Article Submited to Courier Newspaper-Tell me what you think?????

**Below is the article submitted to the courier newspaper today. I'm so excited...wish me luck!!!

I am also in the process of starting a single mom advice column and am trying to find an newspaper who would be willing to start one. I think it would be a great addition to any newspaper as it would be something different from other news papers and it would be a way for single moms to get the support and advice they need. I'll keep you posted! :)


Article Title:  Single Mom of Bridgewater Township Set to Launch Reality Series


Article Subject: Bridgewater Resident sets heart on launching reality series that will document the lives of five inspirational, entertaining and motivational single parents, including herself, in the Garden State of New Jersey for the first time on television.


Jessica Fernandez isn’t just an ordinary 27-year old single mom who works full time and raising a six year old daughter on her own. She is a powerful single mom with big dreams who is determined to pursue her life-long desire to become a credited producer, creator, published best-selling author, entrepreneur and actress with full force and use her success to make a difference in the lives of struggling single moms everywhere and increase the ears that will listen to their voices.

“There are so many struggling single parents out there who have great ideas, talents and the ability to do great things and want to be heard and given a chance but there are never enough people who would listen and give them a chance. This leads to many single parents leading lives that they are unhappy with and their children grow up watching their mom or dad struggle consistently, and that’s a problem. I am determined to change that and not only increase the power of their voices to be heard but to build an organization that will provide temporary assistance to struggling single moms despite their income—assistance based solely on each one parent families current situation.”

Nowadays getting any type of government, healthcare or day care assistance most likely means living on welfare, a government service that encourages everyone to become independent and build a life where they can support themselves and their families on their own and provides assistance to those who are earning below standard income. They provide good assistance but have a very strict standard as to who would qualify and how much is given. New Jersey is one of the most expensive states in the U.S.A. and taxes are increasing like crazy each year even though the unemployment rates have never been this high.

A working single mom most likely wouldn’t be eligible for any type of government assistance just because they are a working citizen. No one thinks about the increasing expense of daycare which can cost up to $1,000 or more a month per child and how that affects the income they bring home. There are numerous non-profit programs they can turn to but most of long waiting lists and strict income standards too due to limited funding. Jessica has been through her own share of struggles financially which she documents freely on her blog at http://therealworldofsingle-parenthood.blogspot.com/, which started out as a way to document the launch of her reality series to keep those who support her in the loop during the development process. But it ended up being a place where she could also go and vent about the current challenges and hardships in her life that she knows other single parent deals with. So now she continues to blog about both her television project and whatever else is on her mind and hopes to build a community where single parents can come together and support one another.

Jessica came up with this reality series concept over a year ago when she started to notice how reality shows in all different genres was starting to take over television. After dealing with an unexpected pregnancy and left to deal with the responsibilities of raising a child on her own, she became inspired by her own struggles, pain and challenges and arrived at the conclusion that it was time to take a stand for her-self and start taking control of her own life instead of letting it control her. Jessica’s reality series is currently in development as she has teamed up with a production company in Northern New Jersey and taping for the first episode is set for June 2010!

Read below on what Jessica has to say in regards to what inspired her to launch this television project.

"All my life I've had all of these dreams and goals that I wanted to accomplish. My dream growing up was to become an actress, singing artist and a big desire to create and do something big one day; something that would change the world in some way and make a difference. As I grew older I developed an interest in creative writing and spent a lot of my teen and young adult years writing stories, poems and even songs in journals. Writing then became a way for me to get through my darkest moments and express my feelings and thoughts openly without being judged or put down.


So when the idea for this reality concept popped into my head one day while watching one of the episodes of the "Housewives of Orange of County", I felt a strong urge of not just wanting but needing to take the idea even further. I began writing about my ideas in my journal and the more I wrote about the idea the bigger the desire grew. But when I thought about how I had no idea how to launch a reality series nor did I have any connections to the industry or knew anyone who did, the idea just drifted to the back of my mind and I continued my daily routine of working 8-4:30PM and taking classes to finish my B.A. Degree in Paralegal studies.


After months the idea still stuck and the desire to take the idea further took over my mind. I began to think about how many single parents are out there that have been or are going through the same struggles and challenges I had and how some are going through much worse things I'm sure. I started doing some research online and networking and began to be amazed by the opportunities and resources that started coming my way almost effortlessly. Within six months I had added a whole list of entertainment and media contacts to the ones I already had who were willing to use their connections and expertise to help me make my dreams come true.


With the divorce and unemployment rates increasing in one of the world's toughest economy's it's evident that the rate of one-parent families are going to continue to increase, thus making this a reality series many viewers would be able to relate to hopefully on more than one level. One of my newest goals is to start my own organization in New Jersey that will provide temporary assistance to single parents regardless of their income and based solely on their current situation. Why? Because I've been there and know what its' like to feel so helpless and stuck and because I know what it's like to be surrounded by happy families and feel like an outcast because you're one parent playing the role of two parents and because I know what it's like to feel alone and like no one around you understands what you are going through.


So my biggest inspiration behind developing this project is not only my desire to build a better future for my daughter and for myself but to honor all beautiful, strong, and great single parents out there who deserve all the gold medals that money can buy. Because raising a family is the world's most rewarding and hardest job but when you are forced to do it alone it becomes 10x harder.”

To learn more about Creator & Writer Jessica Fernandez and her reality-series based project currently titled “Real World of Single-Parenthood…New Jersey” that’s currently in development, to set-up a possible interview or casting information visit http://www.worldofsingleparenthood.com/.

**Let me know what you guys think?