According to census data, there are around 12,000 single-parent households in Hamilton County. And Diane Wooten and Ben Brychta, congregation members at Valleybrook Presbyterian in Hixson, can tell you, being a single parent is no easy task.
That’s why Valleybrook has brought back one of its most successful ministries from 2016: Single and Parenting. The classes are taught by Wooten and Brychta, who are both personally familiar with the struggles of being a single parent.
The classes are meant as a way not only for single parents to learn how to better manage their finances and raise their kids, but to keep perspective and stay happy.
“My first wife died when my two boys were around 4 and 6 years old,” said Brychta. “It was hard just trying to work through everything.”
Wooten’s husband of 27 years passed away in a car accident when her sons were much older, but much of the stress was the same.