Today we’d like to introduce you to Angel Ponce.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Angel. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I grew up in an area in Houston mostly known as the Gulfton Area, in a time after the oil economy crashed horribly and all the young rich young adults moved back home, and the area became one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in all of Texas.
Like many, I was happy child. I played baseball in the parking lot of my low-income apartments with my close friends, watched cartoons and played video games, but I noticed something interesting about my neighborhood. I noticed that my neighborhood didn’t always end with a happy ending, it was a neighborhood in which you heard gunshots late at night, police sirens at all hours of the day and the walls provided a visual of what to be expected of my neighborhood.
And in the far corners of my neighborhood, near the ragged and tagged walls, a group of young, well dressed and fun looking group of kids gathered and whom I soon became very closed to.
Around age 11, I remember sitting on the side of a sidewalk with one of my closest friends. I noticed that he had on a new pair of tennis shoes. I looked mine and then looked back at his. I had the old school Fila’s, the ones with the little lights on the side; the ones when you took a step the lights blinked in and out. I know, right? dorky. My Friend had on the new Nike Cortez, the ones also known as the Gangster Nikes. This was one of the many introductions to the world of gangs in the City.
I know what you may be thinking right now, “oh, this doesn’t have a happy ending.” I may surprise you. After a few years of having my run-ins with law enforcement and incarceration at 19 years of age my life took a drastic turn.
On May 2004, I walked out a neighborhood club with my girlfriend at the time. Her and I got into the vehicle and as we drove away, smiling and laughing, little did I know it was the last time we would ever see ourselves smile at each other, again.
Ten minutes later, she and I were involved in an automobile wreck where I fractured my spinal cord that left me paralyzed from the waist down and sadly, she died upon impact.
Two months went by…
I woke up one morning while on my side. My ears stimulated by the sound of raindrops hitting up against the window in my hospital room. The sight of rain was an indication that my life was not the same, but it was also a hint that my life was heading in a new direction.
As I sat in the inpatient rehabilitation center, I looked around. I noticed people with missing limbs, people recovering from accidents on the job and wheelchair users, such as myself. As I sat there, I began to think to myself, “What am I going to do with the rest of my life or is there even a life left for me to live?”
In my journey for a greater purpose in life, I soon found that volunteering provided me with a great deal of benefits. First, to make a change, I needed a change of social group. Volunteering allowed me to connect to my community in a more meaningful way and make new friends; it provided me with a support system.
One day at the conclusion of my very first motivational speaking engagement, a young man walked up to me and thanked me for my speech. He made it clear that my words meant a whole lot to him. Over the next few months, he made significant changes in his life. He did better academically in school, practiced better communication skills with his family and seemed happier overall.
In return, his activities provided me with a natural sense of accomplishment, pride and identity. You see, human beings are hard wired to give to others, the more we give, the happier we feel.
At the end, my volunteerism and natural talent to help others assisted me in gaining experience, it developed in me important skills, such as teamwork, effective communication, problem solving and tasks managing. All the qualities I needed to advance in the next phases of my life, working for the City of Houston, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
What I can say is that my struggles as a young person helped shape my actions moving forward in overcoming obstacles as an adult. It certainly has not been a smooth ride along the way. Let me explain.
As you may imagine among the obvious childhood struggles, after my car wreck, my disability and the death of my girlfriend, the thought of living a normal life has been difficult to go by. As a person with a disability, the opportunity to succeed is twice as difficult. There are many other things I must be more conscious about. Like my health for that matter.
Post-injury, I wanted to find a new avenue of a stress reliever and I found that in CrossFit. CrossFit not only provided me with a sense of community, but it opened the road for a healthier and active lifestyle. After years of adaptive competitions in Miami and even in Canada I was diagnosed with several blood clots in both my inner thighs. This made a huge impact in how I trained and how often I trained.
I was put into a strict diet, blood thinners and asked to be more careful about the type of exercise I was involving my body into. Though I did have to limit my training in CrossFit exercises and participating in competitions, I am still highly involved in exercise and currently hold a Personal Trainer Certificate by a well-known exercise and sports academy and continue to train and encourage people on my free time.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
As Senior Staff member with the City of Houston, Mayor’s Office for People with disabilities, I take pride in making the city accessible for our most vulnerable residents, individuals who rely on the services guaranteed by our sidewalk repair program to maneuver the City of Houston. In many of these occasions, I’ve had the opportunity to personally meet with people with disabilities in the community to address their concerns regarding accessibility throughout the city.
My passion for working with our country’s most vulnerable residents, especially vulnerable youth and people with disabilities, drives my work. Throughout my career, I have sought opportunities to personally engage and connect in meaningful ways with these communities, especially the communities I most identify with.
Part of my work at the City of Houston has been in presenting in schools on what gangs are, reasons why youth join, consequences of gang involvement and providing the youth with tools on how to get out. In my current role with the City, not only do I have the privilege to make recommendations for better, accessible sidewalks but also to work with individuals and connect them with job placement agencies, financial assistance institutions and to serve as a liaison between the mayor, city council, city departments, public and private entities in matters involving people with disabilities.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Yes, my greatest supporters throughout my life have been my mother, family, caseworkers, life counselors and now most recently the team of advocates I work with.
My mother has been my greatest supporter and life advocate for as long as I a remember. Although I put her and my family through hell and back as a child, she and my family have always been there to provide me with the tools to get back up and keep pushing through.
Growing up, the people in my life that played a big role in who I am today are the counselors and caseworkers that always tried to get me back and stay on the right track. Big appreciations go to the staff at the Mayor’s Anti-Gang Office and those that have moved on from the office for supporting me in the transition of getting me out of the gang life and opening the roads so that I can find great and long-lasting success.
Lastly, I would say my greatest appreciation goes to myself. Many people don’t really stop to think about how much it takes for someone to really make things happen. I said to one of my greatest friends one day, “thank you for all the support you have provided me. It’s because of you, I am who I am today.” She responded, “Angel, you did tall the work.” That really made me reflect and helped me realize that our greatest advocate in life sometimes is ourselves. That’s why I inspire self-advocacy to everyone I work with. It is the greatest tool anyone can give themselves.
Contact Info:
- Phone: (832) 394-0814
- Email: Angel.Ponce@houstontx.gov
- Facebook: facebook.com/supermanponce
- Instagram: whatsponcedoing
Suggest a story: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
