Houston School Park Adopters (from left): Bertha Hernandez, Gloria Lugo, and Elia Diaz-Eskew
December 7, 2017
An Ace Adoption
Big changes are happening to a small park in southeast Austin, thanks to a handful of persistent community members.
Houston School Park, which is adjacent to Josephine Houston Elementary, was recently awarded a $100,000 APF Impact Grant to build a multi-purpose pavilion that will serve both the school and its surrounding neighborhood.
Spearheaded by park adopter and community hero, Gloria Lugo, the project will bring a 2,400 square-foot, covered pavilion that will be used for outdoor learning, wellness activities and community gatherings.
“I went to a lot of meetings,” said Lugo, “and when people were deciding where the money would go, I would always say, ‘What about this way? What about east?’ Every time someone asked if our park needed something, I raised two hands.”
(from left) Dr. Aliya Hussaini, Healthy Living Program Officer with the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Carmen Llanes Pulido, GAVA Executive Director, and Frances Acuna, GAVA 78745 Community Organizer.
April 10, 2017
Investing in people: Fostering Relationships for Social Impact
GAVA is made up of people who work shoulder-to-shoulder in neighborhoods to improve access to healthy food and increase the community’s opportunities for physical activity. These are both residents and organizational leaders who share a passion for creating a healthier community. This work has taught us that collaboration is key, and you can find effective partners if you invest in the right leaders, with the right knowledge, at the right time.
The Bread Basket in Sunset Valley offers a variety of fresh produce as part of a local nonprofit's Healthy Corner Store Initiative)
Community Impact - August 26, 2017
Data shows some South Austin residents live with limited accessibility to full-service grocery stores
If her husband is unable to drive her to the nearest full-service grocery store, 78745 resident Gloria Najera said she must walk to purchase healthy, affordable food. The round-trip amounts to approximately one hour on foot.
“When my husband cannot take me to the grocery store, I walk to the Wal-Mart near my house,” she said. “If I want to go to H-E-B or Fiesta, it’s a 30- to 45-minute walk each way. I only purchase what is light and easy to carry...”
GAVA Executive Director Carmen Llanes Pulido standing in the underdeveloped Ponciana Park in 78744.
Next City - August 7, 2017
Can Austin's YIMBY Movement go from Backyard to Ballot?
“The biggest threat to the sustainability of this work is increasing pressure on cost of living,” says Carmen Llanes Pulido, GAVA executive director and a longtime organizer in the city, which is about one-third Hispanic. “We want to ensure that residents have access to healthy living and don’t get displaced after all the hard work they’ve put in.”
GAVA’s priorities as coalition members is to ensure their communities have a voice in the process, to ensure that CodeNEXT doesn’t simply encourage new development in their neighborhoods, and that anti-displacement measures are central to the conversation...
GAVA resident leaders Laura Bucaro and Angelica Robles.
May 4, 2017
People + Parks: Aiming High
Steps away from an elementary school, whose mission is to encourage big dreams and possibilities, resides a park that once fell far short of its own potential. But not anymore. Thanks to a tireless group of neighborhood volunteers, Odom School Park in South Austin has seen nearly $45,000 worth of improvements in the last three years — and is working toward even more.
Volunteers Laura Bucaro and Angelica Robles are members of the Odom School Park Team. There are five core members of the group, which also includes Lorena Solis, Jeremy Schwartz and Maria Granjeno. Each member has contributed...
Residents listen to Mayor Steve Adler and others talk about CodeNEXT at a packed meeting of the Bouldin Creek Neighborhood Association on Tuesday.
KUT 90.5 - August 10, 2017
MAP: Most Online Feedback About CodeNEXT Centers on Wealthier Areas
...Earlier this year, GAVA released its own Spanish-language handouts on CodeNEXT. Llanes Pulido said some residents have weighed in at city meetings, and that she hopes verbal comments are given equal weight to written ones. She said not everyone can comment online, especially people who speak other languages.
“I’ve seen cases where only a written comment is given validity, and that’s a 500-year-old trick in terms of marginalizing folks, whether it’s conscious and intentional or completely unintentional and completely unconscious,” she said. “It is a bias.”