Welcome to GAVA’s Media and Press section!
Here you will find the latest news, press releases, and media coverage showcasing our efforts to promote health equity and community empowerment.
Explore our media kit, access insightful articles, and stay informed about our initiatives and impacts.
Whether you’re a journalist, researcher, or community member, this section provides valuable resources and updates to keep you connected with GAVA’s mission and progress.
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The Food Justice Archive
Michael Minasi / KUT News
AUSTIN WILL SPEND $87 MILLION ON PROPERTY IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
According to a news release, the city will also gain about 66 undeveloped acres near the Austin Energy Control Center at 2500 Montopolis Drive.
Monica Guzman with Go Austin/Vamos Austin, a coalition of East Austin residents and community leaders, questioned whether the units would actually be affordable for many Austinites in the workforce.
Sara Diggins/American-Statesman
A FOOD CO-OP IN AUSTIN’S EASTERN CRESCENT? EFFORTS ARE UNDERWAY
The small group had gathered in Del Valle resident Sandra González’s home on Thursday. Erica Reyes, organizer for the advocacy group Go Austin/Vamos Austin, explained to the women the fundamentals of a food cooperative.
Reyes said, “we have the advantage of having the city’s support, of having a representative who says they want this.”
Ben Thompson/Community Impact
AUSTIN LEADERS REVIVE AFFORDABLE BUILDING PROGRAM, WITHOUT REDEVELOPMENT PROTECTIONS
GA/VA Policy Director Monica Guzmán told council members DB90 will bring disproportionate impacts to mixed- and lower-income housing communities across Austin.
“The use of a density bonus on these areas without adequate affordability and anti-displacement components represents a continued exploitation and harm to the people in these neighborhoods who are negatively impacted by gentrification,” she said.
Spectrum News 1/Dylan Scott
AUSTIN COMMUNITY AWAITS RESULTS AS HOME INITIATIVE ENTERS PHASE 1
“If your house is on fire and I throw gasoline instead of water and you get upset, how would you feel if we said well, it was burning anyway? Because we’ve been watching the root-cause actors and have seen who benefits when we relax zoning regulations.” – Carmen Llanes, executive director of the community-based organization Go! Austin/Vamos!
(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.
Frances Acuna, volunteers, & students meet to discuss E. Williamson Creek Trail
Austin seeks feedback as it overhauls approach to protecting waterways and communities
“Austin city leaders claim they are trying to change what they call “climate injustice,” in part by overhauling the Watershed Protection Department‘s strategic plan, which will guide its priorities and decision-making for the next decade. …[Frances Acuna] said it is GAVA volunteers who clean up ignored areas, like the Williamson Creek Greenbelt, where Acuna said trash accumulates from a homeless camp. She said she’s tried to get help from the City, but the lack of response only made her angry.”
Texas researchers, Austin activists partner on new Climate Atlas
“It means nothing to communities who are directly impacted if we don’t do something with [the map]. If our decision-makers don’t act and follow the lead of directly impacted people, so ultimately, that’s going to determine how useful this tool is,” Llanes said.
New co-op grocery store to address food deserts in east Austin
“The impact will be having healthier food,” [Nolvia Castillo, an Austin resident & GAVA member] said. “[My neighbors] are elated. I don’t know how to express this because it is what they’ve always wanted.”
City plans for community-owned grocery project in East Austin
“We have Austinites who have to travel 20, sometimes 30 minutes to get to their nearest full-scale grocer. And that is simply not OK for a city like Austin; that’s prosperous,” District 2 Council Member Vanessa Fuentes saId.
East Austin Doesn’t Get the Same Shade, and Consequences Ripple for Health and Equity
[T]he heat has gotten much more extreme in recent years, taking a toll on residents’ health, [Carmen Llanes Pulido] said. “One of our folks in South Austin is a paramedic and EMT for children and talks about how many more children come in with respiratory issues in the emergency room on hot days,” she said. “When you’re seeing kid after kid after kid, you start thinking about the true cost of pulling up a bunch of heritage or keystone trees or paving over a bunch of green space.”
