“Ten your belt” is currently the motto for many people in Vorarlberg. For some, however, the final gap has already been reached – inflation poses huge challenges, especially for single parents.
Sandra Hermes (41) has two children (aged two and four) and is a single parent. She can only work when her son and daughter are in childcare or with her father. She works 20 to 25 hours a week. Income is correspondingly low. The apartment in Dornbirn could not be kept due to the high rent, so Sandra had to return to the parental home in Alberschwende.
An absolute stroke of luck, many single parents do not have such opportunities. An acquaintance of Sandra, also a single parent, lives in a 55 square meter apartment – she sleeps in the living room.
Sandra works as a freelancer in online marketing and for the Vorarlberger Familienverband. Even if she’s not completely financially stuck, the price hike is eating a good hole in the mother of two’s household budget. Cuts are being made on food, clothing and leisure activities. “That’s how I try to reduce the monthly burden.” The shopping cart mainly contains products that are on sale, or people buy at discounters. “I sell my children’s clothes that are too small in second-hand shops. From the proceeds there are new autumn stuff.”
Collect discounts, search for free offers
For Sandra it is especially depressing that there are no longer enough leisure activities for the children. Yet she remains optimistic. “I just have to change my mind.” For excursions, she takes advantage of the discounts and benefits of the “Family Pass” and “v-Card”. In addition, she has subscribed to about 20 newsletters from various organizers and municipalities to stay informed: “You wouldn’t believe how much we offer for free.”
She recently took her kids to jazz brunch at the Feldkirch Pool Bar Festival. The train tickets cost 10.80 euros. Picnic on the meadow, the children play for free with the hula hoop of the circus school. There are fries for 4 euros. Then go to the playground. There the self-brought snack is plastered – purchase value 10 euros, the vegetables come from grandma’s vegetable garden. Finally an ice cream for the children (3.40 euros), then the train back home. The children are happy, the mother relaxed. Total cost: about 30 euros.
Stakeholders can also exchange views on how and where to save through a new platform of the Vorarlberg Family Association, which Sandra launched and oversees. Tips are shared and concerns and needs are discussed in a WhatsApp group. In addition, there is a meeting once a week. That makes Sandra and others more affected than the government’s anti-inflation package.
“One-off payments are all well and good and many of our group are in dire need of the money, but they are not sustainable or accurate.” Moreover, for many it is not clear who is entitled to what. And uncertainty hangs above all else: “Many are afraid and wonder how long they can last. On the other hand, they don’t really have a head for the future, because they have to see that they can handle it now.”
There is a lack of the necessary care provision
The reasons for the precarious situation of many single parents are many. The family association therefore sees a need for politics, and the need for action is great. “Subsidies and grants for single parents are of course welcome. However, the cost of living, which is extremely high in Vorarlberg, should be considered much more fundamentally. Especially in divorce situations, it is crucial to find a new place to live for yourself and the children that is also affordable,” says Guntram Bechter, chairman of the Vorarlberg family association.
New preconditions need to be created
“In addition, rural, affordable childcare needs to be tackled. The right to a childcare place must be anchored in the new Education and Childcare Act. The point is that single parents do not become applicants, but that we create preconditions so that they can provide for themselves and their children’, adds deputy chair Katharina Fuchs.
The website of the family association contains all information about support services in the event of divorce. There are also opportunities for exchange and theme evenings with experts are organised. Sandra appeals to the single parents to take up the offer of help: “Everyday life is challenging enough – with or without inflation.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
