Single Parents Wellbeing CIC Summit

SPW SUMMIT: What do young people from single parent households need for a mentally healthy future?

Join us at our free half day event in Cardiff on 3rd March 2026!

Why this matters for those shaping services and policy -

In Wales, there are over 161,000 single parent families, and one in four dependent children lives in a single parent household. This means a significant proportion of the children and young people engaging with education, health, wellbeing and community services are growing up in single parent households. 

The question is no longer whether services should reflect this reality, but how well they currently do.

This summit offers decision-makers and senior practitioners a focused opportunity to:

• Understand where systems are unintentionally missing, excluding or overlooking single parent households
• Contribute to a practical toolkit that will inform future service design and delivery
• Ensure your organisation’s work remains relevant, responsive and grounded in lived experience
• Hear about the research that shows how young people feel about the impact statutory and community services have on their lives when their single parent household status is not considered.

The children and young people involved in the project have co-designed this event with us and will be co-facilitating on the day. Whether you have responsibility for strategy, commissioning or service design, this is your chance to engage early to shape solutions.

This event will be held in the beautiful Cornerstone in Cardiff and will be unlike those you have been to before. 

Featuring:

Two workshops for professionals: Co-producing a Toolkit / An Introduction to our ‘What Does My Family Look Like’ project with young people.Two workshops for our young people volunteers: Practical Facilitation Skills / Co-production skills. Closing Comments and calls to action from the Children's Commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes.

Please wear colour on the day to match our bright young people and before coming, reflect on what type of household you grew up in and what type of household you live in now and why this matters.

The innovative Mental Health Manifesto project is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and is in partnership with Swansea University, Public Health Wales, and Mental Health Foundation.