In France, one in four families (one in three in the Paris region) are single parents and 82% of parents in single-parent families are women.* Finding yourself a single parent means facing the difficulties of finding accommodation on just one salary. A situation that is all the more complicated in large cities where the real estate market remains tense. To provide an innovative response to this problem, the start-up Commune initiated a new concept of shared living for single-parent families by opening its first residence in December 2023 which can accommodate fourteen families. A place built on the same model which will open by spring, in Roubaix (North), with a capacity of 28 parents with children. “For housing, single parents find themselves in competition with more traditional couples or familiesexplains Tara Heuzé-Sarmini, co-founder of Commune. Owners favor tenants with two incomes rather than one, hence the difficulty in finding accommodation.”
*Source INSEE
Finding accommodation after separation
This is exactly what Louise*, mother of a 3-year-old little girl, experienced. Separated on good terms, the thirty-year-old initially stayed in her old home during her ex-partner’s business trips, then she moved in temporarily with friends while she looked for accommodation. During this period, she dreams of finding a place of her own. “The separation is already a situation that weakensshe says. I only aspired to reconnect with a secure living environment for my daughter and for me.” Last January, she tried the adventure and moves into one of the apartments of the Commune residence in Poissy (Yvelines), happy to see her application finally accepted. “I was interested, even though the idea of flatsharing with other families hardly appealed to me at first, she admits. I didn’t really want to go back to student life. I saw this as a failure. But I quickly understood that this solution could bring me much more than a roof over my head. »
Shared spaces to recreate social connections
Coliving, in fact, consists of live together in furnished accommodation made up of private spaces and common areas. For several years, this co-location system including a range of tailor-made services (dining room, laundry, work spaces, etc.) has developed in major French cities for students and young professionals. This trend was just waiting to spread to single-parent families. At Commune, each has a private space including a bedroom for the single parent and another for the child(ren), but also a kitchenette and a bathroom. But above all they have access to shared spaces: a garden and an interior courtyard with a surface area of 300 m2, a games room, a living room and a kitchen, a laundry room. Places that can facilitate exchanges and allow people to regain sociability. “In addition to the housing problem, the risk of social exclusion and isolation threatens single parents., analyzes Tara Heuzé-Sarmini. Families aspire to find a balance in life for their children. Unable to find an apartment, Magali was forced to live in an apartment hotel for several months before testing co-living. “I had forgotten what you could do with an oven!”smiles the forty-year-old, happy to see her two teenagers, aged 13 and 16, flourishing and forming relationships with the other residents.
Colocation platforms to connect single-parent families
If the concept of Commune is only starting now, the principle of shared accommodation between single-parent families is not new. Difficult to quantify the phenomenon due to lack of statistical studies. But it represents a solution to break the loneliness, help each other and replenish your savings. All the easier to achieve since, today, the web increases the chances of finding families who are also tempted by the adventure: a lot of announcements are published on Facebook groups bringing together single-parent families as well as on sites dedicated to shared accommodation (cooloc.com, roommate-adult.fr). To connect these people, María Eugenia López Medina, herself a single mother, launched the first shared accommodation and connection platform for single-parent families in France in July 2023. In a few months, Heria claims 2,500 active families looking for roommates “on the same wavelength”.
For sure, a temporary solution
Despite an almost perfect portrait described by these new structures, the dream can come crashing down on the pitfall of reality. Certainly families have access to larger accommodation, and reduce the cost of rent in their budget, but living together with children is not always as idyllic as we might have projected. In Bordeaux, Claire*, 35 years old, teacher, two children aged 5 and 7, tried the experiment but quickly encountered divergent views on education. “I don’t regret having lived in shared parental accommodationshe confides. It helped me face a complicated period of my life more calmly. However, at one point, I wanted to regain my independence.” Except for certain people who make it a lifestyle choice, roommate remains an enriching transient social experience. High rents, the shortage of housing and the attitude of private landlords towards single-parent families will perhaps change the situation in the years to come?
* First names have been changed.
In the United States, a booming way of life
Living together and sharing expenses is the solution found by American single mothers. Called mommunes (from “mom” and “commune”), these communities of single moms continue to grow in the United States. As in France, nearly 80% of American single-parent families are represented by mothers. Studies show that they suffer from financial insecurity, psychological distress and a lack of self-confidence. Cohabiting and helping each other allows them to face this situation with more resources and to contribute to a better family balance for their children.
Read also :
⋙ Solo mothers: these initiatives to relieve them
⋙ Divorce, separation: how to preserve children? The psychologist’s advice
⋙ Parental guilt: how can you not let yourself be overcome by this normal feeling? Advice from a psychologist