AUSTIN, Texas — March 21 is National Single Parent Day, a time to recognize the millions of people raising kids by themselves.
The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 80% of one-parent families are comprised of single mothers.
San Marcos mother Erika Rosa was one of them. When she gave birth to her now-7-year-old son Brandon, she knew it would change the trajectory of her life and the decisions she made would impact him.
"I didn't want him to ... kind of repeat the same cycles that maybe me or, you know, his dad had done," Rosa said. "I did have a substance abuse problem, so I've been through ... recovery."
Rosa said she needed help because she was getting out of a relationship, without a job or a way to pay for child care.
"You don't have any more to give. Like, you give everything that you have and then it still sometimes feels like it's not enough," Rosa said.
Help came in the form of a nonprofit called the Jeremiah Program, which sets single mothers up with a support system, offering child care, affordable housing and family coaching so women can go to school while also raising their kids.
"When they leave here, they're in a position where now they have this degree, they have choices. And I think that's the thing that you see, right? When they're coming, they just don't have a lot of choices," Dr. Gloria Gonzales-Dholakia, the executive director of Jeremiah Program Austin, said.
Rosa graduated from Jeremiah Program in 2021, finishing her bachelor's degree, getting married and buying a home while also expanding her family. Two years ago, she had another child named Asher.
"I think so many things would be different if I hadn't had the opportunity to go through that program," Rosa said. "When you have a child, you don't really have the option of just saying, 'Oh well, like, I give up.' Like, you keep going."
Learn more about applying to be a Jeremiah Program mother.