On this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, Alan sits down with our neighbor and friend, DeLori. With a life shaped by both hardship and incredible resilience, DeLori shares her journey of transformation—one marked by early struggles and a spirit of survival. Growing up in an abusive home where drugs and alcohol were part of daily life, DeLori ran away when she was only nine years old. Throughout her life, she found strength in unexpected places—from the people who helped raise her on the s...
Jun 30, 2025•41 min
On this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, Alan sits down with our friend and neighbor, Justin! Originally from Houston, Justin later made his way to Austin where he found support from a family friend as he navigated life in a new city. After experiencing some bumps along the way, Justin made his way home to Community First! Village in 2021 and has embraced a new chapter of life—one marked by growth, gratitude and deep connection. Though he once faced homelessness and time in jail, today J...
Jun 11, 2025•31 min
Join Alan on an emotional episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast as he sits down with our Community First! Village neighbor, Kim. Originally from Oklahoma, Kim made her way to Austin through Child Protective Services and spent years in foster care and group homes before being adopted. Her parents strived to never give up on her, even as she struggled to let people into her life. Kim encountered homelessness after leaving home when she was 17-years-old, and by the time she was 19 eventually had ...
May 16, 2025•40 min
The Gospel Con Carne podcast is back! Join us this season as Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Founder & CEO, Alan Graham, and his guests tell the untold stories of individuals who have encountered homelessness. We are excited to kick off this season talking with Honey, one of Alan’s neighbors who lives in Community First! Village. Honey grew up in a broken home and transitioned into foster care when she was 16. After getting married and having three children, new struggles began to emerge in her ...
Apr 30, 2025•39 min
Join us for our final Gospel Con Carne podcast episode of the season as Alan sits down with our friend and neighbor, Cecile! Originally from Dallas, Cecile and her siblings were raised in a loving home by her parents until they later separated. After graduating high school, Cecile worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years, followed by decades-long work in accounting. She eventually moved to Austin in 2000 , but unfortunately found herself homeless after the Covid pandemic hit. Than...
Nov 20, 2024•25 min
Joining our host, Alan Graham, on this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast is our neighbor, Nick! Originally born in Kenya, Nick’s mom moved him and his sister to the United States when he was just nine years old. After spending his childhood in Georgia, Nick enrolled in the Army directly out of high school and served for six years. In 2014, Nick's job brought him to Austin where he had a stable income and housing. However, when the covid pandemic hit, he lost his job and had to live off of ...
Oct 30, 2024•41 min
On our newest episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, Alan is joined by our friend and neighbor, Bennie! Born and raised in Austin, Bennie learned early on what it looked like to care for others while growing up in a two-bedroom home with eight siblings. His parents, who were functioning alcoholics, took care of his family well despite being poor. With the integration of Austin happening during most of Bennie’s upbringing, he was often bused to and from school. He says this experience, coupled ...
Oct 09, 2024•43 min
Joining our host, Alan Graham, on this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast is our neighbor, Cathy! Growing up in Freeport, Texas, Cathy experienced chronic homelessness from a young age alongside her mother and siblings. Often moving from place to place her whole life, Cathy says she doesn't feel like she had her first real home until she moved into Community First! Village in April of 2023. However, the road to finding her home in the Village didn't come easy. Cathy fell into the trap of ad...
Sep 18, 2024•34 min
On this week’s episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, Alan is joined by our neighbor and friend, Bernadette! Originally from New York, Bernadette grew up in an orphanage but was eventually adopted and had a great upbringing as an only child. Throughout her life, Bernadette became a hard worker within the entertainment industry which led to her passion for concerts and even renaissance fairs! Unfortunately, with the passing of her father came a reliance on drugs, and this eventually led to Bern...
Aug 28, 2024•36 min
On our newest episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, Alan is joined by our friend and Community First! Village neighbor, Jimmy! Growing up in Queens, New York, Jimmy says he never really felt at home until he moved to Austin in 1982 to go to college. Despite having distant relationships with his immediate family growing up, Jimmy had the chance to reconnect with his dad after moving to Austin. During this time, they were able to rekindle their bond until his dad eventually passed away. Years l...
