Ian's remarks from the 2026 Human Rights Commission awards ceremony

Thank you to the Iowa City Human Rights Commission, to our nominator Tyler Baird, and to HiH staff here today. Thank you and congratulations to our fellow award recipients today, it is a humbling honor to share this stage with each of you.

And a special thank you to this award’s namesake: Bill Reagan.

I often tell people that our staff and I have the best jobs in Johnson County. Every day we have the privilege to interact with our neighbors from EVERY walk of life. The recipients of our services might have just secured an apartment after a spell of homelessness or a health crisis, they might be fleeing domestic or sexual violence, or fleeing dangerous conditions abroad, they might be reintegrating after incarceration, they might be struggling in the classroom because they don’t have a bed to sleep in. Although our work doesn’t require knowing any recipient's specific circumstance, we nevertheless learn a lot from talking with them about their experiences.

But that’s only the start.

The organizations who refer folks for our services are pouring every available resource they can to improve the human condition in their area of expertise, and we have the privilege to interact with health professionals, educators, government staff, social workers, and more in our daily work. And we are constantly in awe. We learn a lot from talking with them about their experiences.

Those donating furniture to us might be moving across the country seeking new opportunities, they might be lovingly combining households with a partner or they might be downsizing after decades cherishing their furniture. Those volunteering with us might be motivated by some recent distressing news event and looking for meaningful ways to contribute, they might be interested in learning a new skill, they might be escaping loneliness, or they might begrudgingly show up because their manager scheduled a team building. We learn a lot from talking with them about their experiences.

I could go on.

I say “Every walk of life”, but what we learn from talking with all of these neighbors (former strangers), on the front lines of humanity, and that I’d like to leave you with today, is that there is only ONE walk of life. Regardless of how much money you have, or where you grew up, or what language you speak, or the color of your skin, regardless of who or how you love, or how you express your identity, regardless of the things you’ve built in your best moments or those you’ve destroyed in your worst moments, regardless of your vocation, regardless of whether you have a can opener or not, there is only one walk of life that we are all on together. We can travel only as far as we are willing to walk alongside our neighbor, as we walk each other home.

When more of us experience the world in this way, we don’t have to summon extra courage, or make some special Herculean effort to advance human rights…we simply have to take another step, together, down the path we’re already on. That’s the world we’re working towards.

This recognition is for our organization, but a special acknowledgement today is deserved for our co-founder and development director Lucy Barker, who is joyfully stepping down from her role at HiH at the end of this year, 9 years after an idea to get one local student a bed. There would be no HiH if not for Lucy, let alone an HiH worthy of today’s recognition, and the 20,000 hours she’s poured into this work have all been as a volunteer. I am humbly accepting this award on behalf of Houses into Homes, but we are dedicating it to Lucy, who has taken us further down the path of common humanity than we could ever adequately recognize, and in the process has shown us all what is possible.

And what is possible is that: Together we WILL make it home. Thank you.