Solo Parent Quest

Being a single parent with one income can be challenging. One parent will have to work, find childcare, and pay for childcare that usually comes at a high cost. In a typical two parent family, there may be two incomes or one income and the other parent watches the child/children while they work.

This can make it extremely challenging if one doesn’t have a good paying job/career or they may be struggling to find child care in a reasonable amount of time. One thing is for sure, having a roof over their heads, food on the table, and clothes to wear are the most important things a single parent must do all while doing the cooking, cleaning, and ensureing the kids are healthy and happy.

Not only does one income make a single parent’s life incredibly difficult, tiring, and physically exhausting. It also makes it mentally straining, and a person’s mental health can be dramatically affected.

So how does a single parent overcome these barriers and obstacles? Income, careers, childcare, providing a home, food, and clothes, children’s health and development, and a single parent’s mental health

These are some of the topics that will be covered in this blog, today I’ll focus on resources in Metro Vancouver that help with Income. First off, there are resources in the community to either provide you income, supplement your income, or even provide you with grants for education.

Income Resources:

Income assistance in BC is a sum of money provided monthly to people who are having difficulties working or looking for a job. You can apply online through their ‘MySelfServe’ or you may go into one of the government offices. For more information on this, go to https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/income-assistance.

Disability assistance in BC is another form of financial assistance provided to people who are considered ‘Person with Disabillty’ (PWD) and recieve health supports as well.

Finding a job can be a difficult task, and WorkBC (https://www.workbc.ca/) can assist you with all areas of working from searching and preparing for a job, including resume building, to searching for jobs that suit you personally/professionally, or guidance into specific education and grants. Reach out to a worker to get all the info you need. It doesn’t matter what age you are, as long as you’re looking for work, reach out or head into a local office.

Remember if you are really struggling with working, you can always talk to your doctor about your mental health and see what other options are available for your situation.

I’ll dive more into housing supplements in my next blog post, for now, what career do you see yourself doing? or have you achieved your career goals?