Kiotti was familiar with instability after losing her mother at 14-years-old with no family to turn to. Due to her father being absent from her life, Kiotti had no choice but to relocate to San Antonio to live with her older brother. “I had some challenges growing up, I lost my mom,” Kiotti says. “I landed here in San Antonio and I was just trying to find my way through life. Going from a mother who would give anything for you to being surrounded by people who really didn’t have a genuine interest in you was very challenging,” she admits.  

Years later, Kiotti’s life continued to spiral out of her control. She found herself pregnant, alone and living in a car during the peak of winter. Typically a determined, driven individual, it was too much to bear for Kiotti. 

“I had lost everything,” Kiotti says. “I remember being in a car that had no heat, and it was in the middle of wintertime. I was big and pregnant and had all my belongings in the car. I felt like I had nothing to offer my son and I was contemplating adoption because I didn’t think I would be able to be what he needed,” she confesses. 

Kiotti says she felt like she “couldn’t go any lower” in her life. Soon after, she gave birth to her son. 

With the arrival of her first child, Kiotti refused to give up. “I remember being in the hospital and seeing that little beautiful face, and I knew I couldn’t give up,” she said. 

She began researching programs that could help her get back on her feet. That’s when she discovered United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County’s Dual Generation Initiative.  

The Dual Generation Initiative provides families with resources that empower both the parents and their children to succeed in life. By removing barriers to education, child care, housing and employment, families can end generational cycles of poverty and achieve greater stability in their lives.  

“I walked through the doors of Dual Gen and they were very receptive of me and my situation. They provided different resources that assisted me with obtaining housing, child care and access to pharmacy tech school at no cost,” Kiotti says. “For the first time in my life, after my mom passed away, I felt supported.” 

Dual Generation provided Kiotti with the stability she needed, with housing, quality child care for her newborn son and job training to level up her career. Today, Kiotti runs a successful business and is the proud mother of three children.  

“I do not believe I would’ve been able to recover as quickly as I did without the support of Dual Gen,” Kiotti says. “Being a single mother is not easy and no one wakes up to say they want to be a single mother. I believe that these kinds of programs are needed for single mothers.” 

Kiotti believes that all her children’s dreams will come true in the future because they have “a mother who is going to make sure they come true.”  

With this support, Kiotti and her children have a stronger foundation that will help them fulfill their dreams in life.

Watch Kiotti’s Story on our YouTube channel.