This edition of Food • Home • Opportunity was written by Rogelio "Roger" Narvaez Jr. LMSW. Roger is a Social Worker (LMSW), Author, Speaker, Storyteller and works with underserved and vulnerable individuals and families in Bexar County.
I remember a conversation I had with my wife, some time shortly after getting married, and when I had finally moved most of my stuff from my house into the house we would now share as a married couple. I say most of my stuff because she mostly got rid of stuff I no longer needed. I say that in jest, of course. We reminisced about our lives before meeting, dating, and being married, and how now it was more meaningful to come “home”. And that is the word I used… I was coming to a home and not a house.
As a social work student, one of the theories imprinted into my memory throughout graduate school and afterward working with clients is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It is the idea that humans have needs that need to be met until we find ourselves fulfilled. We all have the same level of needs: physiological needs, safety needs, belonging or love needs, self-esteem or ego needs, and a need for self-actualization. Self-actualization is the goal, as it will allow us to fulfill being the best version of ourselves. For many, reaching that part of the pyramid is way out of reach or not even a thought. And for many, like the families and individuals I have worked with across various agencies and settings, addressing the basic needs of food (water), shelter, and health is where they find themselves consistently.
If the goal is to find the best version of myself, I am going to have a hard time fulfilling that need if I am hungry and lack food, or if I have no place to call home and rest at night, or if my physical and mental health are suffering. Think about the six or seven-year-old not having enough food on the table; think about the pregnant mother fleeing domestic violence; think about the veteran sleeping in a tent under the highway because they suffer from untreated mental health issues. And these are all real scenarios that I speak of, as I have worked with many families and individuals in San Antonio that meet this criteria and whose images run across my brain as I write this.
And so the questions pour in: Are we doing enough? What else needs to be done? Is this a funding issue? Is this a permanent solution? Who gets help first…who is prioritized over others? Who is responsible for ensuring our neighbors are getting the help they need?
And simply put: no, more, yes, no, everyone, we all are!
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…” once meant for all, is now relative to your bank account. And so community organizations and non-profit agencies must come up with new innovative ideas to bring “life, liberty, and happiness” to those they serve. They turn closed schools and churches into transitional shelters; churches across the city take turns feeding those who hunger and clothe the naked. Doctors and clinicians step foot away from the offices and step foot in homeless camps to offer aid. And this is why humanity is ESSENTIAL & FUNDAMENTAL to living and fulfilling the most basic of needs for any human being: food, shelter, and health. This sounds a lot like Jesus when He fed the crowds, ensured His friends had roofs to sleep under when traveling, and healed both those with physical and mental illnesses.
Can you imagine, for a moment, what it would look like if every sector of the community sat at the table with the goal of “help thy neighbor”? Each still being able to accomplish their own goals and projects, but also building something bigger —lasting community?
The Maslow framing cuts deep because most policy debates skip right to self-actualization while folks cant meet basic needs. I volunteered at a shelter last winter and saw how just having a stable place to sleep unlocked peoples ability to chase down jobs or get treatement. Its wild how we complicate something that should be this straightforward.