Aug 07, 2024•42 min
Join Alan on an emotional episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast as he sits down with our neighbor Linda. In addition to learning more about Linda's story, you'll hear from one of our Mobile Loaves & Fishes' staff members, Frazel, who works directly with Linda in our Community Inn! Linda grew up in Louisiana with six siblings, later moving to several locations in Houston, and ultimately ending up in Austin. After spending time homeless, while living at a park in Austin, Linda met her case m...
Jul 17, 2024•24 min
On this week’s episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, Alan is joined by our neighbor and friend, John! Growing up on the beaches of Florida, John’s childhood was filled with love, surrounded by his mom, stepdad and two brothers. John later attended college in Arizona where he was able to reconnect with his biological father, working to create a relationship even as his dad struggled with alcoholism. John eventually entered a season of his life where many of his family members passed away, caus...
Jun 25, 2024•39 min
On our newest episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, we are joined by our neighbor and friend, Tuana! Originally from Louisiana, Tuana grew up with her mom and two brothers. She says her mom’s drug problem forced the family to move around quite a bit, which left her to become involved with the wrong crowds from an early age. The pain Tuana experienced from the people she was left surrounded by led to her own drug use and ultimately left her in a state of living in her car. Thankfully, Tuana wa...
Jun 05, 2024•33 min
Joining our host, Alan Graham, on this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast is our neighbor, Orion! Growing up in a small Texas town, Orion had a simple, old-fashioned life and knew what good hospitality looked like. However, what he thought was considered a "normal" family dynamic ended up causing him trouble in the years to follow. With a family history of alcoholism and other unfortunate circumstances, Orion ultimately became homeless around the age of 18. When Orion later found himself in...
May 15, 2024•41 min
On this episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, we are joined by not one, but two Alan’s! Joining our host, Alan Graham, is his friend and neighbor, Alan, who moved home to Community First! Village in December of 2019. Adopted as a baby, Alan built close relationships with his adoptive parents and fondly remembers his childhood growing up in north Austin. His life took a turn when he began using drugs as a young teenager, which led to a spiral that ultimately left him homeless. Since moving to ...
Apr 17, 2024•40 min
The Gospel Con Carne podcast is back! Join us this season as Mobile Loaves & Fishes' Founder & CEO, Alan Graham, and his guests tell the untold stories of individuals who have encountered homelessness. We are excited to kick off this season talking with Justin, one of Alan's neighbors in Community First! Village. Hear how Justin's family history of alcoholism ultimately took root in his own life, resulting in plenty of challenges along the way. Justin eventually found himself living a no...
Mar 19, 2024•32 min
There are only a handful of people who have been with Mobile Loaves & Fishes since its very first day 25 years ago, and Alan's guest on this season finale of the Gospel Con Carne is undeniably one of them! Alan is joined by his daughter and Mobile Loaves & Fishes' Director of Community Empowerment, Taylor Graham, for this 25th anniversary special edition episode. You may be surprised to learn that being part of the family business wasn't always in Taylor's plan. Hear Mobile Loaves & ...
Nov 15, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this special episode of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, your host Alan Graham sits down with Brian Walsh, an author of one of Alan's favorite books, “Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement.” When asked about the inspiration behind Community First! Village, Alan frequently references Beyond Homelessness as a book that helped him gain a rich understanding of the true meaning of home. Alan also often explains how Mobile Loaves & Fishes intentionally uses this framewo...
Sep 14, 2023•44 min
In this special edition of the Gospel Con Carne podcast, Alan is joined by two community-driven individuals who we consider part of the Mobile Loaves & Fishes family. Sherwynn Patton is an MLF Board member and one of the founders of Life Anew, which practices restorative justice in Community First! Village. Joe Bland is the leader behind Joe Bland Construction, a family-owned business whose team has handled the infrastructure development of the Village. On Monday, August 28th, at 9:00am on t...
Aug 24, 2023•41 min
Growing up on a ranch with her family in West Texas, Community First! Village neighbor Eddie Jean learned what hard work looked like at a young age. Today, she continues this strong work ethic and earns a dignified income by creating beautiful paintings and ceramic pieces through our Art House program. Eddie Jean's story, however, hasn't always been a palette of bright colors. After encountering a series of deaths in her family, Eddie Jean ultimately ended up homeless and living out of her car. ...
