San Antonio should be a place where all people—not just the wealthy—can thrive. As a housing justice organizer, I’ve fought alongside families facing eviction, elderly and disabled people's safety, and entire communities being displaced. As a therapist and a single mom, I’ve seen firsthand how housing instability creates stress, trauma, and cycles of harm that affect generations. True liberation means breaking these cycles by dismantling the systems that keep us struggling.

I became a marriage and family therapist because I believe in healing—not just for individuals, but for communities. The struggles we face—housing insecurity, financial stress, family issues—aren’t just personal burdens; they’re the result of deeply rooted injustices. Liberation psychology teaches us that healing isn’t just about coping, it’s about changing the conditions that harm us in the first place. When our families are constantly worried about cost of living, it isn’t just a housing issue—it’s a mental health crisis, which harms every other part of our life. A truly just city invests in the well-being of its people by ensuring stability, safety, and dignity for all.

Decisions about our neighborhoods shouldn’t be made in secret meetings with developers and lobbyists. They should be made by us. Too often, communities are only invited to the table after the real decisions have already been made—forced to accept policies that serve corporate interests while their voices are reduced to surveys, advisory boards with no real power, or public meetings where officials maybe listen but never act. That’s not real democracy.

I believe in shifting power back to the people by ensuring that community members aren’t just consulted, but have direct control over the policies that shape their lives. That means creating community-based committees with actual authority, expanding community-driven budgeting, and ensuring every policy centers the people it impacts most. 

But participation alone isn’t enough!! We also need real oversight to make sure policies are enforced efficiently, fairly, and without corruption. Too many city programs are exploited by the same powerful interests they were meant to regulate. That’s why we need community-led watchdogs (you!) , independent oversight boards with enforcement power, and transparency at every level of decision-making. Participation shouldn’t be a formality—it should be the foundation of how we govern, backed by real accountability.

Our city is strongest when we take care of each other. I’ve seen it in the tenants who organize to stop displacement, the neighbors who share resources when times get hard, and the families who fight not just for themselves, but for their whole community. That’s the kind of power we need to build—one rooted in solidarity, not charity. Too often, those in power treat communities as passive recipients of aid rather than active decision-makers in shaping their own futures. A just city doesn’t leave people to struggle alone; it creates systems of support that uplift everyone. That means investing in housing, healthcare, childcare, worker protections, transportation, and more—not just as policies, but as acts of collective care. When we build power together, we don’t just survive—we thrive.