So often in the nonprofit world, we enter spaces with deep care and genuine concern for our friends and neighbors. We listen to stories about barriers that stand in the […]
There is a quiet tension that shows up often in nonprofit and community development work, especially in under-resourced neighborhoods. It usually starts with deep care. Those of us who walk
Where Perfect Gets in the Way of Access and Equity Read More »
Are we being muted, or are we choosing to remain silent—and what are we willing to do once we know the answer? That question matters, especially when we look honestly
Are We Being Muted or Are We Choosing to Remain Silent? Read More »
How Hi-Crest Helps Move Kansas from #27 Toward #1 in Health Kansas’s health ranking is not determined in the abstract. It is the sum of what happens in real neighborhoods,
2025 America’s Health Rankings — Kansas (#27) vs New Hampshire (#1) Read More »
At SENT, we don’t believe food security is the finish line. We believe it is the front door. For many neighbors, the Southside Filling Station is the first place they
At the beginning of 2025, I sat down with the newly released America’s Health Rankings and felt a genuine sense of encouragement. Kansas had moved from #29 to #28 in
Modeling Our Way Toward Health Read More »
Recently, the work of SENT in the Hi-Crest neighborhood was recognized by the Kansas Department of Commerce through the Community Empowerment Program with its highest designation, Community of Excellence. We
Why Hi-Crest Is Not the Exception Read More »
A Thoughtful Look at Research and Our Practice This is a question we hear often, and it is a fair one. When people have seen neighborhoods change without protections, it
Does Mixed-Income Housing Displace Residents? Read More »
I struggle with the tension. In Topeka and in communities like ours across the country, we are caught between two competing realities. The first is the one splashed across headlines:
The Crisis We Don’t Want to See, and the Hope We Cannot Ignore Read More »
In almost every community conversation about housing, someone eventually says some version of: “We need affordable housing, but we don’t want those kinds of homes.” I understand where that fear
More Homes, More Stability: Why SENT Is Using Manufactured and Panelized Housing in 2026 Read More »