The first meeting on the situation of single parents was held in Kragujevac, on 25th September 2014. The meeting was attended by the representatives of the city the Social Welfare Centre in Kragujevac, representatives of the National Employment Service, Red Cross Organization Kragujevac , preschool institutions , representatives of the association of single mothers from Kragujevac “ Lastavica”. The aim of the meeting was to present the available services and types of support for single parents at the local level and to point out to the needs of this group of citizens.
Representatives of the City Council presented all the programs that are available for single parents. In addition to the types of financial aid that are planned by the budget of local government, such as social support, increased social support and direct financial aid , there are other forms of support for children from vulnerable families, free meals for school children and summer camps. The Red Cross in the city organizes the allocation of food and hygiene packages to the most vulnerable families.
Representatives of the Associations Lastavica pointed out that there is the lack of employment opportunities, access to information and a lack of free legal support. Also required services are extended day care for children from single parent -families and need to introduce employers to the issue of their single parent’s employees.
This is the first meeting in this city, and the plan is by the project is to contribute to improving the situation of single parents in the local community through the work with the public and civil sector and find a way of organizing additional forms of support by September 2015.