Dove Springs getting a new trail: Donde Corre el Agua
Dove Springs residents Blanca Ortíz, Elena Rodríguez and Enedina Sánchez, who initiated the project, teamed up with Frances Acuña of Go Austin/Vamos Austin and Bjørn Sletto, a UT architecture professor, and his class to pull together a 100-plus-page book that spells out how the project should be approached.
Texans struggle to pay skyrocketing rent
“We need the city to invest in the community. That is part of what GAVA is recommending to the city,” [Monica] Guzmán said. “We need the city to invest more money in contracts for social service agencies and community-based organizations that provide financial emergency relief, rent relief, utilities…”
Affordable Housing and How to Get More Keeps Council Busy
Coming through loud and clear at City Council’s June 9 meeting were deep anxieties about expanding the vertical mixed-use density bonus program, designed to create affordable housing on Austin’s core transit corridors.
Representatives of Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA) urged Council to slow down and rework the ordinance…
Council approves new mixed-use development rules and launches separate corridor proposal
Looming over the discussion was a March court ruling [Acuna et al. v. City of Austin]on property owners’ right to petition zoning changes and force a 9-vote supermajority at Council.
People sheltered at Mendez Middle School, the site of a potential resilience hub, during Winter Storm Uri (Photo by Jana Birchum)
East Austin Residents Need Resilience Hubs Sooner Rather Than Later
Acuña said it’s impossible for some Onion Creek residents to walk almost 2 miles on ill-kept sidewalks to the Mendez Middle School, the nearest potential resilience hub, in the event driving is not an option. During extreme weather conditions, residents trying to make this trip by foot could be exposed to life-threatening situations, she said.
Austin pilot program to give struggling residents $1,000 per month
The guaranteed income program — similar to others around the country — is meant to help the most vulnerable in the community, such as families on the brink of eviction, and people who have recently found themselves on the street.
A total of 85 recipients will take part in the pilot, according to city documents.
Austin partners with local nonprofits on $20M Project Connect anti-displacement fund
The City of Austin announced Monday it will work with nonprofit organizations and community partners to disseminate $20 million in anti-displacement funding related to Project Connect.
Zoning battle ends in victory for Grady and Brownie project
“Even some of my friends who work for the city now live in places like Georgetown or Buda, and have to take on the burden of commuting,” Taylor Lang of Go Austin/Vamos Austin said.
Proposed VMU changes stir compatibility controversy
“You can’t address compatibility citywide in one piece of a proposal,” Commissioner Carmen Llanes Pulido said. “This has tremendous community planning implications.”
Austin OKs $41 million in Project Connect anti-displacement efforts
“People who have the finances are showing up with cash in hand making offers of over $20,000 and more over asking price,” [Monica] Guzmán said.
Latest Data Brief Provides Insight Into Southeast/North Austin Zip Codes
“The [A2SI] survey is cutting edge because we weren’t finding anybody else who was applying both public health and public policy to these kinds of issues,” said Carmen Llanes Pulido, executive director at GAVA.
GAVA ED carmen llanes pulido is La Voz’s person of the year
“As an acknowledgement of Carmen Llanes Pulido’s many contributions to the Austin community we believe she is most deserving of La Voz Newspaper’s Person of the Year Award.”
Monica Guzmán and others attends a council meeting
Government leaders delay key vote on roles around multibillion-dollar Project Connect transit expansion
“Monica Guzmán with Go Austin/Vamos Austin, a group advocating for residents in Austin’s Eastern Crescent, said she thinks the community advisory committee that provides input on Project Connect should have more say over key decisions.
“Without such commitments, Austin will continue its sordid, racist history,” Guzmán said.”
Residents can continue to call into council meetings safely after backpedaling of in-person mandates
City backtracks, now says people can testify by phone at public meetings
“The proverbial phone line had been cut. Now, it’s being restored.”
After pressure from residents, phone-in option restored for testimony.
Resident Irene testifies in front of Austin City Council. Photo credit ATXN
For the past year, Austinites could pick up the phone and yell during council meetings. not anymore
When you feel safe, Carmen Llanes Pulido said, you’re not only willing to show up but you’re also able to testify more honestly.
“People are able to bring their whole selves in when they’re able to speak from where they are,” Llanes Pulido, executive director of Go Austin Vamos Austin, said. “It paints a picture of the lives that people are living and the experience that’s informing their testimony.”
