Sean Teare: Care About Fighting Crime? Start with Feeding Families

Last week, I stood alongside Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones and dozens of volunteers at a special food distribution hosted by West Houston Assistance Ministries.

We loaded boxes of donated food into cars that stretched for blocks for families hurt by the halt in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the shutdown of the federal government. The desperation was palpable. That day, volunteers distributed food for more than 1,000 hungry families, including federal employees being forced to work without pay. 

Across the greater Houston area, nearly 900,000 people rely on SNAP benefits to put food on the table. That number alone is staggering — but it becomes even more urgent when you consider that SNAP provides nine times more food assistance than all the food banks in the United States combined, including children, elderly and disabled people.

When those benefits were suspended or significantly reduced, the strain on local resources became overwhelming. As Reverend Mark Brown, CEO of West Houston Assistance Ministries, told us: while food banks are doing everything they can, they simply cannot fill the gap left by SNAP. He described the current situation as a “humanitarian crisis,” calling the need for food in Houston “enormous.” 

I couldn’t agree more. 

For me, this isn’t just a humanitarian challenge — it’s a public safety issue. Common sense tells us that when we neglect to support the most vulnerable among us with basic resources for survival, the conditions for crime thrive.

According to one study, for every 1 percent increase in food insecurity, violent crime rises by 12 percent. Conversely, evidence shows that when food is readily available, neighborhoods are safer, stronger and benefit from lower rates of violent crime. Of course, that doesn’t mean hunger causes crime, nor that those struggling to feed their families are destined for criminality.

But it does highlight a critical truth: anyone serious about reducing violent crime should also care about attacking its root causes — poverty, lack of education, inadequate infrastructure, and limited upward mobility. I call these challenges “crime drivers” that, if left to fester, will reverse the progress we’re making to break the cycle of crime and violence. 

And we have made progress. Violent crime has been declining over the past few years, thanks to the hard work of law enforcement, prosecutors, and so many local organizations working on crime prevention programs. The Harris County Commissioners Court deserves credit, too, for funding programs that are smart on crime, not just tough on it.

They’ve invested in gun violence interruption programs through the Harris County Health Department — initiatives proven to stop the cycle of gun crime before it starts. They’ve supported nuisance abatement efforts that tear down abandoned properties, which often become magnets for criminal activity. And they’ve funded infrastructure improvements like sidewalks and lighting — simple changes that make neighborhoods safer. 

As a career prosecutor, I’ve spent years holding violent offenders accountable. I’m not afraid to put dangerous people behind bars. But I also know that if we want to stop the revolving door of crime, we must do more than debate bond reform. We must double down on mental health and substance use treatment, fight domestic violence with urgency, and meaningfully address the root causes of crime. This approach doesn’t just make our communities safer, it saves taxpayer dollars, reduces the dangerous court backlog, and gives deserving individuals a real chance to rebuild their lives. 

So today, I’m asking you to join us by doing something simple. Donate your time, your money, or your food to the local nonprofits doing the quiet, heroic work of feeding families and stabilizing communities. Because when we feed, clothe, and shelter our neighbors, we’re not just helping them survive, we’re building a safer, stronger Harris County for everyone. 

This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.

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