The Where I Live series aims to showcase our diverse city and region by spotlighting its many vibrant neighborhoods. Each week a local resident invites us over and lets us in on what makes their neighborhood special. Have we been to your neighborhood yet? Get in touch to share your story. If your story is selected and published, you will receive a $250 stipend.
I was born and raised on the East Side of San Antonio, where my family has lived for generations. The East Side is more than just the place where I grew up, it is the foundation of my identity. It is a neighborhood rich with culture, resilience, and community pride. Growing up surrounded by family, faith and familiar faces, I learned early on what it means to belong to something greater than myself.
My childhood on the East Side was filled with simple but meaningful moments; family cookouts on warm evenings, church services that brought everyone together, and neighbors who treated each other like extended family. This community taught me the value of hard work, the importance of compassion and the strength that comes from unity. No matter what challenges came our way, people here always found a way to lift one another up.
Amber DeLeon (left) sits with her mother Angela Gomez (right) at the East Side home of Amber’s grandmother on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Every night extended family gathers on their porch to hang out and check in with each other. Credit: Clint Datchuk for the San Antonio Report
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In 2020, I was 12 years old when my family faced one of the hardest challenges of our lives. Our home was destroyed in a fire. In a matter of moments, everything we had built — the memories, the comfort, and the sense of safety — was gone.
Watching our home burn was heartbreaking. We lost not only a house, but a part of our family history and the place that held so many of our milestones. Now, at 17, I look back on that experience with a different kind of understanding. It taught me how quickly life can change and how strong we can be when we have no choice but to rebuild. The fire changed me — it made me more grateful for the people around me and more determined to create stability and peace no matter where I live.
During that time, the world already felt uncertain due to the pandemic, and losing our home made things even harder. We moved between relatives’ houses. When we moved to the Northside with my uncle, I felt completely out of place. The Northside didn’t feel like home — the people, the atmosphere, even the rhythm of life felt different.
On the East Side, I grew up knowing everyone; neighbors waved when you walked by, and there was always someone to talk to or help out. But, on the Northside, I felt like an outsider looking in, surrounded by faces that didn’t know my story or the memories I’d lost in the fire. Staying with relatives made things easier on us, but trying to adjust to a new reality, there were days when I felt hopeless, unsure of how we would ever start over. But through it all, one thing that never changed was the pull of home.
Amber DeLeon embraces her grandmother Yolanda Contreras at Yolanda’s East Side home on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Credit: Clint Datchuk for the San Antonio Report
The East Side community reached out to us, offering help, encouragement and love. People who had known my family for years checked in constantly, reminding us that we weren’t alone.
After the house fire, the people from the East Side — my family, friends, and even neighbors — showed me what true community really means. Our neighbors came together to help without hesitation, offering support, guidance, and comfort during one of the hardest times in my life. Some came to help clean out the burned house, showing up with gloves, bags and determination. Others brought food and clothes, offered us a place to stay or were just there to listen to us talk.
It reminded me that the East Side isn’t just where I grew up — it’s where people genuinely care for one another like family. Their kindness and strength helped me stay grounded and gave me hope to rebuild, even after losing so much.
When we finally returned to the East Side in 2023, I saw my neighborhood in a new light. I noticed how much strength exists in every block; how deeply people care for one another, and how the community continues to grow despite its struggles. Rebuilding after the fire wasn’t just about finding a new place to live, it was about healing emotionally and mentally from everything that was lost.
Amber DeLeon sits with the family dog Vicious at her grandmother’s East Side home on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. Credit: Clint Datchuk for the San Antonio Report
The fire took more than walls and furniture; it took memories, a sense of security and that feeling of home I’d always known. But even in the pain, the kindness of others reminded me that I wasn’t alone. It took time to accept that I couldn’t get my belongings back that same way, but I learned to find peace in new beginnings.
The support from those around me made it easier to start moving forward, one day at a time. Now that my family and I are renting again on the East Side, it feels like I’ve come full circle. It’s not the same as before, but being back in the community has taught me lessons that no classroom ever could. I learned resilience, gratitude and the power of community. The same streets where I once played as a child became symbols of perseverance and renewal.
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