Empowering Local Solutions
We recognize that outsiders can't solve community challenges alone. Traditional top-down approaches often fall short. That's why we take a grassroots approach, collaborating with residents to identify existing strengths and partner with them to create long-term, positive change.
The most creative and sustainable solutions come from the very neighborhoods they impact.
Values
The most creative long-term solutions are coming from grassroots and community efforts - from people who see themselves as ambassadors in their neighborhoods and communities.
"Go to the people, live among them, learn from them, love them. Start with what they know, build on what they have: but of the best leaders, when their task is done, the people will remark, 'We have done it ourselves.'" - Ancient Chinese Proverb
"…it is far better to enter the neighborhood as a learner than an initiator." - Robert D. Lupton, Toxic Charity
"Authentic relationships with those in need have a way of correcting the we-will-rescue-you mind-set and replacing it with mutual admiration and respect." - Robert D. Lupton
“For most, reconciliation will not happen as a part of a normal course of events. It has to be intentional.” ― Wayne Gordon, Do All Lives Matter?
"Community transformation is about the quality of neighbors, not the quality of programs." - Robert D. Lupton, Charity Detox
“Misery (misère), the French sociologist Eugène Buret once remarked, “is poverty felt morally.”
― Matthew Desmond, Poverty, by America
"The gifts that we discovered multiplied. We were pleased to see that neighbors reached out to each other more often. And neighbors who used the gifts of other neighbors began to see the abundance that was both around them and within themselves. Also, when people from outside the neighborhood went “inside” and hired someone to cook a meal, or bought a piece of art, or got their nails done, they began to see ostensibly needy people as artists, economists, musicians, chefs, and entrepreneurs." - Excerpted from “Having Nothing, Possessing Everything: Finding Abundant Communities in Unexpected Places,” by Michael Mather
"If poverty persists in America, it is not for lack of resources." - Matthew Desmond
"Mercy combined with justice creates: immediate care with a future plan, emergency relief and responsible development, short-term intervention and long-term involvement, heart responses and engaged minds." - Robert D. Lupton (Toxic Charity)
"We don't heal in isolation, but in community" - S.Kelley Harrell
"Helping strategies, if indeed they are to be ultimately helpful, demand careful examination of long-term implications. There is no guarantee that unexamined charity will have a redemptive outcome simply because it ‘seems right’ or feels good to the giver." - Robert D. Lupton, Charity Detox
Strategies
We can only achieve our mission by establishing deep partnerships with many who have paved the way before us, and relying heavily on our trust-based relationships and faith in our community members who serve as our leaders on the ground.
How do we do this?
We operate with a strengths-based approach, continually identifying what we have and how we are growing. We recognize that our key pillars: Community Health & Wellness, Housing, and Education, help bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be.
Community Health & Wellness
We believe in a proactive approach to health and wellness. We strive to empower our community members by offering preventative and intentional services, resources, and a caring environment. Under this pillar, we offer services and programs like Mental Health, Substance Use Disorder Services, the Southside Filling Station Food Pantry, the Southside Wellness Clinic, and more.
Housing & Development
Everyone deserves a safe, stable, and affordable place to call home. Our goal is to purchase, renovate, and either sell or rent 15% of all SE Topeka properties by 2045. We are committed to the revitalization and redevelopment of our community through housing development. We purchase and renovate homes in the SE Topeka Neighborhood as well as build new homes, providing residents with jobs and helping families with housing through renting or ownership.
Education & Workforce Development
At SENT, we believe every person deserves the opportunity to discover their purpose and grow into it. Through hands-on learning, mentoring, and workforce development, we help neighbors build confidence and capacity to pursue their goals. By creating space for business ownership, entrepreneurship, and job readiness, we are not just investing in individuals; we are equipping leaders who will shape the future of their families and communities.
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.