LAUSR

ABSTRACT This case study on the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) in Singapore relates a simple and powerful tenet of social justice; all children deserve government and social support regardless of their parents’ marital status. Despite single parenthood becoming increasingly common, some single mothers and their children in Singapore face numerous challenges, such as finding suitable housing. Significant factors regarding this may be attributed to the housing policies and regulations that reward traditional families and underserve other forms of family structures. While more than 80 percent of Singapore’s population enjoy access to public housing, unwed mothers seem to be systematically excluded from this entitlement until they reach the age of 35, in addition to other welfare and tax benefits that are consistently awarded to traditional families. Divorced single mothers also often experience poor housing situations and sometimes homelessness, apparently due to excessively stringent eligibility criteria. To address these issues, AWARE conducted “evidence-based” advocacy using a multi-actor and multi-level approach. The method, commitment, and coordination that AWARE has demonstrated may indeed serve as a blueprint for other organizations seeking to assist deserving single parents and their dependents.