Corazon Connectors: Lived Experience to Purpose

Meet the Corazon Connectors

The Corazon Connectors are a team of dedicated and passionate individuals who use lived experience, compassion, and years of experience in the field to ensure that every person who walks through Corazon’s doors knows they are not alone.

For more than 12 years, I have had the privilege of working in the field and walking alongside individuals experiencing homelessness, crisis, substance use, instability, and some of life’s most difficult challenges. My connection to this work is also personal. As someone with lived experience, I understand that behind every circumstance is a person with a story, a history, struggles, strengths, and hopes for something different.

My professional journey has taken me through different roles and experiences, each teaching me something valuable about people, resilience, service, and the importance of meeting individuals where they are. Over the years, I have learned that helping someone move forward is not about telling them what their journey should look like. It is about listening, building trust, offering support, and reminding them that their circumstances do not have to define their future.

That is what makes the work of the Corazon Connectors so meaningful.

Corazon Connectors don't walk ahead of the people they serve, and they don't pretend to have all the answers. They walk beside them. They understand that progress can come with setbacks, that trust takes time, and that sometimes the most powerful thing we can offer another person is simply our presence.

My lived experience has given me a perspective that I carry with me into every interaction. It has taught me the importance of empathy without judgment and of seeing the person before seeing the circumstance. My more than 12 years of professional experience have strengthened that perspective by allowing me to learn from the people, communities, organizations, and colleagues who have been part of my journey.

Today, my work with Corazon Ministries allows me to continue being part of something larger than myself. While my current role as Human Resources & Accounts Payable Specialist includes responsibilities behind the scenes, my heart remains connected to the mission and to the people we serve. I believe every role within an organization that serves our community has value because every role contributes to creating an environment where people can find support, dignity, opportunity, and hope.

The Corazon Connectors embody something I have come to understand throughout my own journey:

People don't always need someone to save them. Sometimes they need someone who believes in them while they learn how to save themselves.

Through lived experience and professional experience, we have the opportunity to transform what we have been through into something meaningful. We can use our stories not to define ourselves by where we have been, but to help someone else believe that where they are today does not have to be where they remain.

Every conversation, every connection, and every act of support carries a simple but powerful message:

You matter.
You are not forgotten.
You do not have to do this alone.

This Big Give, I invite you to support the Corazon Connectors and the work they do throughout San Antonio and Bexar County. Your support helps create opportunities for connection, stability, recovery, and hope for our friends and neighbors who are hurting, searching, and working toward a different future.

Because sometimes the first step toward finding your way forward is knowing that someone is willing to walk beside you.

Together, we can help bring people home—where the heart is—through the welcoming doors of Corazon.