How Widow Support Prevents Family Breakdown: Beyond the Statistics

The proactive approach and the statistical reality we've overlooked.

A Decade of Advocacy: The 80% Reality

For over a decade, I've championed a bold claim: that supporting widows worldwide could solve 50% of the fatherless child crisis through faith-based intervention.

I underestimated the impact. It's actually 80%.

This CAFO Christian Alliance for Widows report “Why are children in care? A global perspective and the hidden reality of alternative care”, confirms what we knew at Widow Life™, Modern Widows Club® The Movement for Widow Care (MWC): most fatherless children have one living parent. What it doesn't emphasize is that the majority are women - solo, surviving moms.

A key finding in the report, “Comprehensive research reveals that the majority of children in residential care have not been orphaned, and a large majority have at least one living parent. While this does not mean that the living parent(s) are necessarily willing and/or able to care for their child, it does present a much more nuanced picture of the reasons children have come into alternative care.”

Their solution: “For people of faith, this insight deepens the call to care for orphans and vulnerable children. Throughout Scripture, we see God’s heart for family preservation whenever possible, while also ensuring that children are well-protected. Fulfilling the biblical mandate today often calls for addressing complex family challenges rather than simply providing alternative care.”

The surviving parent - predominantly widows - remains invisible in most discussions, though to be fair, widow support often falls outside many organizations' missions - including CAFO who does a tremendous effort to supporting orphans. Yet their own research reveals that parental death is the leading cause of family separation. The evidence demands action: faith-based initiatives and institutions worldwide must recognize that widow support isn't optional - it's essential to preventing family breakdown.

In North America, they found “In North America, several factors are drivers of separation: family stress, abandonment, maltreatment, parenting skills and substance abuse. These findings align with stronger child protection systems that typically intervene in cases of abuse and neglect.”

“I believe, stronger widow support and education on parenting skills for surviving parents would prevent substance abuse, abandonment, family stress, and maltreatment.” - Carolyn Moor

Our solution: MWC Parenting Support Club that meets virtually monthly to navigate and support surviving parents of all ages - solo moms - with children of all ages. All widows who have children (younger or older) are welcome to join today.

Families survive well when mothers are supported - whether single, married, divorced or suddenly widowed! It’s a fact that supporting mothers during vulnerable times supports the whole family.

The report shows the poverty is a key factor in creating unstable families. That is not a surprise to MWC, as we know family income drops dramatically for the majority of our families.

And if poverty impacts the surviving parent, it will impact the surviving children. Child welfare in this case requires a deeper look at widows welfare and care.

They got it right when they pinpointed, “In any community, efforts at family strengthening deserve special priority, potentially including economic empowerment, parenting education, healthcare, and relational and spiritual support and care.”

This is why Modern Widows Club® provides many direct services to widows led by our volunteer peer professional facilitators - each one gives access to support network resources:

• Financial Empowerment Club

• Parenting Support Club

• Health & Wellness Support Club

• Relationship Building Support Club

• Wister® Prayer Team and Prayer Request Line (Wister stands for widow sister)

• Online Global Support Communities

• In-Person Support Communities

Start with the surviving parent caring for fatherless children - overwhelmed and struggling with their new family reality. Let's prevent family breakdown and additional trauma by providing crisis intervention for widowed families.

Full report: https://cafo.org/2025/06/25/why-are-children-in-care-a-global-perspective-and-the-hidden-reality-of-alternative-care

My CAFO Experience in 2016

Almost a decade ago at a CAFO conference event I attended, I asked openly: "Where are the widow organizations supporting these fatherless children you're discussing under James 1:27?"

Silence. Nothing. I was shocked - but I understood the journey ahead.

That day, I purchased the ChristianAllianceforWidows.org and .com domain. I believe, It's time for the counterpart movement that fully addresses both the fatherless AND widows scripture calls us to serve.

I believed then, and know with certainty today, that empowering vulnerable widowed women can address multiple global crises driving family instability. Human traffickers deliberately target widowed households, preying on unprotected daughters in impoverished homes. Domestic violence escalates when desperate widowed women enter unsafe remarriages with unstable male providers as their only perceived option for survival.

Supporting widows isn't just compassionate - it's strategic prevention against exploitation and abuse.

Imagine the impact of empowering these widowed families globally, the amount of goodness it would bring to families, communities and society at large.