Started during the pandemic, the 1Up Victoria Single Parent Resource Centre’s Market Day continues to help one-parent families Greater Victoria deal with the challenges of daily life.
At the weekly Market Day, single parents can pick up a changing assortment of non-perishable food, fresh bread, produce, dairy products and toiletries, along with healthy snacks and fruit for their school-aged children.
1Up has been supporting single-parent families with programs since 1978, but the charity says it saw an increase in demand during the pandemic due to a jump in the number of separations and family breakdowns.
“Food security is a huge area of need. It is bigger than ever,” said Melissa Masse, executive director of the registered charity.
Many of the families that depend on 1Up for support are also affected by the shortage of affordable housing.
In the last year or two, staff at the charity have noticed a “marked” increase in two applications requesting support coming from the same address, Masse said.
“What staff found were couples who had decided to separate, but were forced to continue to live in the same house because they cannot find separate housing,” she said. “It is a situation other agencies are starting to report as well.”
When clients, who are referred to as “members,” pick up their weekly groceries, they are given information on some of the other services available to them, including support groups and counselling sessions, mentorship and education programs. They can also get resource referrals or join a peer helper volunteer training program.
The organization serves about 1,000 members who access services and programs at locales throughout the region.
The sale of the distinctive red-brick Humber House on Gorge Road East, where the group was headquartered from 1991 until 2022, meant they went from 5,000 to 700 square feet of office space. The organization is now looking for a replacement location.
Masse said not having a high-profile location like Humber House has been a barrier for donations. “It was a touchstone. Everyone knew the house was us and would take donations there,” she said.
The group will have to find another suitable location to host 2024’s Parents Day, where members have an opportunity to meet, socialize and celebrate, thanks to funding from the Victoria Foundation.
“We don’t celebrate just Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, because for the most part, our members are both,” said Masse, the first executive director of the organization promoted from within its ranks.
Masse, who was once a single parent and received assistance from the organization, said it’s not unusual for people the group has helped in the past to return to join its board or volunteer to help others.
“Because it has been 45 years, we are now seeing children — and even grandchildren — of the original recipients who say: ‘Now, I want to help.’ ”
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