“I always knew I was different…”
To fully understand Mia’s story, you have to go back to when she was 13 years old, living with her parents in Upstate New York.
Her father served in the military and was frequently deployed. During one of those deployments, Mia found the courage to share something she had been carrying inside with her mother.
“I knew I was different, like not a boy––you know? I didn’t feel that way… I pretty much came out to my mom and said, ‘Hey, I don’t feel like a boy; I feel like a female, like a girl.’ My mom knew what I was talking about.”
Mia’s mother reassured her that she was brave and that she loved and supported her. But she also asked Mia not to tell her father.
So, Mia kept that part of herself hidden for the next 32 years.
“My mom knew, and my great-grandmother knew,” Mia recalls. “Whenever I went over to her (great-grandmother) house to spend the night or spend the weekend, she had no problem with me dressing as a female. She taught me how to cook.”
At school, Mia became known as “The Godfather.” Leaning into her family’s Italian heritage and rumored mob connections became a way to protect herself and conceal her true identity.
“I used what I knew about my family history to my advantage. I wore suits to school every day. I had five different suits and many ties… I had to really hide my identity.”
After her father’s passing, Mia moved to Florida with her mother and finally began living openly as the woman she had always known herself to be.
There, she started a business making clothing for dogs and spent much of her free time helping others in the transgender community. She often accompanied friends on shopping trips, helping them find clothing, build confidence, and learn makeup techniques.
But over time, Florida no longer felt like a safe place.
“Florida was just not a safe place for me to be… I did some deep soul searching and said, ‘You know what? I gotta get out. I gotta go.’ I bought a one-way ticket back up here.”
Returning to Upstate New York felt like the right decision—but it also meant starting over from scratch.
Mia searched for work while living out of a suitcase and paying for hotel rooms night after night. Before long, her savings were gone.
“It really kind of hit… I know I have people up here, but I don’t want to burden them.”
Eventually, Mia entered emergency housing while continuing her job search.
With a culinary arts degree from Schenectady County Community College and an impressive résumé—including experience as a chef at Disney—she expected finding work would be straightforward.
Instead, she encountered obstacle after obstacle.
“Because my résumé looks good, people were excited to have me come interview. Before I would go in, I would let them know upfront I was a transgender woman. I wanted to prepare them and be upfront so no one’s time was wasted.”
Interview after interview ended the same way.
“We’ll call you.”
Four months passed before Mia finally found a job.
Things were beginning to look up. She had steady employment and was staying in housing, and with help from her mother, she was able to purchase a car. But the money her mother deposited into her bank account unexpectedly affected her eligibility for the services she was receiving.
On Christmas morning 2025, Mia was told she had to leave.
Thankfully, she had already purchased her vehicle. For the next four days, she lived in her car in a hospital parking lot until she could access resources in Saratoga County. She was then placed in temporary housing, once again bouncing around, living out of a suitcase.
Mia’s car unexpectedly broke down on the Northway while she was on her way to visit family. The repairs were more than she could afford, forcing her to leave the car behind and move forward without it.
In June, Mia learned she would be moving into Shelters of Saratoga.
“It took me forever to unpack. When you’re living out of your suitcase for two years, and out of a car… I really didn’t have a solid spot. It took me about four or five days to actually get myself unpacked. Knowing I don’t have to pack my stuff up and go every Thursday… I literally cried.”
Today, Mia takes the CDTA bus from Saratoga to her job in Latham and returns each evening to something she hasn’t had in a long time: stability.
For the first time in years, she has a safe place to call home.
With the support of her SOS case manager, Brittany, Mia is working toward independent living and actively pursuing chef opportunities, determined to turn her lifelong passion for cooking into a career once again. Mia enjoys helping prepare shared meals for the other house guests and is known to be incredibly helpful with daily tasks. She’s currently enrolled in local community programs, allowing her to focus on her mental health and receive job coaching.
Looking ahead, Mia dreams of opening her own café. And perhaps someday, when the time feels right, she’d like to return to Florida—not because she has to, but because she’ll be able to do so on her own terms.
For now, she’s focused on rebuilding her life, one day at a time, in a place where she can simply be herself.