The Texas Homeless Network recently recognized Kameron Rhys for his work helping some of San Antonio’s most vulnerable residents.

Each person who enters the homeless resource center in downtown San Antonio has traveled a unique path to get there.

No matter their history, Kameron Rhys, 26, greets them with a smile.

“He’s the first face that they see, so he’s the definition of the day,” said Brittney Ackerson, assistant director of the Corazón Day Center and Resource Hub. “His cheerful attitude really impacts somebody who’s coming in in a bad mood. … He sets the tone.”

The center provides hot meals, hygiene supplies, benefit navigation, recovery groups and hot showers to an average of 200-275 people a day.

Rhys, an intake specialist at the center, had his own experience with homelessness and mental health issues, which allows him to connect with and earn the trust of many people who arrive at the center.

“I just take their name and their birthday down on a piece of paper — but it can be so much more than that,” he said. “Some of them feel comfortable opening up to me, and I’ll tell them … you’re not struggling alone, because I’ve been where you are, I know what it feels like to not have anything — to have people turn their backs on you.

Source: Once homeless San Antonian wins recognition for helping others