The Work Is Where We Prove It.

About Chad

The Work Is Where We Prove It.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve wanted to help people. I was the kid who wore his heart on his sleeve, who would give away what he had if someone else needed it more. That instinct has taken me through ministry, outreach, business, hard lessons, and more than a few situations where caring about people came at a personal cost.

I never lost it.

My early work included street ministry, serving as a youth pastor, feeding programs, and volunteering in a homeless shelter. Later, I became involved in Christian television ministry. I saw generosity and compassion. I also saw how far an organization could drift from the people it claimed to serve. Those experiences taught me to pay attention to what actually reaches someone when they need help.

Over the years, I’ve given away vehicles and mobile homes, paid for hotel rooms, opened my home, and helped people find work or get back on their feet. I understand how much immediate help can matter. I’ve also learned that lasting stability takes a means to a way to keep moving after that first act of generosity.

I spent years pouring my energy into other people’s businesses, organizations, and ideas. I helped build things, solve problems, and move work forward. Eventually, I had to ask myself a question: What would happen if I put that same commitment into building something around the mission I couldn’t seem to walk away from?

Urban Roots grew out of that question.

After moving to Central Illinois, I saw homes deteriorating, neighborhoods losing ground, and people frustrated by problems that kept going unresolved. I saw useful buildings being written off and people whose potential was being overlooked. The more involved I became, the clearer the connections were. Housing affects employment. Employment affects stability. Property conditions affect the people next door. A missed opportunity can carry consequences well beyond one household.

Today, JD and I work directly in those conditions. We walk properties, clean them out, make repairs, document problems, coordinate projects, and deal with what the work reveals. That experience shapes the decisions we make and the systems I build.

We have reached a point where the work is about proving those systems in practice.

The scopes, documentation, payment milestones, property standards, and operating processes have to hold up on real projects. They have to help us make better decisions, communicate clearly, and follow through. When something falls short, we have to address it. Every completed job and every problem worked through gives us evidence of what functions and what needs to improve.

That same thinking drives the URHS Home Ownership Success Program. I designed it around a different approach to qualification: documented affordability, preparation, payment performance, and a path to ownership through an actual mortgage. Building the program required connecting the steps. Proving it requires carrying those steps through real households, real properties, and the responsibilities that continue after closing.

The broader work includes Urban Roots Development Partners, GRYDGO, and Roots Community Centers. Each is at its own stage. Each addresses a need I’ve encountered through experience—larger redevelopment opportunities, dependable local response, and practical ways for people to turn their abilities into a sustainable future.

I have a particular place in my heart for people who have been counted out. I want to know what they can do, what they have learned, and what they are willing to do next. Sometimes the ability is already there. It needs direction, discipline, opportunity, and someone willing to recognize it.

I bring that same persistence to public issues affecting our neighborhoods. I ask questions, document conditions, and speak up when something needs attention. I believe showing up carries a responsibility to contribute—to do the work, bring useful information, and stay involved beyond the first conversation.

Urban Roots is my mission. You can see it in the daily work, the programs taking shape, and the standards we are holding ourselves to. The systems have been built to serve a purpose. Now we are putting them to work, testing them against reality, and earning trust through what we deliver.

If it’s going to be, it’s up to me. That belief gets me moving. The people willing to work alongside us help turn that effort into something bigger.

Why not me? Why not you?

Property is the entry point. Housing creates stability. Development creates opportunity. Jobs create growth. Community impact remains the mission.