It is hard to have a healthy social life as a single parent, says Patricia Morgan, 67, of Fairfax, whose husband left her almost 20 years ago. She said it was a relief to find people to hang out with through a local group known as Parents Without Partners.
Fairfax County's chapter has about 300 members who are constantly planning ways to get to know each other in different places throughout the area, according to Morgan.
"People join because they want a community," she said. "We all need that as human beings."
Parents Without Partners is a national organization that is active in giving single parents a social life and voice in the community.
There is only one requirement for membership: being a single parent.
Members plan activities throughout the week and on weekends, including dances, happy hours, eating out with their children, game nights, group discussions, beach trips and camping.
David Reade, 41, of Fairfax City, joined the club about six years ago when his wife passed away.
"The main thing is for single parents to feel comfortable re-entering the social scene," he said.
Parents Without Partners is not just for people who are looking for someone to date, although, Reade said, most "are hopeful that will happen to them."
Trisha Carr, 46, of Chantilly, said she joined after her husband left her about three years ago.
"I've made wonderful friends and have done activities that I wouldn't have done," Carr said.
Burke resident Anne Spice, 55, became a member after her husband left. And, because all her friends were married, she said she was looking for people she "could go out and socialize with."
"Not everyone is there just looking for a boyfriend," Spice said. "I've made some very close girlfriends."
But sometimes people who meet through the club do end up in romantic relationships, Spice said.
"Friends and community is the number one priority," Morgan said. "If it happens to turn into a romance, fine."
Because there are increasingly more ways for singles to meet each other, like online dating services, Parents Without Partners clubs in Virginia and across the country are "shrinking," Morgan said.
But she did note that Fairfax County's chapter is one of the largest and most active clubs in the state.
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