News release, embargoed to Weds 14 October 2009
TOUGH TIMES FOR LONE PARENTS – SPACE4.COM.AU POLL REVEALS 52 PER CENT FORCED
TO MOVE SUBURBS DUE TO COST OF LIVING
With interest rates back on the rise a poll released today by Space4.com.au (the online community
of single parents looking for practical and emotional support from other lone parent families) has
revealed the stark financial and accommodation situation faced by lone parents.
The poll found that 52 per cent of lone parents are forced to move suburbs and uproot their family
after a relationship split and 70 per cent forced to live in rented accommodation as they cannot
afford to buy a home, 11 per cent live with their parents and only 16 per cent currently own their
own home.
The Space4.com.au poll surveyed single parents through its online database and revealed single
parents find the going tough in many ways with parents surveyed revealing they have experienced
the following difficulties:
1.
Reduced finances for general cost of living - 42%
2.
Dealing with emotional upheaval of self and children - 38%
3.
Juggling child care arrangements - 30%
4.
Lack of support from like minded people - 25%
5.
Reduced quality of accommodation - 23%
6.
Child care fees - 21%
Apart from practical accommodation issues and lack of emotional support, the poll also revealed the
single parents with no real family or community support find it incredibly difficult to balance work and
child care responsibilities: 45 per cent of non-working single parents say they are unable to work
due to parenting responsibilities or cannot find flexible enough or part time work to cater for child
care arrangements
Sophie Andrews, founder of Space4.com.au said: “One parent families account for around one-fifth
of all families with children under 15 and whether this is as a result of divorce, death or a mum
bringing up a child on her own from day one, the fact remains that many parents find themselves in
very difficult situation – either practically, financially and/or emotionally.
“With global and interstate moves becoming more common, she says, many parents don’t even live
in their country of origin, let alone their home town and often have no family or close friends on hand
to help out. And with an often drastically reduced financial outlook, the situation can be very
daunting”.
About SPACE4.com.au
In a time where the economic downturn is playing havoc with everyday life for two-parent families,
let alone single parents, SPACE4.com.au, an online community for lone parents offers a valuable
resource for single mums and dads who are finding the financial and emotional burden of living and
child care arrangements a little too hard to bear.
Dedicated to providing single parents with alternative living arrangements and child care assistance
at what is a very lonely and financially difficult time, SPACE4.com.au is an online database of single
parents looking to either share a house with another single parent, or to contact other one parent
families in their area with a view to sharing childcare and babysitting duties.
SPACE4 launched in 2007 and has been a huge success, winning the 2008 Australian Home
Based Business Award for Personal Services just 18 months after launch.
SPACE4 offers parents the support and reassurance of having someone to talk to who is
experiencing the exact same problems. It gives single parents the means to afford better
accommodation, have reciprocal babysitting arrangements and provides a family-style set up where
children have playmates and parents have adult company.
Open to single dads as well as mums, SPACE4.com.au is also great for single dads with weekend
or overnight access who may want to consider sharing with another single father in the same
position.
Says Andrews: “Instead of going home to an empty house or apartment, single parents can take
advantage of the better standard of living, social and emotional support that house sharing and child
care sharing can provide”.
The website is designed to be an easily affordable resource and costs just $9.95 for a basic
membership and an online profile. Once joined up, parents can choose potential member matches
by searching through the profiles by location and contacting any prospective parents by email.
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