Photo credit: Michael Coghlan / CC BY-SA 2.0
Woman helps prepare her Austin, Texas, neighborhood for the next flood
Frances Acuña is getting residents ready for emergencies and is pushing the city to improve stormwater systems.
Erica Reyes, GAVA Organizer. MSDF Community-Led Health Report- July 2021
HOW TWO AUSTIN NEIGHBORHOODS DEFINED THEIR OWN GOALS TO DRIVE LASTING CHANGE
In just five years, a community-led health effort called Go Austin/Vamos Austin (GAVA) flattened obesity rates among adults in two low-income neighborhoods by addressing root causes.
KVUE- May 23rd 2021
CBS Austin- May 19th, 2021
New reports find communities of color are overrepresented in Austin car crashes
A City of Austin report shows communities of color are overrepresented in fatal and serious crashes.
“The residents need to be recognized, they need to be centered when decisions are made,” Monica Guzmán of Go Austin/Vamos Austin said.
Austin Chronicle- April 30th, 2021
The opportunity to reimagine public satefy is here right now. Will AUstin take it?
“It’s imperative that we see the city manager’s office, staff, council, and the city as a whole make a public commitment,” said Monica Guzmán of Go Austin/Vamos Austin.
The Daily Climate- April 12th, 2021
Op-ed: Flood Survivors find common ground in a divided nation
“We are not just complaining,” said Frances Acuña, “we are offering choices and recommendations and offering to build a working relationship.”
Frances Acuña helped win a citywide flood-control resolution, and she now advises local officials on green infrastructure and disaster response…
Austonia- March 26th, 2021
Austin takes ‘leap of faith’ to restart its police training academy after yearlong hiatus
“APD is not ready,” Go Austin / Vamos Austin Policy Director Monica Guzmán said. “Our trust in the process has been violated.”
Austin Monitor- March 2021
Equity proponents push developers for better feedback in housing projects
“The city or a private entity is thinking in terms of how they communicate, and they don’t always know their audience or know the community. … You cannot assume that residents can log in to some internet site to watch you or have the means to get to your office downtown,” said Monica Guzman, policy director for Go Austin/Vamos Austin. “You need to come off the dais to meet them where they’re at – that means putting the info in a community newspaper because that’s where they’re getting their news from.”
Austin Monitor- January 2021
Council adopts new flood control resolution
Community organizers from Go Austin/Vamos Austin who spoke at the meeting celebrated the resolution but wanted to ensure it was more than just symbolic. They urged the city to restrict development in areas vulnerable to floods. One organizer, Frances Acuña, asked the city to “put in place strict regulations for localized flooding such as preventing increased impervious cover in neighborhood areas or in any redevelopment”…
Proposition A, the ballot item associated with Capital Metro’s Project Connect plan, passed Nov. 3 with 57.94% of the vote—240,433 votes to 174,528 against—across Travis and Williamson counties. (Amy Denney/Community Impact Newspaper). Community Impact- December 2020
Newly appointed transit board to oversee implementation of $7.1B Project Connect plan
Monica Guzmán from Go Austin/Vamos Austin said the communities of color were not engaged in the selection process for the Austin Transit Partnership. Many others complained that the notice for the meeting was only posted 72 hours ahead of time, well shy of the week, and sometimes two-week, notice practice of Austin City Council…
Medium- October 2nd, 2020
Engaging Communities to fight a climate crisis
Frances Acuña has lived in the Dove Springs neighborhood in Southeast Austin for 23 years. She knows every place it floods when it rains — such as the intersection at Brassiewood Drive and Pleasant Valley Road, in the street along Turnstone Drive, and near the Nuckols Crossing Bridge that spans Williamson Creek….
Pandemic silver-lining: Why more parents are looking into home-based child care
“We know that the first five years of life are crucial for setting the tone for a child’s lifelong learning, and when a child is in a family childcare environment, they are receiving that fundamental base of learning, and support, and security that will allow them to be successful in the future,” said Laura Olson, the director of Early Childhood & School Health Equity with GAVA…
Carmen Llanes Pulido, Executive Director, speaking to Community Impact about Project Connect, August 27th, 2020
Austin looks to ensure potential $7.1B Project Connect investment does not deepen city’s inequality
“Displacement is imminent with a light-rail system. You better have all your anti-displacement and affordable housing initiatives penciled in from the beginning,” said Carmen Llanes Pulido, Executive Director of Go Austin Vamos Austin…
GAVA organizer Frances Acuña works with the Office of Sustainability in August 2020.
