In some of Houston’s most economically challenged neighborhoods, the school day doesn’t always end with a full stomach or a safe place to land. That’s where Alicia Rogers and Krystle Robinson step in.
The co-founders of Helping Hands For the People have spent the last three years feeding both the bodies and spirits of K–12 students across the city. Their mission is simple but powerful: Go into low-income communities, provide nutritious meals, and offer the kind of educational and emotional support many children are missing.
Robinson, a native Houstonian educated at Foster Elementary, Lanier Middle School, and Lamar High School, knows the landscape well. Her children now attend Yates, where she serves on the PTO. Rogers, originally from Oklahoma City, found common ground with Robinson in their shared upbringing and desire to serve.
“We, being a part of low-income areas, know how it feels,” Robinson said. “When I was growing up, I knew some of the kids weren’t fortunate to have a lot. I always wanted an opportunity to give back to the community when I grew up. And now we’re both doing it.”
How Helping Hands works
Helping Hands For the People feeds roughly 1,500 youth a day, Monday through Friday. The nonprofit operates five feeding sites from about 3:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. at Southlawn Palms in Third Ward; Sterlingshire on the north side at Tidwell and Mesa; Coke at Cleme Manor in Fifth Ward; PSAT near Bellaire and the Beltway; and Jarmese in South Park.
Students come from schools including Foster, Thompson, Bastion, and Whidby elementaries; Cullen Middle School; and Yates, Fleming, North Forest, and Forest Brook high schools.
“We’re in apartments, we’re in schools, and we give them an hour and 45 minutes a day, Monday through Friday,” Rogers said. “We give them a nutritious meal, and we help them with homework, tutoring, mental health, and hygiene tips. We give them the love they need when they leave the household.”
Each site is equipped to serve.
“At each one of our sites, we are fully staffed,” Rogers said. “We have between two and three people who work at each site: one server and an educational person. This is all volunteer work. We take people who need community service, people who just want to get out of the house and help.”
Rogers and Robinson understand that for many low-income students, school lunch may be their last meal of the day.
“So, we come in and feed them a different meal Monday through Friday,” Rogers said.
And not just any meal.
“It’s a hot meal like grandma used to cook back in the day,” Robinson said. “How big mama was gonna cook that rice and gravy. And it’s gonna be full on their stomach for the next day. So, they’ll be able to focus on school.”
The impact goes beyond nutrition.
“They even call us auntie,” Robinson said. “If I see them on a weekend, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s Aunt Krystle’ or ‘That’s Aunt Alicia.’ It’s just the love that we give the kids. And we receive the love back, too.”
From concern to action
The idea for Helping Hands grew from frustration and memory.
“Growing up, we had a feeding cycle where the schools did it,” Rogers said. “Then, when the schools stopped doing it, we were like, ‘Who is feeding these kids now?’”
Instead of simply complaining, the pair contacted the Texas Department of Agriculture to learn what it would take to launch their own program.
“They told us exactly what we needed to do and the steps of how to get it done,” Rogers said. “It was an idea together, and we just decided, hey, let’s do this. We have to give something back to our community.”
Beyond food
Helping Hands fills what the founders describe as a programming gap.
In addition to meals, the nonprofit offers tutoring, classes, and mentorship. A mental health professional works with participants, and partnerships provide hygiene supplies such as deodorant and feminine hygiene products.
The duo is also looking ahead.
“I always wanted an opportunity to give back to the community when I grew up. And now we’re both doing it.”
Krystle Robinson
“We have somebody who’s going to come in and teach them how to use AI because that’s the next round of futures,” Rogers said. “And we’re going to teach them accounting and money management tips because we both have accounting backgrounds.”
“It’s so unfortunate that HISD doesn’t sponsor these types of positive curricula for our children,” Robinson said. “So, me and Alicia go into neighborhoods, adamant about this program because this is something that kids need.”
Lives changed
At their first site, Southlawn, they met a brother and sister whose mother was facing hardship.
“She’d put them out,” Robinson said. “They instantly gravitated to us.”
The brother, [Bray], was struggling with behavior issues and “straight Fs.”
“Once he started getting the tutoring, the love, and the reward we gave him every time he did well at school, he started making Cs, then Bs,” Robinson said. “He’s passing all his classes, doing really well, better attitude.”
His sister, [Kay], an excellent student, simply needed sisterly support.
In another case, three sisters came daily, often teased about their appearance.
“Every day they would be so hungry,” Rogers said. “We went out of our own pockets and started buying them clothes and shoes. We got their hair braided.”
The girls were embarrassed about taking multiple plates home because there was no food in the house.
“I told their mother, ‘As long as you’re able to help your kids and yourself, we’re gonna always be here. They’re gonna always have some food,’” Rogers said.
Ripple effect
Volunteers are often transformed as well.
“Our volunteers come from different areas,” Robinson said. “When we introduce them to that type of community, they’re like, ‘Wow. This really left a big effect on me. I want to come back. What can I do? How can I help?’”
For Rogers and Robinson, Helping Hands For the People is more than a feeding program. It’s a promise — that Houston’s children will not be forgotten, that their bellies will be full, and that their spirits will be nourished with love, structure, and hope.To learn more about Helping Hands For the People, visit www.helpinghands4ppl.org or call 832-588-3812.
