I joined a newly formed lone parent group here in essex last year. It started with 6 members and has grown enormously with some 50 parents plus their children now in the group.
Our group has a monthly coffee morning meeting where they discuss outings, events, fund raising etc. And then once a month we also have an evening event at the local indoor play centre which is open to us exclusively and at a reduced price for teh children. We also have adult only evenings such as the dads went bowling and the mums had a pamper night and a fund raising quiz night. We also have trips planned for the summer like taking the children to the zoo and the beach.
It can be a big commitment, so I would suggest thinking about what you actually want here. Do you want a group open to all single parents in your area or limited to a small handful? Are you wanting to organise trips, outings, events, and possibly apply for funding for these etc, or do you just want to meet up with a few other local single parents for coffee and to share babysitting and have people to go out with or on the end of a phone if you need someone to talk to maybe?
Our group is now so big we are probably going to have to officially register as a charity this year, and that brings a lot of additional paperwork. We already have to have an elected comittee, a child protection policy and offical constitution. We will also have to raise money to pay to become a registered charity and have fully audited accounts.
I'm not trying to put you off if that is the way you want to go, just suggesting you look at what you want and what you can manage time wise. If you do go for a group open to all you will find there is probably a big demand as there is in our area, but you will be taking on quite a big comitment if you do go for that option. It is very hard work but equally rewarding.
If you just want a few other lone parents you can call on for support, babysitting and someone to go out with occassionally then i'm sure you'll find lots, but you might find yourself starting small and suddenly growing very fast!
I do think you should go for it though, my life has been so much more fun being able to share things with other single parents, my son has lots of new friends to play with, and now i know there are people just a phone call away who can and will help me out when i need it. We also went away as a group on holiday recently for free as they found funding, and I've found another mum to go away with for a few days in half term through the group.
Good luck, i'm sure you'll find more single parents in your area very quickly.
Gilly