Community First Webinar

A group in Austin, Texas, known as Mobile Loaves and Fishes (MLF), has been hard at work addressing the problem of homelessness and building a community for its homeless. Founded in 1998, MLF started out with food trucks on the streets of Austin, seven nights a week, 365 days a year. These trucks continue to provide food, clothing and other life-sustaining items to homeless men and women who are struggling to survive. To date, some 20,000 volunteers have served over 5.5 million meals. The founder and chief executive of MLF, Alan Graham concluded, “Housing will never solve homelessness, but community will.” With this realization, Graham turned his attention to developing a self-supporting community buttressed by innovative housing alternatives. Community First! Village (CVF) does just that.

Community First, A Home for the Homeless, is a new documentary that is making the film festival circuits in the U.S. Its premier was held at the prestigious South by Southwest Film Festival and it has subsequently screened at nine other film festivals. Its Director, Layton Blaylock, says that Community First is one of 24 films selected by the Southern Arts Council to make a tour to Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. In addition, it is one of 35 films selected by the American Film Showcase, an organization financed by the U.S. State Department which selects and places films in embassies around the world. The Community First documentary tells the story of this remarkable real estate development and helps set the stage for developing additional Community First! Villages around the U. S. and around the world. In fact, Community First! is a solution which has no boundaries and there is hope that leaders of international cities will become familiar with the program and adopt a similar program.

On January 29, 2020, The Charter for Compassion joined in conversation with filmmaker Layton Blaylock and Karen Yang (Education Director of Mobile Loaves and Fishes) as they presented the uniqueness of the village.