Jim Torres is the program manager with Health Insurance Services at Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center. His family’s story and humble lifestyle shaped his desire to serve as an advocate for individuals who migrated to this country. This lived experience is underscored by grace, compassion, and understanding – integral tenets to meeting people where they are by stepping into their shoes to see life from their vantage point.  

Torres’ mother came from a hardworking migrant farmworker family. An immigrant from Mexico, they moved around to places like Texas, the Midwest, and even as far north as Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Wyoming. Where the work was, they were there too. Torres said his mom likened their lifestyle to the Joad family in the movie, “Grapes of Wrath.”

“You just went where the work was,” he said. “The whole family did. Even the kids—especially the kids. It was an interesting life.”

They worked hard and saved money to hold them over until the next season. They cooked over an open fire, and even converted what would be considered a chicken coop into shelter. “They didn’t have much, but they had each other,” Torres said. “That’s a different lifestyle from what I knew growing up. We weren’t rich, but we certainly had running water, stoves, heat, and things like that.”

His grandfather liked working in the fields and having some measure of autonomy.  He didn’t just work for the money; he also shared the fruits of his labor. He was able to work as a sharecropper and use part of the land to grow his own crops and sell what he produced.

Like his mother, Torres’ father immigrated from Mexico in the early part of the 20th century. His father, born in Herington, Kansas, was a railroad worker. Later, he and his family laid roots in Kansas City, Kansas. Just across the bridge, his mother’s family settled in Kansas City, Missouri’s West Side.  “My family lived by their wits and the sweat of their brow,” Torres said.

As World War II took shape, Torres’ uncles on his mother’s side were drafted. That left his grandfather without his team of laborers to help farm, so he too went to work for the railroad. His uncles would come home decorated veterans.

As for Torres’ parents, they had two chance meetings. “Well, mom lived on the West Side of Kansas City, Missouri, and Dad lived in Kansas City, Kansas. There was a lot of cross-pollination between the Latino communities on both sides,” he said.

Although Torres is unsure what came first, a chance meeting at a dance or if it was the tortillas that his grandparents made and sold from their home, but both encounters made them cross paths.

Torres grew up in the Westport area and attended Catholic school. He figured he’d follow in his father’s footsteps and work for the railroad. His parents provided him with the opportunity to receive a good education, and their expectations were high. Attending high school at Bishop Miege got him beyond the confines of his neighborhood, and exposed a whole new world. There he got interested in public affairs, civics, government, and even politics.  “I wanted to serve my country in a different way,” he said, “to make things a little better for those who would come behind us.”

As a college student at the University of Missouri Kansas City, Torres took a page from his brother’s playbook and took out short-term loans and part-time work to pay for his education. Although it took him a little longer, he got his undergraduate degree in political science with zero debt.

Torres did volunteer work for Democratic candidates running for office. He met former Congressman Alan Wheat, and a position opened. Torres worked there for six years in constituent services. This included everything from helping people get their Social Security check to applying for veterans benefits, federal grants, and other services.

When Wheat decided to run for the U.S. Senate in 1994 and lost, Torres found himself at a crossroads. Fortunately, a position opened with the Missouri Housing Development Commission serving as their legislative liaison for about 13 years. Through the State Housing Finance Agency federal and state tax credits are allocated to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars all over the state to make safe, affordable rental housing for low-income families who need a stable place to live.

“Legislative liaison is a fancy word for lobbyist,” Torres said. I went to the Capitol in Jefferson City and appeared before the House and Senate Committee hearings on budget, tax credit programs… and tried to answer questions and maintain support for those programs. Because let’s face it, poor people don’t have the luxury of having a lobbyist advocate on their behalf.”

Torres thought he’d retire from the Missouri Housing Development Commission. But as he put it, politics reared its ugly head.

By this time, it was the 2000s, and immigration started to become a really big topic all over the country including in Missouri. There were allegations that undocumented people were working construction on some of the housing development projects. The politicos who were on the Board of Commissioners– most were new office holders — became very vitriolic during the Commission meetings, grandstanding and the like, Torres explained.

“People were saying things that really were not true. Really harsh. Really inflammatory, and really hurtful. This was month after month,” he said.

After being blindsided by a particularly offensive comment, Torres decided to write a letter to those who were a part of these meetings – some of whom were among those spewing the offensive rhetoric – and asked for an apology. It’s safe to say, the writing was on the wall. Torres’ tenure there would come to an end.

The timing could not have been worse. The economy was tanking, and jobs were scarce. Torres took a temporary job with the U.S. Census Bureau, working on the 2010 census. When that position ended, he decided to go to graduate school and got a master’s in health care administration from Park University in 2013.

The Affordable Care Act would be instrumental in landing Torres a job as a health insurance counselor at Sam Rodgers. “It’s 11 years later and they haven’t got rid of me yet,” he said.

Today, he serves as the program manager.  Torres’ lived experience has guided him along his career path and in particular in this role. “Empathy is one of the most important traits to have if you are going to work at a place like Sam Rodgers,” he said. “You have to put your feet in other people’s shoes and be a little more patient and understanding. If I came from Mexico and tried to navigate a community where I didn’t know anybody, speak a language I didn’t know hardly at all, and a health care system that I have no idea how it works, I hope that I could find somebody with the knowledge, patience, and empathy to help me.”

Torres added that Sam Rodgers’ value to the community stems from many of the staff that he says just gets it. “I would venture to say that most the people at Sam Rodgers could work somewhere else and maybe earn more money. But they see the need, and they understand why we are here. It’s right in front of them every day. It instills a sense of mission. Where could I make a bigger difference than I’m making today at Sam Rodgers? I can’t think of any place.”

Markina Durham is on Torres’ team. She has the longest tenure as a health insurance navigator. She’s described as someone with a huge heart who goes way beyond the extra mile for clients and patients. Durham helps funnel client success stories to Torres who keeps them in a folder. This one was about a family, new to Kansas City, who needed medical assistance, Medicaid, and food stamps. They are immigrants who don’t know how to navigate health and social care systems, and they didn’t know where to go.

They connected with Durham who identified their unmet needs and addressed every one. They sent a thank you email for the support they received. It reads:

“Dear Markina, it was a pleasure to meet with you today. You showed us kindness, grace, and compassion, without judgment. You are a great example of how an advocate assists clients. Sam Rodgers is fortunate to have you on staff. May God bless you for taking care of those most in need…”

“That’s just one story,” Torres said. “And it’s not even that uncommon. But the response is just overwhelming. It’s like, ‘Okay, that’s why we do what we do. That’s it.’”

In 2023 alone, Torres’ department submitted 3,343 Medicaid and Medicaid Redetermination applications and completed nearly 1100 annual renewals. “Jim and his team are dedicated to helping individuals access the resources they need for their health and well-being,” said Sam Rodgers CEO Bob Theis. “They recognize the challenges of navigating a complex healthcare system that many find confusing. At Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, we guide people through the intricacies of obtaining affordable coverage, ensuring that one major concern is alleviated. I commend Jim and his team for their exceptional work and unwavering commitment every day!” The Health Insurances department that Torres oversees provides enrollment assistance for Medicaid/CHIP (MO HealthNet), Medicaid annual renewals, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.