Meet the Community Members Behind Southside Collaborative: Santos Barrientes

Santos didn’t grow up on the far South Side — but the South Side has always been part of his story.

Originally from San Antonio’s West Side, Santos spent much of his childhood on the South Side, where his grandmother lived. Years later, when her home sat vacant, Santos and his wife made the decision to move in and restore it.

“It was my grandma’s house,” Santos said. “We couldn’t lose it. We had to keep it in the family.”

For nearly a decade, Santos and his family lived on the South Side. More recently, they moved even farther south — where long drives to grocery stores, health care and everyday services are part of daily life.

“Now we’re really living it,” he said. “The same challenges our neighbors face — we face them too.”

That lived experience shapes Santos’ role as a Community Advisory Board (CAB) member and co-chair of the Southside Collaborative Steering Committee with Southside Collaborative and as a staff member at UT Health Confianza, a Southside Collaborative community partner.

A Commitment to Service

Santos’ passion for community work began in college, where he helped start a Latino-based fraternity chapter focused on service and volunteerism. After graduating, he spent two years with AmeriCorps, working with elementary school students to close achievement gaps.

“Those were probably the best two years I’ve ever worked,” he said. “I woke up excited to go back every day.”

His career has since included work in children’s shelters, child advocacy, housing and rental relief during the pandemic — all roles centered on supporting people through challenging moments.

“I’m not a ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ kind of person,” Santos said. “People work hard, but support matters. Community matters.”

Building Something Together

Santos’ connection to Southside Collaborative began through his work at UT Health Confianza. When he attended one of the Collaborative’s early convenings, he immediately saw potential.

“We had the right people in the room,” he said. “This could really work.”

Over time, Santos watched the Collaborative grow — from refining its focus to launching health clubs and hosting large-scale events rooted in trust and consistency.

“That didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “That was years of showing up.”

As a CAB and steering committee member, Santos believes the strength of Southside Collaborative lies in the people behind it — community members who live here, understand the challenges firsthand and care deeply about the South Side’s future.

“This isn’t something happening to the South Side,” he said. “It’s coming from the South Side.”