It can be a challenge to raise children, even with a partner alongside you – yet 13.7 million parents in the United States are going it alone, according to a 2009 census data.

While conversations around the issue of single parenthood result in mixed answers about its impact on poverty, in Brown County we know one thing is true: poverty more greatly affects young women with children.

Between 2009 and 2013, 45% of those in poverty in Brown County were women under 24 with children, according to Beth Hudak of the House of Hope in Green Bay. House of Hope is one of Jake’s Diapers Diaper Drop partners and aims to “provide a safe and stable environment where young parents and children experiencing homelessness will become confident, independent, and successful members of our community.”

House of Hope offers temporary shelter units where women can stay with their children while the organization helps each family on their way towards self-sustainability, through education, access to medical and mental health services and other support programs. The women typically stay anywhere between 65 and 80 days, and House of Hope stays in touch afterward to support the family with ongoing needs to maintain financial stability.

House of Hope is currently under an expansion to address the overwhelming need of those mothers under 24 struggling with poverty in Brown County. Beth said the program will expand from offering 13 units for mothers and children to soon have a total of 27. House of Hope often has mother’s sitting on a waitlist for their services, and they hope the expansion will shift that reality.

“We hope that 27 units will alleviate the waitlist completely, the goal in going to a size that large is that so no child has to be homeless in Brown County,” she said.

As House of Hope serves more people, our partnership means we’ll have a wider audience to serve, too.