The Crawlspace

In 2015, I was working in downtown Atlanta. Every day on my walk to the office, I passed people asking for help. I started keeping loose dollars in my pocket to give away.

Then one day, mid-stride, a question stopped me.

How far does a dollar really go?

I didn't have an answer. And once I sat with the question, I couldn't unask it.

The dollar wasn't the problem, it just wasn't enough. I was helping out a little because I couldn't offer a pathway forward.

So I started looking for answers.

The more I searched, the more I realized something I'd known most of my life; if you can't enter through the front door, go through a window, an attic, or find a crawlspace.

I'd spent most of my adult life doing exactly that. Whenever I needed an answer, a resource, or an opportunity, I had to find it myself.

Some people seemed to waltz through the front door. Not because they were smarter or worked harder, but because someone had told them it existed. I didn't have that, and I realized many others didn't either.

That changed how I saw the world.

None of the information I needed was classified. It was just hidden in plain sight; buried in fine print, scattered across different websites, or shared in rooms I wasn't in. People aren't always stuck because they lack drive. Many are simply missing information.

So I stopped handing out dollars and started handing out maps.

If I found a resource, I shared it. If I learned something useful, I passed it on. If I discovered a better path, I made it easier for someone else to follow. Over time, that work became a mission.

Today, that mission lives through Jo-Anne's House. Whether I'm helping someone understand their credit, navigate housing challenges, or make sense of the financial system, my goal is the same. Show people the door so they don't have to spend years searching for a crawlspace.