Food. Home. Opportunity

You matter. Your life matters right now, today.

A Beginning

There’s a moment in the Gospel of Luke that I’ve carried with me for a long time. Jesus stands in the synagogue, reads from Isaiah, and announces good news to the poor, freedom for the oppressed, and sight for the blind. Then He sits down and says, “Today this is fulfilled in your hearing.”

It’s not a dramatic miracle. It’s not a spectacle. It’s a simple declaration of what matters… and who matters. And even if you do not believe what I do, I think you can find hope in these words. While they may not spiritually pull you, I think they are calling us to something MORE for our community.

Somewhere in the last twenty years of nonprofit work, ministry, storytelling, and raising a family in San Antonio, that passage became a kind of compass for me. I find myself returning to three simple needs I’ve watched shape people’s lives more than anything else:

Food. Home. Opportunity.

These are the basic building blocks of a dignified life.

This newsletter is my attempt to explore those three ideas slowly, honestly, and in community.

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Why These Three Words?

Food

I’ve seen what hunger does.

At the Food Bank during COVID, I watched cars stretch for miles in parking lots. Parents choosing between gas and groceries, seniors choosing between food and medicine. People who didn’t care about the politics of food access. They just wanted to survive. And our community stepped up. We became #SanAntonioStrong in a way I had not experienced before.

Food is the first act of compassion. It says, “You don’t have to struggle alone. I see you.”

And in my faith tradition, meals have always been where healing begins. Some of the greatest stories in the Christian scriptures take place at the dinner table or in community as people share meals. It was in these moments that Christ stretched the food that was given to meet the immediate needs of the people who came to hear His truth.

Home

I now work with families and individuals experiencing homelessness, and I can tell you with complete sincerity: a safe place to sleep changes everything.

A home is where a person exhales. Housing is healthcare. Where a child finally stops worrying. Where tomorrow becomes something you can imagine rather than fear.

Housing isn’t just a roof. It represents tomorrow and is framed in dignity and a foundation to build from.

Opportunity

Once someone is fed and housed, something beautiful happens: they begin to build a brighter future.

Opportunity is about education, creativity, employment, healing, and support. It’s the doorway that lets someone step into a future they can actually shape.

I’ve spent my career telling stories, designing communication, leading teams, and seeking opportunities and opening doors for others. Opportunity is the part of the work that feels like watching someone recover their sight.

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Why Write About This Now?

My kids are getting older. They’re starting to notice how uneven the world feels — people with signs on the road, some families on the edge, the costs of living. They’re asking harder questions: Why can’t he have a house? Where does he go at night? Do we have anything to give?

And they’re watching how I answer.

I want them to grow up in a community that is more equitable, more generous, and more human than the one I inherited. I want them to believe that compassion is normal, and that peace and justice are something we build together.

Sharing these reflections here is part of that work. It’s a way of putting language to the things I’ve seen up close, the spiritual convictions that anchor me, and the hope I have for our community’s future.

Even as life gets harder, truth seems harder to discern, and trust harder to build… maybe we can make the hugs last longer, the bridges firmer, and the words mean more -- because they are rooted in something… actions… that connect our lives to one another.

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What You Can Expect Going Forward

This won’t be a technical newsletter. It won’t be an academic one with a nonstop stream of data and policy analysis. (Though we will talk about affordability and ALICE and the real math families face.)

Mostly, it will be a conversation about:

What dignity looks like in real life, what people need to thrive, what it means to follow a faith or moral foundation that cares for the vulnerable, and how we can build a community where more people can flourish.

I don’t have all the answers… not even close. I’m bringing what I’ve seen, what I’ve learned, and what I’m hoping for.

And I want you to lend your experience, your insights, and your compassion to be part of the conversation. Part of belonging to a community is listening to MANY voices and holding onto each other when the storms roll in.

Thank you for reading, being curious, and caring about the kind of community we create together.

I’m glad you’re here. More soon.

— Rob