Nonprofit ‘The Single Mom KC’ strives to create communities of hope

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - “I’ve been a single mom for 11 years,” single mother Valeria Garcia recalled. “I’ll never forget those first few weeks and months being a single mom. I just isolated.”

After being married for 15 years, Valerie Garcia’s life changed drastically when she went through a divorce.

“I had no confidence, no self-esteem,” she said. “I was really broken.”

Suddenly, Garcia became a single mother of two boys, without much guidance.

She started searching the web and stumbled across The Single Mom KC, a faith-based non-profit.

“Our mission is to create communities of hope for single moms,” said The Single Mom KC executive director Rachel Segobia.

The Single Mom KC offers connections with other mothers and resources – including education workshops, leadership development, childcare, and a boutique where moms can shop for free every month.

“It’s so critical and for me, it’s been life-changing,” Garcia said. “It allowed me to gain tools, resources, friends, and community.

She is now serving as a volunteer and facilitating workshops, doing her part to help thousands of single moms struggling just like she did.

“Kansas City has a higher rate of children being raised in single-parent households than the national average,” Segobia said. “We know that single mothers are more likely to have experienced a trauma, whether that’s abuse in a relationship of the death of a spouse.”

Those statistics have far-reaching implications. It’s just one reason the organization is tirelessly working to empower single mothers throughout the metro.

“Valerie is just a wonderful example of growth and healing so that she could provide her boys a better life,” Segobia added.

“Now I get to kind of share with them,” said Garcia. “I tell them they’re going to get through it. I can support and encourage them and let them know they’re not alone and that it’s going to be okay. They have a place where they can come and feel loved and understood.”

Currently – there are more than 62,000 single mothers in the Kansas City metro.

If you would like to support The Single Mom KC by becoming a volunteer or donor, you can visit their website at thesinglemomkc.org.

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