAV: Turning the Challenges of Motherhood into Professional OpportunitiesWe are happy to announce MMM’s participation in the EU funded MAV (Mom Virtual Assistant) Project, an innovative initiative designed to

Read more

Be Family launch event: placing work-life balance at the heart of workplace policies

05.12.24

Make Mothers Matter co-presented the official launch of Be Family in Paris, a movement aimed at bridging the gap between personal and professional life for working parents. This first event, which took place in

Read more

Child and Family Support in Europe : ensuring families receive the best possible care

05.12.24

We were delighted to coorganise, together with the European Parents Association (EPA), the "Quality Assurance in Child and Family Support in Europe: Policy Lessons for Evidence-Informed Decision Making" initiat

Read more

Invest in early childhood care and education for peace and tolerance

02.12.24

Responding to a call for input for a UN Report, MMM highlights how the early years of the child constitute a crucial period to act and foster peace and tolerance for all, and what needs to be done to support ea

Read more

Girls’ education in Côte d’Ivoire: cornerstone of development and the empowerment of mothers

15.11.24

Make Mothers Matter (MMM) visited Côte d’Ivoire to mark International Day of the Girl Child on 14 October 2024. Our UNESCO advocacy team leader, Brigitte Marais, took part in the celebration of this signific

Read more