As August Scorches Austin, Volunteers Map City’s Hottest Streets
Volunteers have fanned out in Austin and 12 other U.S. cities this summer to take the temperature of their neighborhoods – literally. The data collection is part of a project to help protect people as the world warms. And, in many places, it is highlighting how already-vulnerable communities suffer the most from climate change and urban heat…
Monica Guzmán, Policy Director for Go Austin/ Vamos Austin speaks with Farm & City 2020 on July 8th, 2020
Policy Drivers Episode Two: Monica Guzmán of Austin’s GAVA
Policy Drivers is a series of video conversations that Farm&City’s 2020 Summer Interns are conducting with public policy leaders across the state. They spoke with Monica Guzmán, Policy Director at GAVA about her work and the future of policy at GAVA…
KXAN- June 11, 2020
AISD expects ‘blended model’ for the fall, likely students will continue to work from home
One of the task force members, Laura Olson, said she is representing community group Go Austin! Vamos Austin! and working to make sure every family’s situation is considered. “Different kinds of schedules or different kinds of calendars, and whether we have children at home alone or families who are working,” she said. “We are making sure those types of things are being thought through.”…
Texas Tribune – June 11, 2020
Austin city council unanimously limits police officers’ use of force and asks for cuts to department
Monica Guzman, Policy Director for Go Austin/Vamos Austin, a community health coalition, expressed support for reallocating funding from police as a more cost-effective solution to promoting community safety than investing in law enforcement…
Austin 360 – June 11, 2020
St. david’s foundation gives first $3.5 million in coronavirus relief to 77 local nonprofits
St. David’s Foundation Thursday announced the recipients of the first part of its $10 million COVID-19 relief fund. The first $3.5 million will go to 77 local nonprofit organizations, including Go Austin/Vamos Austin…
Photo by Phil Roeder
Council approves $6.9M in agreements for remaining RISE funds
May 11th, 2020- Monica Guzmán, policy director for Go Austin/Vamos Austin, or GAVA, demanded at least $70 million of the Coronavirus Relief Fund be allocated to the RISE fund and distributed by the Equity Office in the form of prepaid gift cards, direct deposits or bank-to-bank transfers…
Policy Director, Monica Guzmán spoke with KXAN on May 7th, 2020.
Austin and Del Valle parents and caregivers can soon get food from school districts
“This pandemic has really shed the light, you know, and made it more obvious about the inequities, the lack of access to healthy food,” said Monica Guzmán, Policy Director at Go Austin Vamos Austin…
Austin Chronicle- April 2020
First nonprofits receive rise funds
Family Independence Initiative, a national nonprofit that has an office in Austin, will also receive $2 million to administer to “several small community-based organizations,” per the city’s announcement. One such partnership is already in place, with Go Austin/Vamos Austin, a nonprofit that primarily helps East Austin residents access healthy foods and maintain active lifestyles within their neighborhoods…
Carmen Llanes Pulido, Executive Director of GAVA, spoke with Austin Monitor in early 2020.
LDC, Community health and Built environment
Carmen Llanes Pulido, who is the executive director of Go Austin/Vamos Austin, sits down with Austin Monitor reporter Jessi Devenyns and editor Elizabeth Pagano to talk about GAVA’s work battling displacement and addressing all facets of public health in Austin. In this show we get into the impact of all manner of city policy on community health, so to hear how things like the Land Development Code and resource allocation intersect with GAVA’s mission….
A community garden in East Austin.
