What Single Parents Support and Advice Services does

Single Parents Support and Advice Services (SPSAS) is a UK-registered charity headquartered in Southampton that supports single parent families through a combination of free advice services, material assistance, and community programming. Founded in 2012 by Nicky Booth as a local Facebook group, the organisation formally incorporated in 2015, achieved recognised charitable status in 2016, and re-registered under its current name with the UK Charity Commission in 2020. Its service portfolio includes free legal advice (including multilingual support), emotional support and counselling, benefits and entitlements guidance, food and care hamper delivery, emergency gas and electric top-ups, food bank referrals across multiple UK regions, a pet food bank, a community kindness fund, and a National Databank SIM/data scheme for residents in data poverty.

The underlying delivery platform is community-led: SPSAS operates an ecosystem of dedicated Facebook groups and pages covering legal, emotional, entitlements, and social advice, supplemented by email-based advisory services and in-person hubs. Service delivery is performed by 100+ volunteers across UK regions, with five paid employees and a board of trustees. Specialist volunteers include a barrister serving as Head of Legal, a safeguarding lead, trained counsellors, and social workers. Recent physical infrastructure includes a charity shop in Barnsley (opened April 2021) and a multi-purpose Community Hub in Barnsley (opened March 2026), alongside a Valeting fundraiser service launched in March 2026.

SPSAS is funded primarily through grants from organisations including the National Lottery Trust, Tesco Bags of Help, Hampshire County Council, Asda Foundation, Magic Little Grants, HIWCF, and Benefact Group, supplemented by individual and corporate donations (Costco Southampton, Arnold Clark, Yunex Traffic), retail revenue from the charity shop, fundraising events, and online giving platforms. Its beneficiary base consists of single parent families across the UK, with operational concentration in Hampshire, Dorset, Southampton, and Barnsley, and UK-wide reach through referral partnerships with The Trussell Trust, FareShare, Co-op Food Share, Neighbourly, The Company Shop, and regional food banks.

Name

Single Parents Support and Advice Services

Legal name

Single Parents Support and Advice Services

Website

https://singleparentssupportandadviceservices.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Single Parents Support and Advice Services (SPSAS) is a UK-registered charity founded in 2012 that delivers free legal, emotional, and benefits advice alongside food hampers, energy support, and community programming to single parent families across the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable family and community support services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Single parent support services
• Charity community support
• Food bank referral
• Free legal advice charity
• Volunteer-led welfare support

Headquarters

HQ city

Barnsley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Funding: SPSAS receives grant funding from various organisations including National Lottery Trust, Tesco Bags of Help Fund, Magic Little Grants Fund, Hampshire County Council, and other charitable foundations to support their projects.
2. Donations: Charitable donations from individuals, companies (Costco Southampton, Arnold Clark, Yunex Traffic), and community supporters. Donations via PayPal, QR codes, and in-kind donations.
3. Charity Shop: Revenue from charity shop in Barnsley town centre at 4-6 Cheapside, opened April 2021.
4. Valeting Services: Charity car valeting fundraiser supporting SPSAS. A portion of each valet is donated to SPSAS.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Single Parents Support and Advice Services (SPSAS) is a UK-registered charity that delivers free community-based support services to single parent families. Its core offering combines a Facebook-driven online community with volunteer-led legal advice, emotional support, benefits/entitlements guidance, food bank referrals, care hamper delivery, emergency energy top-ups, a Pet Bank, a Barnsley community hub, a charity shop and a valeting fundraiser, all delivered free of charge and funded through grants, donations and fundraising.

Product overview

Single Parents Support and Advice Services (SPSAS) operates as a charitable community support organization rather than a traditional software product. The core offering is a network of Facebook-based online communities supplemented by physical services including care hamper deliveries, food bank referrals, legal and emotional support services. The portfolio includes specialized initiatives such as the Pet Bank, Barnsley Community Hub, Barnsley Charity Shop, and the new SPSAS Valeting fundraising service. Additional offerings include the Loneliness Project, Free Data/SIM scheme for data poverty, and seasonal Christmas projects. Services are delivered through volunteer expertise across legal advice, counselling, benefits guidance, housing support, and more, with funding from various lottery and grant programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SPSAS Legal Advice and Information Service: Legal advice service run by the legal team providing free 24-hour legal advice for single parent families
• SPSAS Advice and Information Service
• SPSAS Emotional Support and Wellbeing Support and Advice / Signposting
• SPSAS Entitlements Support and Advice Service
• SPSAS Pet Bank
• SPSAS Valeting
• SPSAS Community Kindness Fund
• Barnsley Community Hub

Products and services

• SPSAS Online Community (Facebook Groups and Pages) Facebook-based online community providing peer support, advice forums and connections for single parents across the UK, with volunteer experts offering guidance in legal, financial, housing and emotional matters.
• SPSAS Care Hampers
• SPSAS Emergency Energy Project
• SPSAS Food Bank Referral Services
• SPSAS Legal Advice Service
• SPSAS Emotional Support and Wellbeing Service
• SPSAS Entitlements Support and Advice Service
• SPSAS Advice and Information Service
• SPSAS Pet Bank Pet food and essential supplies assistance for struggling single parent pet owners, partnered with KS Angels Rescue to address the UK-wide pet rehoming crisis.
• SPSAS Barnsley Community Hub Physical community space in Barnsley providing community fridge, food bank, pet bank, uniform bank, baby bank, donation centre and running groups/events.
• SPSAS Barnsley Charity Shop Charity retail shop in Barnsley town centre (4-6 Cheapside) generating funds for the organisation and serving local community needs.
• SPSAS Loneliness Project
• SPSAS Free Data / SIM Scheme
• SPSAS Valeting Local car valeting service operated as a charity fundraiser, with a portion of each valet donated to SPSAS.
• SPSAS Community Kindness Fund
• SPSAS Christmas Project

