{"id":95710,"date":"2024-01-21T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=95710"},"modified":"2024-01-22T09:21:59","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T09:21:59","slug":"single-parent-alliance-offers-resources-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=95710","title":{"rendered":"Single Parent Alliance offers resources, connection"},"content":{"rendered":"
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BRUNSSUM, Netherlands \u2013 Living in Europe is a dream \u2026 or is it? Moving overseas can present a unique set of challenges for single parent Families\u2014especially when the magic of Europe seems to wear off and they find themselves in an unfamiliar landscape when caring for their children. A recent Benelux initiative, called the Single Parent Alliance, aims to address these challenges from the start by providing a meeting place to find connection and share valuable resources.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The Alliance] kind of grew its own legs \u2026 and turned into this opportunity for people to feel, be seen, have a place to talk and be understood \u2026 and not be judged,\u201d said Lt. Col. Holly Archer, Deputy Commander for Nursing at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Healthcare Facility in Belgium, one of the founders of the initiative.<\/p>\n

The Single Parent Alliance came about as a result of commanders identifying the struggles of their Soldiers in single-parenting situations. Archer explained how she experienced firsthand the challenges in her own personal life and has also observed similar in her Soldiers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn’t like being in Germany where there’s a lot of resources for everybody, and it’s not like being in the States. Sometimes we need to make some special accommodations for people because this location is just a little bit different,\u201d said Archer, explaining how the support network in other locations may be more robust, to include help from relatives or 24-hour childcare facilities.<\/p>\n

Archer banded together with Brooke Campbell, Army Community Service Family Advocacy Program Manager and Chaplain (Capt.) Gerald Igboanusi at SHAPE, to gather resources, brainstorm education and training topics relevant to their audience, and formulate an approach to help leadership gain a greater understanding of the challenges that single parents face in this theater.<\/p>\n

When a situation seems insurmountable, it can affect other areas of the Soldier\u2019s work and Family life and seeking help can be hard. The Single Parent Alliance aims to offer an open environment for dialogue. The meetings are designed to connect single parents to resources and link them up with others in the community who are going through the same challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just allow space for everyone to connect and talk about the struggles that they’re having and the supports that they need,\u201d said Campbell.<\/p>\n

The group is open to anyone who is single-parenting and has access to the SHAPE installation. The attendees come from all situations, whether the parent is geographically separated from their spouse or if the parent does not have a partner. It takes place specifically during the workday in order to avoid the childcare challenges that many face\u2014which is the number one topic of discussion in the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cAsking them to [meet] on Saturday or after work doesn’t work for them because that’s the whole problem,\u201d said Archer. \u201cBut we still have some people who can’t step away from their work to come for something that is going to make them a much better employee.\u201d<\/p>\n

The initiative is backed by the Ready & Resilient Council (CR2C) with full support from the community\u2019s senior leaders. Still, Archer explained how the Soldiers themselves need to realize that their situation warrants dedicated attention in order to build resiliency and discover resources in the community that can help.<\/p>\n

At the last meeting, Campbell gave parenting training about establishing times to spend as a Family and also space to rejuvenate independently without feeling guilty. Afterwards, the group shared contacts such as housekeepers, lawn mowers, or people to help with groceries. These connections could make all the difference in household management for a single parent.<\/p>\n

\u201cSingle parents don\u2019t get a break. They have to go to work \u2026 [then] pick up their child and go home to another full-time job,\u201d said Igboanusi about the role of a sole caregiver. \u201cThen they do it all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Igboanusi struggled as a geographically separated parent when his young daughter visited for the summer months. He resonated with the need for making available more resources, connection, and assistance for parents when working full time, especially when they have no established support network.<\/p>\n

Organizing a Strong Bonds Resiliency Training weekend designed just for single parents is in the planning stages. Offering childcare for a weekend like this is essential for parents to take advantage of the personal development opportunities. It also affords an opportunity for single parents to see that they aren\u2019t alone in their endeavors.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ultimate goal is \u2026 healthier relationships,\u201d said Igboanusi, \u201cand fostering wholeness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Single Parent Alliance aims to do that and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we take care of our people,\u201d said Archer, \u201cthen it allows them to do their best at work.\u201d<\/p>\n

To join the next gathering, come to the SHAPE International Library Feb. 16 at 2 p.m. Email USAG Benelux Army Community Services<\/a> with questions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BRUNSSUM, Netherlands \u2013 Living in Europe is a dream \u2026 or is it? Moving overseas can present a unique set of challenges for single parent Families\u2014especially when the magic of Europe seems to wear off and they find themselves in an unfamiliar landscape when caring for their children. A recent Benelux initiative, called the Single […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95712,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=95710"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95713,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95710\/revisions\/95713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/95712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=95710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=95710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=95710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}