Community organizations take new approach to solving austin neighborhood inequities
Parts of Austin often lack access to expansive green space, are robbed of tree canopy cover surrendered to development and are starved of fresh, healthy foods. But community-based organizations are working to enhance quality of life in these neighborhoods. Go Austin/Vamos Austin, known as GAVA, is a group dedicated to mobilizing community power to reduce barriers to health, while increasing institutional capacity to respond to the people most impacted by historical inequities…
Zoned out: the legacy of codenext
GAVA Executive Director, Carmen Llanes Pulido, a recently appointed member of the city’s Planning Commission and one of those interviewed in the film, said she had wondered how the city could have wasted $8.5 million on the CodeNEXT process. Then someone told her, “It’s $30 billion in development we’re talking about.”…
Frances Acuña speaks with Austin-American Statesman in October, 2019
Austin weighs code changes after data show 80% more structures at flood risk
GAVA organizer, Frances Acuña bought her house in Southeast Austin 18 years ago. Over the years, rainfall and flooding in the neighborhood have gotten worse, she say. Next month, Acuña’s home, now in the 500-year flood plain, could be one of thousands in Austin to be redesignated as in the 100-year flood plain, based on new rainfall data released last year that show major storms are more common in Texas than previously believed. That means homes like Acuña’s now are considered at greater risk of flooding in future rain events…
GAVA Land development code hearing
Hear from residents and GAVA staff during the Austin City Council Special Meeting on the Land Development Code on December 7th, 2019…
15-year old Prince Pen
High schooler advocates for community garden
Prince Pen, a 15-year-old high school freshman, is working to establish a community garden in his South Austin neighborhood. He got the idea after successfully bringing fresh vegetables to a nearby corner store that previously stocked only processed foods. And he got that idea after working on a presidential campaign during the 2016 election…
GAVA resident leader and community organizer Frances Acuna talks about healthy food access in her neighborhood. To learn more, visit https://www.AetnaWeJoinYou.com
Our neighborhood health story: This nonprofit is changing the way south Austin eats
Frances A.’s passion for healthy eating began early. Growing up, she and her family of ten were very poor, and meals were whatever they could grow themselves: corn, cactus, beans and mango. When she moved to the United States and began raising three boys of her own, she discovered it wasn’t so easy to eat the same way. The nearest grocery store was a ten-minute car ride from her home in southeast Austin, TX. And the produce there was expensive – more of a splurge than a staple. Out of convenience, Frances ended up doing much of her shopping at a local corner store. Faced with shelves full of chips, candy and boxed pastas, she found it difficult to make healthy choices…
Resident leaders Mayra Jimenez and Elena Rodriguez talk about their work with GAVA to transform the health of their neighborhoods. To learn more, visit https://www.AetnaWeJoinYou.com
Our neighborhood health story: Meet the Texas nonprofit that’s transforming a community’s health, one step at a time
…Fed up with the dangerous path and eager to provide her kids with at least two built-in walks a day, [resident leader Mayra Jimenez] and other concerned parents teamed up with GO! Austin/¡VAMOS! Austin (GAVA), a local nonprofit devoted to helping south Austin residents live healthier lives through access to healthy food, physical activity, school health, early childhood and community safety. Its efforts have been boosted by a recent $100,000 Cultivating Healthy Communities grant from the Aetna Foundation…
In 2016, Odom’s GAVA Park Team received funding from Austin Parks Foundation to improve their park.
Local Superheros Promote communities
Have you ever felt the excitement of going to your favorite neighborhood park only to realize the playground is unusable due to it being damaged?
When neighborhood parks are in need of repair in Austin, Texas, community superheroes step in to save the day! They do this by raising awareness directly to city council members and help implement high-priority changes. These superheroes are members of a local non-profit neighborhood organization called, “Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin” (GAVA), whose main mission is to improve the physical health of South Austin neighborhoods…
Executive Director Carmen Llanes Pulido speaking on Univision – May 4, 2018
Estudio revela mejoras en la calidad de vida en el este de Austin
La tarde de este jueves se llevó a cabo una junta comunitaria para hablar sobre los diferentes servicios que existen en el este de Austin para mejorar la calidad de vida en dicha región.
Executive Director Carmen Llanes Pulido speaking on Telemundo Austin – May 3, 2018
GAVA realiza foro público para informar y concientizar a la comunidad
Go Austin o Vamos Austin (GAVA), el grupo cívico del sureste de nuestra ciudad busca concientizar a los residentes de nuestra ciudad sobre temas sociales como la salud.
El jueves a partir de las 5:30 p.m. GAVA realizará un foro público en la escuela Mendez para informar sobre su labor y las necesidades del barrio.
