Shareparents hopes to connect like-minded single parents
Between 30 to 50 percent of marriages end in divorce and one in four children will experience divorce. A new flatmate finding service is helping single parents pool resources to minimise financial pressure.
The service was inspired by Georgie Hanby, a single mum who moved in to a share house with another single parent family after struggling to make ends meet following the end of her marriage.
“I had separated from my husband and was living alone in a small flat, working full time and caring for my young 4 year old son. It was extremely tough going, both financially and emotionally.”
When talking to a friend in a similar position one night, Hanby realised she could achieve a safe, warm and happy family environment for her son if the friends pooled their resources and moved in together.
The arrangement solved many solo-parent difficulties – the two mums were able to afford a big house with a big backyard, and juggle school runs, work commitments and housework.
“Best of all, when the kids had been read their bedtime stories and were safely asleep, my girlfriend and I got to enjoy a wine together, talk, unwind and share our ideas on parenting,” says Hanby.
The families lived together for almost two years, in which time the children “grew to be like brother and sister” and the mothers met new long-term partners, which they were able to do more easily with an extra child-carer in the household.
Ten years later, inspired by Hanby’s story, friend Lauren Doolan founded shareparents.com.au with business partner Wendy Lilley. The service aims to unite two separate single parent families under the one roof so they can share the emotional and financial burdens normally faced by one single parent supporting their family on their own.
Ms Doolan says users have found it helpful being able to search for specifically people in their same position as them, rather than wading through swathes of unsuitable candidates on general flatmate-finding services.
As for concerns that some could use the site to target vulnerable women and families, Ms Doolan says the site administers monitor user behaviour. “Anyone we see using it for anything other than simply looking for a housemate will be removed immediately.”
The site also provides information on safety and when to introduce children to a potential flatmate.
With divorce widely acknowledged as one of the most common pathways into poverty and social exclusion, share housing is an innovative solution to a modern problem.
Chat with other single parents in the one-parent family forum on Essential Baby.
