Support for lone parents!

The Clear Direction -project ran in Finland from November 2021 to May 2023 as part of a trinational Lone Parents Digital Activation -project. The mission of the project was to support the working life skills and well-being of parents in single-parent families. It received its funding from the European Union's EaSI-program supporting employment and social innovation. The same project was implemented not only in Finland but also in Ireland and Greece. The countries implementing the project cooperated by exchanging experiences and good practices with each other during the project period. The three implementing countries produce their operational model proposals for the European Union for 2024.

The final report of the Finnish Clear Direction project provides a snapshot of the situation of single parents in Finland. It also offers tips to be used in future projects and recommendations for supporting the target group in the future. The project's website and the final report are available both in Finnish and English, you may switch the language from the menu at the top of the page.

You can find the final report of the project here.

The Clear Direction project offered worklife coaching in Helsinki and Tampere to single parents unemployed, on their family leave or who mainly looked after their children at home. Individual and group coaching offered support for combining family and work, job search and career planning, as well as coping with everyday life and well-being in general. A free childcare service was also available for the duration of each coaching session.

In addition, the project produced content supporting the well-being of parents of single parents for the Omaperhe.fi service. You can find the contents produced by the project in the links below:

• Single-parent families
• Childcare and early childhood education in a one-parent family
• Where can I get help for a single-parent family?
• Money management in a single-parent family

The project also involved in international cooperation to develop operational models to support the employment and inclusion of parents in single-parent families.In addition, the Clear Direction's sister project, From Family leave to Working life, previously produced its own set of content to support parents.

From Family leave to working life

From Family leave to working life is a project funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The project is coordinated by the Uusimaa Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.

• The family vacationer's guide (pdf)
• A guide for employers (pdf, in Finnish)
• Work-family balance (omaperhe.fi)