Indianapolis nonprofit helps single mothers raise sons

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Nonprofit Single Parent Connection Inc. is helping single mothers raise their sons, and the goal is to assists at least 100 families a year.

Up to 60 families experiencing difficulties have received education, empowerment and support since the nonprofit was founded in 2018.

Founder Dionne Brown said Single Parent Connection has an assistance program offering toiletries and necessities, and accepts donations to raise money for an emergency assistance fund.

Brown mentioned services geared toward improving self-sufficiency include smart money-management workshops, and a continuing education scholarship for parents returning to school.

Brown said she started the nonprofit after realizing that raising a son on her own was not easy; she added that single moms often have financial needs and lack resources to raise their children.

“They’re a lot of things that a mother can pass down to their children, but when you’re dealing with a mother and a young boy a woman can’t teach a young boy how to be a man and the things he needs to know in that process that’s where it becomes important for other men to kind of step in and fill in the gap for the missing fathers so that they’re able to still learn what they need to know as they transition in life,” Brown said.

Single Parent Connection has partnered with the men’s ministry of the Blended Church to lead a Boys to Men Learning Workshop Series. Boys from ages 12-18 can learn life skills including how to fish, change a tire, tie a neck tie, and barbeque. The workshop series will begin in June.