First year of single mothers after leaving a shelter

This bachelor thesis focuses on situation of single mothers in the context of social work. It describes changes in family behavior after 1989 and defines the concept of single parenthood. This work concentrates on women, because in the majority of cases females are the head of single parent families. Single mothers represent a vulnerable group with specific needs. This work defines the most important risks connected with this status such as poverty, social isolation, psychological stress, problems with harmonization of family and work life, unemployment etc. When the additional threat joins to the difficult life situation of single mothers, it can lead to the need to seek a support in the shelter. This thesis also introduces social services offered for lone-parents and decribes a shelter as a social service. The goal of the practical section is to find out how single mothers deal with risks associated with single parenthood during the first year after leaving a shelter and how they judge benefits and disadvantages of their stay in a shelter. To fulfill this aim a qualitative deductive survey is used. It has been realized by semi-structured interviews with six single mothers. Key words Single mother, single parent family, social services, social care, shelter, integration, risks of single..