Impactful Women of the 918: Sarah Grounds

Sarah Grounds knows meaningful change begins with relationships. After experiencing an outpouring of support during a difficult season in her own life, she and her husband began asking how they could become that kind of community for others.

What started with a few sandwiches, bottles of water and conversations with people experiencing homelessness has grown into City Lights, which has served Tulsa’s homeless community since 2013. Today, the organization provides weekly outreach, housing stability services and is preparing to open City Lights Village, a neighborhood designed to provide housing, wraparound services and a true sense of belonging.

Grounds says the work has taught her the importance of slowing down and seeing people for who they are.

“It changes you when you get to know someone from the inside out instead of through the window of your car,” she says.

That belief has shaped City Lights’ mission of building real relationships alongside practical support. Grounds says many people experiencing homelessness have experienced a profound loss of community, and lasting healing comes through belonging as much as housing.

Outside of City Lights, Grounds serves on the Leadership Council for A Way Home for Tulsa and volunteers as a medic with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Cadet Lawman Program. She and her husband, Jason, have been married for 26 years and have three children.

Q&A with Sarah Grounds

Can you tell us about your career journey and what inspired you to found City Lights?

I was a trauma/neuro ICU nurse at St. Francis Hospital, and I truly loved my work and the team I worked alongside. During that time, I was diagnosed with a rare condition that eventually led to a major surgery in Boston. Throughout that season, our family experienced an incredible outpouring of love and care from our community.

Coming out of that experience, my husband and I began asking ourselves how we could become that kind of community for people who didn’t have one. We found a group in Portland serving under a bridge and reached out to learn from them. We also had a friend here who had recently served with them. We wanted to do something similar in Tulsa, but it took about a year before everything came together. Looking back, I’m actually grateful for that season because it led us to start simple. Our family began to go downtown with a few sandwiches, bottles of water and socks, simply meeting people and building relationships.

About a year later, our oldest son, Ben, decided he wanted to spend his eighth birthday serving downtown with his friends instead of having a birthday party. Watching a group of kids choose to spend their birthday caring for others was such a pivotal moment.

Not long after that, my husband and I invited a small group from our church to join us. Several people wanted to continue serving consistently, and I realized we had the beginnings of a committed team. That small, grassroots group met and planned for a couple of months before we began serving weekly under what we now call the Night Light Bridge in September 2013.

For readers who may not be familiar with City Lights, can you briefly describe its mission and the impact it’s making in Tulsa?

City Lights has been serving neighbors experiencing homelessness since 2013. Our mission is to love individuals, give hope and touch souls through relational service and dignified housing.

We believe meaningful relationships create the foundation for dignity, hope and lasting transformation. Because of that, everything we do is centered around building genuine community, not only for the neighbors we serve, but also for the volunteers who serve alongside them.

Today, City Lights provides weekly outreach, mobile outreach and housing stability services and is preparing to open City Lights Village, a neighborhood designed to offer housing, wraparound services and belonging.

Starting a nonprofit takes courage and perseverance. Was there a particular moment or experience that convinced you this work needed to be done?

I have certainly experienced moments that have stayed with me, but I don’t think there was one defining moment. Instead, I’ve been given the privilege of sitting with people and being trusted with their stories. It changes you when you get to know someone from the inside out instead of through the window of your car. Time, listening and genuine relationships have a way of changing both people.

Whenever things become difficult, I think about the people we serve and what many of them have endured. It has a way of putting every challenge into perspective and reminding me why this work matters.

What has been one of the most meaningful moments you’ve experienced through your work with City Lights?

There have been so many meaningful moments over the years that it’s hard to choose just one. But one that will always be special to me is my friendship with Harvey.

When I first met Harvey, he was experiencing homelessness near our office. We were still new to the neighborhood, and I was supposed to be hosting a women’s meeting that day. For some reason, no one showed up. Harvey happened to walk by, rang the doorbell out of curiosity and asked what we were about. I invited him in, made him a cup of coffee, and we ended up talking for a couple of hours.

That unexpected conversation became the beginning of a 10-year friendship.

Harvey struggled through a lot in those early years, but he also became part of our community. He helped sort donations, served alongside us and eventually became one of our volunteer staff members at Night Light. Over time, we were able to help him move into temporary housing and eventually permanent housing.

A few years ago, Harvey hit another difficult season and reached out for help. Our housing stability team stepped in, walked alongside him and helped him regain stability. Today, he lives in an assisted living facility, and many of the friendships he built through City Lights have continued. Our team still visits him because he isn’t just someone we served one time; he’s our friend.

Harvey has taught me so much over the years. He reminds me that the greatest gift we can offer one another isn’t just a service or a program; it’s genuine friendship. I feel incredibly grateful that our paths crossed that day and even more grateful that, all these years later, we still get to share life together.

What do you wish more people understood about the individuals and families your organization serves?

I wish people wouldn’t assume everyone experiencing homelessness fits the same stereotypes. Every person’s story is different, and the majority of the people we know have experienced a catastrophic loss of community in one form or another.

Housing is so important, but healing also happens through relationships, services, belonging and rebuilding community. That takes all of us.

Outside of City Lights, are there other community organizations or causes that are especially meaningful to you?

I have volunteered as a medic with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Cadet Lawman Program for 13 years.

I also serve on the Leadership Council for A Way Home for Tulsa, where I have the opportunity to work alongside many organizations working to prevent and end homelessness.

Anything you would like to share about your family, hobbies or interests?

I have an incredible family and team beside me, and I truly couldn’t do this work without them.

My husband, Jason, and I have been married for 26 years. He has encouraged me, carried me through difficult seasons and loved me every step of the way. We have three children, Ben, 21; Lizzie, 18; and Isaac, 16. They have grown up alongside this work and are some of the most incredible people I know. I have loved getting to be their mom.

Outside of work, I love hiking. I usually take a solo hike every fall as a chance to slow down, reflect and reset. I also enjoy reading and listening to local music.