Aug 16, 2023•43 min
When Mobile Loaves & Fishes first began moving neighbors up off the streets of Austin and into permanent homes in Community First! Village in 2015, the neighborhood was a small, close-knit community. Now, with almost 350 formerly homeless men and women living in the Village, it takes more of an effort to really get to know your neighbors. Alan's guest on this episode of the Gospel Con Carne, Bowie, has been living in the Village for just over a year, but this is the first time the two of the...
Jul 26, 2023•24 min
Gospel Con Carne host Alan Graham often describes Community First! Village as a peaceful place with a side salad of tension—and when many of these moments of tension arise around the neighborhood, the team knows just who to call. Michelle Ates helps our neighbors resolve conflict through restorative justice. Growing up as one of the only black people in her school classes, it wasn't until Michelle went to a Historically Black College that she realized her upbringing had been more privileged than...
Jul 05, 2023•43 min
A self-proclaimed free-spirit with a merry laugh, Alan's podcast guest and neighbor, Kate, grew up in the UK where she and her mother gardened every day, spending much of her time in nature. After traveling to the United States and later divorcing her husband in search of freedom, Kate eventually found herself living under a bridge. Although she enjoyed being surrounded by the creatures of nature that she loves, Kate chose to adjust her living situation and made her way home to a place of perman...
Jun 14, 2023•42 min
Our guest on this episode of the Gospel Con Carne goes by 'Sippi' – short for Mississippi – and has been a neighbor in Community First! Village for just more than a year. While it's easy to realize where Sippi's roots originated, he made his journey west to Austin, Texas as a young adult where he encountered a more challenging season of life in and out of homelessness for the greater part of a decade. Growing up as a star athlete with access to things that could get him into trouble, Sippi says ...
May 24, 2023•32 min
If you've ever taken a tour of Community First! Village, then you're probably very familiar with this week's guest on the Gospel Con Carne podcast. Our neighbor Ute has been living in the Village for about five-and-a-half years and is one of our incredibly talented artists who earns a dignified income from the pieces she creates and sells through our on-site Art House program. Although she is extremely grateful for where she is in her life right now, Ute remembers the rougher times she endured w...
May 03, 2023•41 min
The Gospel Con Carne podcast is back for a new season of meaningful conversations with your host, Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ Founder & CEO Alan Graham! Whether having experienced homelessness or not, all of Alan’s guests are individuals who understand the value of community. This week’s guest, Alan’s neighbor Brandon, is no exception. Growing up in the foster care system, transferred from family to family five times, Brandon has learned firsthand how surrounding oneself with good company—ev...
Apr 12, 2023•32 min
We are wrapping up this season of the Gospel Con Carne podcast with a powerful conversation with Tim Hawks, Lead Pastor of Hill Country Bible Church. A man of great faith who has been sharing the story of the Gospel in Austin for the past three decades, you'll hear a common theme behind Tim's vision that has connected his congregation to the work we do at Mobile Loaves & Fishes in serving our most vulnerable neighbors. Tune in as Tim discusses the benefits of stepping out of the comfort zone...
Nov 17, 2022•54 min
We often say at Mobile Loaves & Fishes that our missional community is the secret sauce of Community First! Village. Alan’s guest on the podcast this week, Paul Gautier, and his wife Carol have devoted their lives to serving our neighbors every day by living in the Village as Missionals. Paul and Alan met back in 2002 on an MLF truck run and now, 20 years later, continue to serve Austin’s most vulnerable neighbors together. Paul shares an experience that he says was the biggest step in his f...
Oct 19, 2022•51 min
Many of the neighbors living in Community First! Village experience mental health problems—some easier to identify than others. Alan's guest on this episode of the Gospel Con Carne, Shea, is on the autism spectrum and remained undiagnosed until later in her adult years. It took becoming homeless for Shea to seek mental health assistance, discovering that her difficulty in social settings, which caused her to become socially isolated and depressed, was deeper than she thought. Now, living in Comm...
Sep 28, 2022•43 min
For two years, no one in Community First! Village knew or saw much of our neighbor Blair due to a health condition that left him believing he needed to stay in his home. Now, after living in the Village for more than four years, going a day without seeing him out and about in the community is quite unusual. As the unofficial "mayor" of Community First! Village, Blair finds purpose encouraging his neighbors to start a new beginning in the Village—a place where they will be fully and wholly known ...
Sep 07, 2022•37 min
