Helping Families Achieve Financial Stability - United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County

Helping Families Achieve Financial Stability

  • June 1, 2022
Helping Families Achieve Financial Stability - United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County
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Individuals in our city face several barriers before they can achieve financial stability. These obstacles include job readiness, illiteracy, incomplete education and lack of support. Race and gender also play a role in those experiencing higher rates of poverty, unemployment and instability.

United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County supports financial stability and economic mobility in our city through several critical programs and initiatives.

One of the ways we accomplish this is with our Dual Generation Initiative, which aims to disrupt the cycle of poverty by finding safe housing, education, employment and child care for families. Zenaida and her newfound career are a perfect example of how Dual Generation can put people on track toward financial stability.

A stay-at-home mom for most of her adult life, Zenaida always dreamed of having a career in the medical field. She thought that educational opportunities after high school were not meant for her until she discovered our Dual Generation Partnership with Goodwill of San Antonio’s Good Careers Academy.

“They assisted with my son’s daycare so I could feel confident that he was in good hands,” Zenaida said. With her concerns with child care taken care of, she was able to concentrate on her studies and eventually become a pharmacy technician. “The Dual Generation Program is life-changing.”

In addition to providing meaningful relief for families, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County is also committed to raising awareness about the wage gap for women of color. The wage gap remains a significant barrier to financial stability for women of color in our city and we are investing $3 million to bring attention to the disparity.

Our Impact Council promotes programs that help people flourish economically and maintain a good quality of life free of discrimination. We are helping people in crisis pay essential bills, connecting them with vital job training resources and empowering them to attain self-sufficiency.

35% of all Bexar County residents earn less than cost-of-living while 17% earn below the Federal Poverty Level. Combined, this means more than half of Bexar County residents are struggling with financial stability.

Our new “Making Tough Choices” online tool aims to raise awareness about the difficult situations these families find themselves in daily. The tool lets you put yourself in the shoes of one of these families as you try to make it to the end of the month financially. “Making Tough Choices” also highlights some of the work we are doing to help these families and the critical needs that remain.

Maintaining financial stability is more complicated than ever before. We encourage you to volunteer, donate and support programs that offer economic mobility. Your support can help people put food on their table, obtain a good job or build a stable financial future.

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