Living below the breadline

When I was growing up we were not well-off. My mum and dad worked really hard to provide for my brother, sister and I but we didn’t get holidays abroad or anything like that. This made me want more for myself and my children so I vowed to myself that I would work hard at school to get a good career so I could give my children everything. I did work hard at school and came away from 6^th year with five highers. I went straight to university but did not like it, so gave up after first year and began looking at different avenues. I had my eye on going to the RAF for a while but then I met my ex-partner and we had two kids. My ex-partner had a really good job, so I put my career on hold to bring up my children while he worked. When my children were two and four years old, my ex-partner walked out on us. We went from living on £650 - £800 a week to living on benefits. I was scrimping and scraping to buy the daily essentials, never mind any luxuries.

I did not want to be a single mum on benefits, like you seen on the news. Those mums were portrayed as lazy scroungers and I definitely was not like that.

I did not want to be a single mum on benefits, like you see on the news. Those mums were portrayed as lazy scroungers and I definitely was not like that. I really wanted to work but every way I turned I was hit with barriers and this made accessing employment so difficult. Childcare was so expensive, and not readily available in my area, buses were irregular and expensive, my mum didn’t keep well so I could not rely on her. I just did not know where to turn. It was at this time that I started volunteering with Fife Gingerbread. I wanted to support other lone parents through the hurdles and barriers of being a single mum like I was trying to do. Working with Fife Gingerbread gave me the confidence to challenge other people’s views and the stigma of single parents being lazy benefit scroungers and gave me the confidence in myself to make the most of my situation instead of shying away from it. Through Fife Gingerbread I have made a few very good friends and we share hints and tips about shopping in the sales, online and in thrift shops. We also have get-togethers regularly where we share and swap clothes, shoes etc which helps a lot. I have been a single parent living on benefits for the majority of the last seven years now, and I am coping a lot better. I am better at managing my money and making my money go further now. How can we improve the lives of lone parents living on benefits? I think there needs to be more support for lone parents accessing employment but from an early stage. Childcare needs to be made a priority in all areas, and it should be more affordable and easily accessible. Employers can think about parents when writing contracts or vacancy ads, shifts can be more flexible to support parents and transport can be less expensive. We’ve launched Scotland’s Outlook campaign to fight poverty in Scotland. Scotland’s outlook is poor, but you can help change it.