By Guest
On the day Gingerbread launch their Lose the Labels campaign, Zoe Hannam tells us about the reality of being a single parent. Zoe has set up Maisonentersurprises, supporting people to set up their own small businesses.
I am a white middle class woman in my forties with two children, I have been rebuilding my life after a divorce 4 years ago.
The three of us form a family unit. I do not label nor think of myself as a lone parent – I am an entrepreneur carving a career for myself in order to provide for mine and my children’s future, and hopefully create opportunities for other lone parents
I had never experienced discrimination before, but over the past 5 years making the transition from a self-sufficient traditional family unit to a ‘lone parent on benefits’ has presented me with many barriers and traps. I have overcome these obstacles but my children and I suffer the consequences – from debt to lost homes.
I was once told that ‘my plans were too ambitious for a lone parent.’ My immediate response ‘why?!’
We are all unique and individual in our own right, yet we give up our identity and ambition to fit society’s definition of single parents. In my opinion this could have a major impact on our children, who miss out on opportunities because their mum was ‘only fit for certain jobs, as a lone parent.’