From Finding Support to Giving It: Jasmine’s Journey with YWCA’s Single Moms’ Group

If you want to see resilience in action, talk to a single mom. Motherhood is all encompassing. It can be an overwhelming joy, but it is also demanding and exhausting work. Navigating it alone is a whole other story. Jasmine Burnet kindly shared her journey from a married mother of two to a single mother finding support, connection and direction through YWCA BC’s Single Mothers’ Support program. 

After an undiagnosed illness put a strain on her marriage, Jasmine needed to put her health first and made the difficult decision to leave. Having built her community around other married women with children, Jasmine no longer felt authentic in that space. She knew she needed connection with other women who were experiencing a similar life transition. 

When Jasmine initially reached out to YWCA BC to join a Single Mother's Support Group, it was during the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the groups were not yet operating in person. Being the tenacious person she is, Jasmine decided to start her own single mom's group. 

“At that point, I was a retired preschool teacher and I did not have the skills for group facilitation,” shared Jasmine. 

With space donated by the Aldergrove Legion, along with coffee and other costs covered by the Aldergrove Elks, Jasmine started meeting her community’s single moms. It was when she encountered a participant dealing with particularly difficult challenges that Jasmine realized the importance of proper training for supporting people going through these life transitions. 

Shortly afterward, the manager of YWCA BC’s Single Mothers’ Support Services contacted Jasmine and offered her a spot in the Abbotsford group. From there, things really took off and set Jasmine on a path she had never expected. 

“We would just come in and connect with each other and it was helpful for me to hear what other moms were going through because it put things in perspective for me,” said Jasmine. “It gave me the motivation to push myself further and grow because I had a lot of privilege that I wanted to leverage to create a better life for myself, my children and the other moms as well.” 

Jasmine attended the Abbotsford group for two years while simultaneously training to become a counsellor. This path had not been on her radar before joining the YWCA BC group, but conversations with the YWCA Employment Navigator encouraged her to imagine a different future. Through career guidance, resources and scholarship opportunities, she found the confidence to pursue a new profession. 

“Just the fact that the YWCA had an Employment Navigator was encouraging and got me thinking. I had developed a disability that required me to leave my previous career as an Early Childhood Educator and I really wanted to go back to work. There were scholarships available that gave me extra confidence.” 

Battling self-doubt due to the challenges life had dealt her, Jasmine was inspired to develop her skills sooner than she ever imagined because of the support she received from YWCA BC. 

“The fact that I knew there were other women out there doing this work and donors giving their hard-earned money to support it, felt so encouraging. It reminded me of a truth I had lost track of while going through everything I had experienced, especially during my divorce: I am worthy. I deserve better and I'm worthy of these resources,” expressed Jasmine. 

Encouraged by that support, Jasmine applied for a scholarship to help fund her education. She needed help covering child care during the summer months and her laptop was no longer adequate for her studies. With the financial assistance she received, Jasmine was able to graduate from Rhodes Wellness College with a professional counselling diploma. 

From Participant to Facilitator 

Jasmine's counsellor training inspired her to take a more active role in the single moms' group, introducing activities and approaches she was learning through her studies. As her confidence grew, so did her involvement. After two years as a participant, and as the group's facilitator prepared to step down, Jasmine was offered the opportunity to lead the group herself. 

“For my birthday, I asked if I could host a little workshop for the moms. It never occurred to me that I would eventually take over that particular group.” 

After facilitating the Abbotsford Single Mothers’ Support Group for a year, Jasmine has come full circle. She loves the role because she gets to witness the meaningful connections formed within the group, as mothers lift each other up. 

“We're building a community that supports one another emotionally and in practical ways. If somebody needs child care one day, or if someone is feeling sad and needs someone to talk to, we're there for each other.” 

Jasmine also enjoys bringing practical tools to the group and exploring themes that the women identify as areas they would like to work on. One example is learning to be more present, which led to discussions about polyvagal theory. Other activities include breathwork and expressive arts therapy. 

Having walked this path herself, Jasmine is in a unique position to encourage and guide other mothers toward a confident and fulfilling future. 

“My hope for these women is that they understand that many of their limits are self-imposed and that they begin sifting through their limiting beliefs. I hope they recognize their role in maintaining a mental prison that may have been built for safety during childhood, but now they're safe. My hope is that they’ll feel strong enough to start dismantling that mental prison and work toward reaching their full potential and creating the life they choose.” 

Along with being a fantastic mother and facilitator, Jasmine still has big goals. She is interested in the therapeutic side of group work for single mothers, working with men who have been mandated to address their behaviours or who have been convicted of abuse and potentially one day opening her own private practice. 

These were not goals she had prior to her separation or before attending the YWCA Single Mothers’ Support Group. Through divorce, the transition to single parenting, navigating a disability and losing her job, Jasmine discovered strength, resilience and an entirely new career path that also has the potential to support her and her family. 

“All these terrible things that happened actually ended up being a gift in the long run because I was playing small and not really doing much with my life or reaching my potential, but now I'm stepping into this work and just being patient with myself and building this career.” 

Today, Jasmine’s work not only brings her personal fulfillment and greater stability for her children, but also gives her the opportunity to help other single mothers find the same strength, confidence and sense of belonging that once helped her rebuild her own life. 

Photos submitted by Jasmine Burnet