Sandra DeSteno has been involved in advocacy for most of her life. She’s a former foster youth and teen mom, so she learned early on how to advocate for herself. Now, she’s working hard to provide her neighbors with the kind of support that could’ve helped her.
Sandra was already working as the 211 Director for United Way Toledo when she learned about a local TroubleNation group. Despite already helping her neighbors as a full-time career, she didn’t hesitate to join.
She’s been seeing the pain caused by cuts to government assistance programs, particularly for families dealing with hunger and homelessness. She says that daily life for many of these families was precarious already — they “didn’t need another problem” and yet 2025 has given them “a whole book of problems.”
So now, Sandra is advocating with her local TroubleNation group for the vulnerable folks in their area. In addition to direct support like donating to food pantries or participating in an “Angel Giving Tree” program, she says that one of the most powerful things we can do is just… talk about it.
We’re all a couple of disasters away from hunger or homelessness, especially with the government decimating assistance programs. Sandra says there’s been a voice in her head all year saying “Get louder! Get louder!” and that’s exactly what she’s doing.
