The possibility of other, better worlds : Single‑mother organising as acts of Homefullness
This chapter proposes that Homefullness has a great deal in common with the imaginative and radical ways of thinking, survival and resistance developed by single mothers organising at the margins of society. It describes the experiences of an ‘un-careful’ present, where children and their mothers are left in destitution in receding welfare states. These accounts are telling of our present times and the forces that need to be challenged if we are to create future cities of Homefullness. Starting from the vantage point of those who are excluded, impoverished and not (yet) counted for, this chapter explores what inclusive, equitable and sustainable communities should feel and be like. It also discusses examples set by two single-mother-led organisations that developed alternative ways of delivering services and engaging families in poverty – Single Parent Action Network (SPAN) in the United Kingdom and Operation Life in the United States. Finally, this chapter proposes that these projects should be considered as examples of ‘everyday utopias’ that challenge hegemonic ideas of self-reliance, independence and capitalist realism.