No One Thrives Alone

Cristina Guajardo has built a life rooted in connection and giving back. A 2021 graduate of JP Austin, a 2024-2025 JP Alumni Fellow, and a current member of the JP Austin Community Board of Trustees, Cristina is also a program specialist at the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation (GNDC). There, she helps to protect affordable housing for families with deep ties to Austin’s East Side, an area suffering high displacement rates due to gentrification.

In this conversation, Cristina spoke with us about how her journey from isolation to community has shaped her life as a mother, professional, and advocate.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did the idea of community become so important to you?

When I began my journey with Jeremiah, I didn’t have a community. I was in a new city — no friends, no family, no job. I felt so alone, and I didn’t want my son, Antonio, to feel that same isolation. I just wanted support. But when I moved into the JP campus, I found so much more than I was looking for. I found a community that cared.

Shortly after I moved in, I became an ambassador for JP, speaking to visitors and donors about the program. Meeting people who wanted to help — even though they didn’t know us — gave me so much hope. It made me realize this city could be a true home for us.

What was it like being an ambassador for Jeremiah Program?

As an ambassador, I shared my story with donors and volunteers and at events like Amplify Austin [the city’s annual nonprofit giving initiative]. At first, I did it because few others wanted to. But over time, I realized how important it was to give visibility to JP.

Telling my story made the support real for people. It showed them how their contributions change lives. Even today, I still talk about JP every chance I get. I guess I’ll be a forever ambassador!

“Working and volunteering with nonprofits lets me see a beautiful side of Austin — the people who are doing the hard work behind the scenes.”

How did you end up working at GNDC?

GNDC partnered with Jeremiah Program to provide affordable housing when the Austin campus was built. After I graduated, I struggled to find housing — it was the middle of COVID, and waitlists were closed everywhere.

When I talked to GNDC, they didn’t have housing available right away, but they offered me a job. Later, I was about to purchase a home through their program. Now, I answer calls from people looking for housing. I remember how desperate I felt, so I meet every call with empathy.

You weren’t originally planning to stay in Austin. How has your relationship to the city changed?

Honestly, I resented Austin at first. When I became a single mom, I wanted to go back to Minnesota, where I had a strong community. Or at least San Antonio, where my family is. But because of legal restrictions tied to my custody arrangement, I wasn’t allowed to move. I felt stuck.

Over time, I realized God had placed me exactly where I needed to be. Amazing, loving people kept showing up in our lives. I believe they were sent to show me that good people are everywhere. I now see Austin as our home, and I feel called to pour into this community the way it poured into me.

What do you love most about your community today?

Working and volunteering with nonprofits lets me see a beautiful side of Austin — the people who are doing the hard work behind the scenes. They acknowledge the gaps and work to fill them, especially to keep the city accessible for everyone.

GNDC, where I work now, focuses on preserving affordable housing on the East Side. It’s about helping long-time residents stay and thrive. Thanks to GNDC and JP, my son and I have been able to plant real roots here. This city feels like an extension of our home.

JP, GNDC, and United Way are three of the many organizations that contributed to my son’s and my success. When United Way was launching its two-gen initiative and needed to highlight local families, Jeremiah Program connected me to them. It didn’t end there, though. They continued to offer me leadership opportunities, opportunities to get involved in the community. That’s how I ended up on their board.

That’s the beauty of Austin behind the scenes: Nobody knows that this organization values the lived experience of the people it helps. It uses that experience to empower them to advocate for policies that can change the system.

You’ve spoken so beautifully about community. How do you think the world would change if everyone saw themselves as part of a collective, the way you do?

Now more than ever, we need to focus on our immediate communities. When the world feels overwhelming, we have to come back to what we can control — our homes, our connections to our neighbors.

It’s like the ripple effect: small actions create bigger waves. If we all started in our homes and expanded outward, our collective impact would be huge. Hope is contagious. It’s life-giving. And it starts small.

What lessons do you hope your son is learning from you?

I want Antonio to see the city as an extension of his home. He already loves our house, and that’s a dream come true for me. We just planted a slow-growing oak tree in our yard. I may never see it at its full height, but he will — and maybe his children will, too.

My hope for our home is that it gives my son a deep sense of belonging, a place where he knows he is rooted, loved, and part of something greater. I want him to grow up knowing that home and community are real gifts we must always treasure, nurture, protect, and pass on.

What do you hope other women, especially other moms, take away from your story?

I hope they feel empowered to find their own strength. When I share the obstacles I faced, it’s not to make people feel sorry for me. It’s to show that if I could do it, they can too.

It’s important to share the whole story — the hard parts and the victories. Success isn’t about luck. It’s about sacrifice, perseverance, and community. When we share our stories honestly, we give others permission to believe in their own possibilities.

At the end of the day, the ride is smoother and more joyful when we bring others along with us. That’s the real gift of community.

Find this story and more in our magazine, Imagine!

We believe a Jeremiah Program mom dreams in threes: for herself, her children, and her community. In essence, the investments she pours into herself and her children leave a legacy that lasts generations. The third issue of Imagine explores the power of this three-fold, collective dreaming.

READ THE MAGAZINE

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