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Trussell TrustcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSPSAS is an official referral agent for The Trussell Trust, enabling referral of families to ANY local Trussell Trust food bank in their area.
• Department of Work and Pensions (DWP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking in partnership with DWP to help single parents access support and services.
• FareSharecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollecting and distributing surplus food via FareShare across various towns in the UK, in conjunction with the Neighbourly scheme.
• Co-op Food SharecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollecting surplus food via Co-op Food Share Scheme to distribute to single parents across the UK, working with Neighbourly and FareShare.
• NeighbourlycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Neighbourly scheme, collecting surplus food for distribution to vulnerable single parent families in need across various UK towns.
• The Company Shop / Community ShopcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with The Company Shop and Community Shop for surplus food distribution to support single parent families.
• Southampton Basics Food BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial partnership with Southampton Food Bank for referring single parent families in the Southampton area.
• Barnsley Food BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial partnership with Barnsley Food Bank for referring single parent families in the Barnsley area.
• Eastleigh Basics Food BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial partnership with Eastleigh Basics Food Bank for referring single parent families in the area.
• Winchester Food BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial partnership with Winchester Food Bank for referring single parent families in the area.
• New Forest Basics BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial partnership with New Forest Basics Bank for referring single parent families in the area.
• KS Angels RescueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with KS Angels Rescue for the SPSAS Pet Bank project to help struggling pet owners in the Southampton area.
• Good Things Foundation / National DatabankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGranted access to the National databank to provide free SIMs and mobile data to residents living in data poverty.
• Giving WorldminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with Giving World to support single parent families with donations and resources.
• Food DropcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerApproved with Food Drop to get surplus food for vulnerable single parent families in need.
• NCDV (National Centre for Domestic Violence)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerLive on NCDV website as an agency partner providing domestic violence support services.
• WarburtonsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWarburtons donating weekly in the Barnsley area to help single parent families.
• Outwood Academy CarltonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChosen SPSAS as their charity partner for the academic year and made donations for Easter and Christmas projects.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Gingerbread: Gingerbread is the UK's leading national charity specifically supporting single parent families, providing advice, information, and peer support. It is the closest direct peer to SPSAS in mission and beneficiary base, though it operates at a larger national scale with paid staff rather than volunteer-led delivery.
• Home-Start UK: Home-Start is a UK family support charity helping parents with young children through trained volunteers visiting families in their homes. It shares SPSAS's volunteer-driven delivery model and focus on vulnerable parents but focuses on early-years rather than single-parent-specific support.
• Family Action: Family Action is a UK charity delivering practical, emotional, and financial support to families facing hardship, including single parents. Its service portfolio (food, advice, debt, mental health) closely mirrors SPSAS's range, but it operates as a larger, more established organisation with paid service delivery.

Regional players

• One Family: One Family is Ireland's national organisation for one-parent families, providing direct services, advocacy, and peer support. Highly comparable mission and beneficiary focus to SPSAS but operates in a different geography (Republic of Ireland) and does not directly compete in the UK.

Broad incumbents

• Citizens Advice: Citizens Advice is the UK's largest advice-giving network, offering guidance on benefits, debt, housing, employment, and legal issues. It overlaps with SPSAS's advice services (benefits, debt, housing, legal) but serves all adults broadly rather than single parents specifically, and does not provide food or material support.
• The Trussell Trust: The Trussell Trust operates the UK's largest food bank network. SPSAS is an official referral agent for the Trust, so they are direct operational partners; Trussell Trust is much larger and provides emergency food parcels nationally, while SPSAS layers additional wraparound services (legal, emotional, energy) on top.

Emerging players

• The Mix: The Mix provides digital support and advice for under-25s on mental health, money, housing, and relationships. It overlaps with SPSAS's emotional support and advice services, but targets young people broadly rather than single parents specifically and operates a digital-first model.
• FoodCycle: FoodCycle is a UK charity combining surplus food with community volunteers to serve free community meals. It shares SPSAS's volunteer-driven, community-led approach to food insecurity but focuses on communal meals rather than hamper delivery and advice services for single parents.

Others

• Mind: Mind is the UK's largest mental health charity. It is thematically adjacent to SPSAS's emotional support and counselling services but operates nationally as a mental health specialist, not focused specifically on single parents.
• Shelter: Shelter is the UK's leading housing and homelessness charity. It is thematically adjacent to SPSAS's housing advice and hardship work but operates nationally as a specialist housing organisation rather than serving single parents as a primary beneficiary group.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/spsasbarnsleyshop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/single-parents-support-and-advice-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Single Parents Support and Advice Services