Kenny will tell you he's just a regular person. "I'm nobody special," he says with a laugh. But sit with him for a few minutes and a different picture emerges, one of a man who found himself in financial crisis, asked for help, and rebuilt with remarkable determination.

Generations of families have called Georgetown home, their roots running deep into the limestone soil of Williamson County. Among them is Emily, an eighth-generation Georgetownian whose ancestor, Greenleaf Fisk, served as the county’s first judge. Her childhood memories are stitched into the fabric of the town—racing down “jail hill” on her bike, crossing Williams Drive when traffic was sparse, and watching prisoners from the minimum-security jail leave for work during the day and return at night. As a child, Emily lived in the house across from the jail, which is now 309 Coffee. Georgetown has changed, but Emily’s connection to it has remained steadfast.

Sandra calls The Caring Place "El Corazón"—the heart. Nearly 30 years after we helped her family through crisis, she's paying it forward as a donor.

Lori’s job didn’t provide enough money for her to support her family on her own and eviction was eminent. Like many families who find themselves in a crisis, she began weighing her options and that meant trying to justify which bill to pay. “Do we pay for electricity or food?” were the questions she was asking herself. It was probably the need to ask herself these questions at all that spurned her looking for a resource and she found The Caring Place.

Have you ever thought life wasn’t going quite right? Did you think your relationships weren’t what you thought they were? Have you ever felt unsafe to ask for help? Did you need a reset? Rosemary felt all those things in another state. After visiting friends in Texas, just after the great “ice-pocalypse,” she and her daughter decided to make a change in 2021. Rosemary said moving to Texas reset their family experience.

Jeremy and Francesca told us all help is not the same. Two years ago they were in Florida because Francesca’s mom was sick. She was their support system and their rock. When she passed away, their next home was a shelter. Jeremy was working and saving money while Francesca was pregnant with their second child. They were really trying to create change in their lives and always felt like they took one step forward and two steps back...

Sophisticated and well-spoken with a soft hint of North Carolina in her voice. These are all ways to describe Brenda even at first glance. Her poised demeanor and gentle handshake didn’t tell her story though. They were just the beginning. As I sat with Brenda, she described her high life; living in Africa for 20 years, traveling with her husband who was the first black person to be President of a foreign company, and raising her children.

Have your parents ever lived with you so you can help them financially or even physically? For many families, this is a solution to help care for aging parents with a low or limited income. It makes sense, but what if the unexpected happens and the parents outlive the child? That’s the scenario that played out for Samuel and Patricia.

Pride. That’s what kept Brad from seeking help for his family when they were struggling. And it was after a night of sleeping in the car that he knew there had to be something else out there to get them through this rough patch. “It was pride. I’ve never been in a situation where I needed help like this. Never.”