Fear not, because your new degree or certificate will open up career opportunities for you and is guaranteed to make you and your family proud.. At the UPMC Matilda H. Theiss Child Development Center, they offer health services to moms and children, regardless of insurance, through a federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Sign up to get job alerts relevant to your skills and experience. That unborn baby is now 16, about to be a junior at McKeesport Area High School. If you decide to talk to your current employer about flexible options, here are some tips to keep in mind as you broach the subject: Make it about your work. You might also consider nontraditional work situations such as scaling back to part-time hours, while supplementing your income with freelance work that you can do on your own time—that is, if it makes sense for you. Please support our coverage of the Pittsburgh region. We know that not everyone is able to support our work financially, but we count on those who can to ensure this kind of journalism remains available. Reach freelancer Jennie Dorris at [email protected]. And since traveling is part of her job, she’s learned to rely on a network of helpers—her siblings, parents and friends, among others. She quit her full-time job as a records clerk at St. Clair Hospital in the suburbs southwest of Pittsburgh. - V: 2020.26.0.27-822 -. They also have to manage evolving expectations: Many workplaces expect employees to be available around the clock at the same time mothers are expected to be increasingly hands-on with their children. Spano was one of four women who lived in St. Joseph’s Walsh Manor, which houses pregnant women. Single moms — of whom there are at least 318,500 in Pennsylvania alone — have become a scapegoat for a variety of social problems. © 2021 Monster Worldwide Set Boundaries. The Women and Girls Foundation is also trying to fill the gaps by cataloging services for single mothers. Every month, I give out $500 cash to one single mom, no strings attached. However, many of those mothers go on to hold low-paying jobs; 40 percent of single mothers across the U.S. are working minimum-wage jobs. Add studying to the mix and it's a whole new level of juggling. Access to a large number of services is provided by CareerLink Centers to the unemployed and residents seeking new skills, like job search assistance, training, and career counseling. “It all comes down to more control over when, where, and how you work,” says Reynolds. Let your work life be your work life and your home life be home. Other resources exist, but they are fragmented. Daycare today is extremely expensive. You're a single mom. Of course, she says, during normal working days, she’s grateful that her employer is very flexible, which makes her life easier. It might mean having predictable hours with no requirements to stay late; it could be working an earlier shift so you’re home to pick up the kids after school; or it might be working from home a couple of days per week. (https://www.publicsource.org/going-it-alone-low-income-single-moms-struggle-to-find-help-escape-judgment/). Knowing the best companies to meet your needs as a working parent is a key step in the job search process. She’s named the project “femisphere,” and she wants to create a community where women can have a one-stop shop approach to resources, whether organizations are physically under one roof or digitally connected via an app. “Because of the knowledge economy and the advancement of technology and Internet access, there are more jobs than ever before that can be done in a flexible or remote way,” says Reynolds. . “Oftentimes the biggest challenge for me is balancing business travel and after-work events,” she says. “Parents have to find these things out for themselves. SUNBURY – A single mom of two, struggling to find a job, and who doesn’t speak English well, is turning to the Needy Family Fund for the first time this holiday season. After Jackson pressed charges against her boyfriend, she found her way to the Duquesne Family Support Center along the Monongahela River; it’s one of 32 state-funded hubs of resources for families with young children around the state. Balance as a single mom is tough. -- Ken Solin A state Senate bill has already been written to try to overturn the law. To get more information on the above education and work programs, call 717-787-1302. Being a single mom is hard. “These details, though important, are better to explore as you get toward the end of the process and have already determined that there seems to be a good fit, and a mutual desire to make it work,” she says. Once you actually begin an interview process, it’s also smart to look for evidence of people's families in their workspace, like photos or kids' art, says Clayman. Leahy says one perk that she takes advantage of is a flexible spending account through TD Bank for her child care. His plan would extend WIC benefits for children until the age of 6. No matter what is most important to you—whether it’s the ability to work remotely, good benefits, or access to or even a subsidy for daycare—it’s important to do your research when looking for a job, says Melvina Regan, vice president of the Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina office of Keystone Partners, a talent management and outplacement firm. “Do we want moms who are thinking about leaving their young child with a fever home alone versus losing their job?”. Flexibility can mean different things to different people. