(c) 2023 Arazelly Alcazar. Photo courtesy of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
2023 RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winner
Everyone deserves the chance to reach their best health and wellbeing. Partners in Austin are embracing the city’s rich cultural diversity and, by being responsive to resident and neighborhood needs, advancing a Culture of Health that benefits everyone.
“I think in a community, one informed person stepping up can make a difference and change the trajectory of any moment. And the power of dozens and then hundreds of regular folks, who aren’t typically recognized as extraordinary people, can move things.” - Carmen Llanes, executive director, Go Austin/Vamos Austin
Photo: John Jordan/The Texas Tribune
Austin will now allow more homes to be built on single-family lots
“I'm super disappointed to see this trickle-down policy proposed with no empirical evidence that it actually does anything for the middle class, let alone the lower class,” Carmen Llanes Pulido, executive director of Go Austin/Vamos Austin, a community health coalition, told the council Thursday.
Council’s plans to change housing rules upset some neighborhood advocates
Carmen Llanes, executive director of GAVA, said the HOME initiative “hurts the elderly, families, renters, the working class and the poor. We really need affordable housing. This plan will spur speculation and gentrification. We need thoughtful, planned growth; we don’t need to give unfettered access to our land to developers.”
City Unveils Spanish Edition of Neighborhood Preparedness Guide
HSEM partnered with Austin's Office of Resilience, Watershed Protection Department, Office of Sustainability, Go! Austin / Vamos! Austin (GAVA), and the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin to develop the Neighborhood Preparedness Guide. The guide was inspired by the Dove Springs Neighborhood Guide pilot project. Several other City of Austin departments and emergency management offices from across the nation contributed content to the guide.
City of Austin aims to make emergency resources more accessible for non-English speakers
"It's just making sure that we speak to the residents in a way that they understand," Acuña said. "I just want [the city] to .... not to let language be the barrier of being ready."
GAVA spearheaded the Dove Springs Neighborhood Preparedness Guide, which is a pilot project that mirrors the City's newly released guide.
GAVA Climate Resilience Lead Organizer Frances Acuña explained the goal was to make sure not just the translation was correct, but that it was simplified in a way that takes out jargon used by City officials.
Join us to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2013 Onion Creek flood with the inauguration of a memorial mural on October 28.
Austin based artist, Alonso Estrada, was chosen competitively in an open call to complete the work. The project was produced by PARD’s Dougherty Arts Center staff in partnership with the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, the Watershed Protection Department, the Office of Resiliency and GAVA (Go Austin Vamos Austin), a community service organization.
Austin Debuts Ready Together: A Pilot Emergency Preparedness Class
The City of Austin Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) is rolling out a new community resource: Ready Together, a free classroom training on basic emergency preparedness. The course is developed in partnership with Austin Watershed Protection Department, Ascension Seton, Go Austin/Vamos Austin, City of Austin Office of Resilience, University of Texas Medical Reserve Corps, and Austin Fire Department.
Photo by Julius Shieh
Austin City Council discusses affordable housing, gentrification, pride flags
Monica Guzman, policy director for Go Austin/Vamos Austin, said this development will encourage gentrification.
“New developments should come with stronger long-term community benefits and anti-displacement measures,” Guzman said in the meeting.
Photo by jetsandzeppelins
NOAA heat impact study puts faces to local effects of 2023 heat wave
Carmen Llanes, executive director of GAVA, said the personal stories gathered from the 2021 study have helped to put human faces on the impacts of climate change locally.
“What we did find useful was comparing where people feel the most pressure from heat or where they feel the most impacts from heat and comparing that to what our agencies, what our city and what our institutions do with what the heat sensors say or what satellite data tells us,”
Photo by Mikala Compton/American-Statesman
These Austin pools are offering free admission through Sept. 30 due to Texas heat wave
In response to the ongoing scalding heat wave affecting residents across the state, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Go Austin/Vamos Austin and District 10 City Council Member Alison Alter worked together to offer a fee waiver to those looking to cool off.
Group concerned power being stripped from Austin’s Equity Office
“These offices must stay independent, or we will move backwards toward an unjust and unsustainable Austin. It will put years of work with the community below other city priorities.”- Monica Guzman with Go Austin/Vamos Austin said the city’s proposed plan to restructure the Equity Office will strip it of its power.
Photo by Charleston's TheDigitel
Council OKs getting rid of some occupancy limits
Monica Guzmán of Go Austin/Vamos Austin told Council she was concerned about what might happen if occupancy limits were eliminated. She said she supported Kelly’s proposal to study the issue.
Photo by Jo Clifton
Community groups propose community investment budget
Representatives of more than 30 community groups, led by Equity Action, will release their proposal for what they call “long overdue investments in public safety,” including higher wages for EMS workers and 911 call takers, at a press conference at noon today at City Hall.
In addition to Equity Action, representatives from the Austin Area Urban League, the Austin Justice Coalition, Go Austin/Vamos Austin, Avow and Public Citizen, among others, will present their recommendations for the upcoming city budget.
City Council advances plan for South Austin urban trail to airport
Frances Acuña with Go Austin/Vamos Austin was at council to speak about the importance of creeks, greenbelts and other outdoor areas for families all over Austin. She stresses, “It’s important that we take environmental justice seriously, land preservation, conservation and restoration of parks creeks and trails for the benefit of health.”
Community launches campaign in support of more police oversight
"Accountability and transparency are important and should be robust and stable. Remember, we fight for our civil rights at the voting booth," said Monica Guzmán with Go Austin/Vamos Austin.
Austin will reevaluate its program to shelter people in extreme weather. Again.
"I know that turning families away was not the plan and that it was not the direction given, but it happened," Frances Acuña, a Dove Springs resident and organizer with Go Austin/Vamos Austin, told Council families were denied shelter at the Dove Springs Rec Center last week, because the shelter prioritized people experiencing homelessness.
The city's eastern crescent is where you'll find several food deserts
Local leaders working to find solutions for Austin's food deserts
“This initiative is to bring people who directly experience those barriers to access together with their ingenuity and some principles of cooperative business to create something that can bring more healthy food to more people," said Carmen Llanes, GAVA's Executive Director.