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, signed by former President Bill Clinton in 1996, limits welfare recipients to five years of assistance, and mothers are required to look for work. “A single parent raising young children on their own — they often have a minimum-wage job, no paid sick leave and no safety net. Gifts of any size are welcome and truly appreciated. With no one to share your daily responsibilities or decision-making, you often feel guilty about leaving your kids in the morning. This appealed to the “natural activist” within Jackson, who took what she learned to help form a group that got a Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) office back in the Duquesne community. “With wages remaining flat, and employment becoming more episodic or fluid, many single parents find themselves struggling to make ends meet and create a financial cushion to keep them afloat during transitions.”. They provided diapers and a crib, among other things, when her son, Carson, was born, and later helped to furnish her first apartment. You have no right to complain. “What employers want to hear is, how will working flexibly make you a more productive worker? One of the most expensive parts of the process for single mothers is health care. It’s really difficult. A family of three gets $403 a month at most from TANF. While many full-time employees in the American workforce struggle to find an appropriate work-life balance, it can be even harder to make it work if you are a single mom. Single moms tell us that they sometimes feel trapped underneath a mountain of responsibility that never allows them to invest in friendships, much less find another companion for life. This year I will save around $2,000,” she says. EARN: The Employment, Advancement and Retention Network coordinates welfare recipients with existing employment and training programs. Our families, Our future foundation is designed to shape a community in which all kids can unleash their full potentials. “It’s a pre-tax benefit account used to pay for eligible dependent care services, such as preschool, summer day camp, day care, and more. But for single moms relying on unemployment money and unable to find a job, the world is anything but rainbows right now. ... being a single mother … Single moms have to do it all, all the time. Her eldest child was in … Will you be more focused, have more energy, be more productive?” says Reynolds. Her boyfriend, the father of her children, had grown increasingly abusive during her pregnancy. Click here to learn more about the videographers. Discover how to change for surviving to thriving. “She was right out there being a spokesperson on these issues.” He still has the newsletter that shows Jackson at the Duquesne WIC’s ribbon cutting, standing with her children. I just think that no matter what happens, I’ll try to get through the day,” Spano said. “In that sense, I actually think it's harder than in generations past,” she says. Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced Thursday that a confirmed COVID-19 variant case was found in Dauphin County. More information can be found by calling (800) 771-2303. “Most of our legislators and policymakers are white men who haven’t had the experience of poverty, let alone as a single woman in poverty. Arnet recently announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the special election for the state Senate’s 37th District, where she hopes to continue her support of bills that increase minimum wage and mandate paid sick days. When you’re juggling the same responsibilities that dual-working-parent households face, but all on your own, it can be very challenging, says Brie Reynolds, senior career specialist for FlexJobs, a platform for finding remote and flexible work. Qualifications are simple: 1. Find stories on education, environment, local government, and social justice. “Take a look at the company’s website, and review areas that speak to the company’s workplace culture and benefits,” she says. Navigating a volatile job market and learning how to homeschool your children are just a few of the hardships facing single parents during this unprecedented time. “Having this information is helpful in coordinating child care,” says Regan. Teana Mendoza, a twenty-one-year-old single mother of three children, ages two to six, was scraping by with a job at a small shop in Harlem. Many managers may be hesitant to automatically allow you to use flexible work options, so suggesting a trial run of 1-2 months can help them adjust to the idea, and allow you to prove that flexibility is a great idea for both of you, says Reynolds. But if you have a grip on your time, the chaos goes down and your quality of life goes up. Shannon Spano, a 20-year-old from Scranton, has a son who is almost 2 years old. She graduated high school seven months pregnant, and became a certified nursing assistant while her son was a baby. We’re proud to bring you the news that matters to the Pittsburgh region – to cast light on what’s really happening, beyond a flashy headline or a misleading pull quote. However, many of those mothers go on to hold low-paying jobs; 40 percent of single mothers across the U.S. are working minimum-wage jobs. Join Monster for free today. On Aug. 3, the Pittsburgh City Council passed a law requiring all businesses in the city to offer paid sick leave. According to the Monster 2020 State of the Candidate survey, time off (39%) and a flexible work schedule (34%) are the second and third most-desired aspects of a job offer, respectively. And, for many like Jackson, who dropped out of college when she had her first child, it’s a challenge to get an education while raising children and holding down a job. . - We’re a nonprofit newsroom covering Pittsburgh news with context. “‘I want to be poor. Need some help? By the end of this year, Arnet said they plan to have finished their initial survey and will be looking at how they can connect services to each other. Parents Without Partners. 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