Evidence-based publication on GAVA’s model in Frontiers
March 22, 2018
Designing Place-Based Interventions for Sustainability and Replicability: The Case of GO! Austin/VAMOS! Austin
Place-based health efforts account for the role of the community environment in shaping decisions and circumstances that affect population well-being. Such efforts, rooted as they are in the theory that health is socially determined, mobilize resources for health promotion that are not typically used, and offer a more informed and robust way of promoting health outcomes within a community…
click for full article
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.”
GAVA Resident Leader and Advisory Council Member Evita Cruz speaking about food access issues in her neighborhood.
KVUE – March 3, 2016
City Council approves plan to improve food access
“When we talk about food access, is there a grocery store close to you? How far away is it? What are the barriers to you getting those fresh fruits and vegetables,” explained GAVA Executive Director Carmen Llanes Puldio.
Evita Cruz [GAVA resident leader] knows the dilemma all too well.
“In my corner stores, I cannot find anything to put in my fruit bowl,” Cruz said, pointing to an empty fruit bowl on her dining room table.
Cruz lives in Dove Springs, an area with known food deserts and high rates of childhood obesity.
“Our children, they are going to eat what they see. As soon as they walk in the convenience store what do we see? We see alcohol, we see chips,” she said.
(click to watch video & read full article)
Lourdes J. Rodríguez, Director of the Center for Place-Based Initiatives, and Community Strategy Team member Carmen Llanes Pulido participate in GO Austin/VAMOS Austin’s event in Dove Springs to encourage physical activity and better nutrition.
Dell Med ReThink – November 11, 2016
Wanted: Big Ideas for Improving Health
…The idea is to match those ideas to data that suggests pressure points in a population’s health, in hopes of addressing those issues that drag on the health of communities. It’s an egalitarian process — everyone who submits an idea gets feedback, regardless of whether a proposal is selected for additional support.
Carmen Llanes Pulido, community director for GO Austin/VAMOS Austin in the city’s Dove Springs neighborhood and a member of the Community Strategy Team, emphasizes the vital role that individuals play in helping to make their communities healthier…
The Texas Standard – August 23, 2016
Healthier Food Could Come to a Corner Store Near You
Marla Torrado and Felipa Puente are taking a tour of a Texaco station in the Dove Springs community of Austin. The predominantly low-income neighborhood is a far cry from downtown’s flagship Whole Foods Market and the city’s most Instagrammed restaurants. Dove Springs is situated in the southeast part of the city. To social scientists it’s a well-known food desert. There are few restaurants – mostly fast food – and just one large grocery store on the neighborhood’s edge, that’s difficult to reach without a car…
Dando acceso a comida saludable a los residentes de Dove Springs
En el sur y sureste de Austin, hay vecindarios que carecen de un supermercado cercano.
Muchos residentes de Dove Springs tienen que viajar al menos media hora para realizar sus compras.
Es por eso que la organización GO! Austin / ¡VAMOS! Austin o GAVA está trabajando para que las pequeñas tiendas y hasta las gasolineras ofrezcan frutas y verduras, para facilitar el acceso a comida fresca y saludable…
(haga clic para el articulo completo)
Students line up outside a 7-Eleven to promote healthy eating.
Austin Chronicle – December 23, 2016
Healthy Choices, Healthy Foods. Local nonprofits plant seeds in South Austin.
…Go! Austin/¡Vamos! Austin focuses its efforts on both the area around Cunningham Elementary – located on Manchaca Road, between Stassney Lane and William Cannon – and neighboring Dove Springs, a predominantly lower-income, Latino neighborhood in Southeast Austin. Nearly 65% of the students at Cunningham are considered economically disadvantaged and receive free or reduced-price school lunches (about average for AISD schools). In 2015, according to the city’s Office of Sustainability, roughly 1 in 4 Dove Springs residents were considered food insecure because they lacked access to enough food for all household members…
Telemundo Austin – November 15, 2016
Una idea simple, una solución brillante
Hace un par de años, al caer el sol no se escuchaba la alegría de los niños en el parque de la Primaria Houston en el sureste de Austin.
“Había mucho crimen, las personas tenían miedo de venir al parque”, dijo la oficial Paula Aguilar del Departamento de la Policía de Austin.
Al caer la noche en las inmediaciones del plantel, la oscuridad se convertía en la cómplice del vicio y la delincuencia.
“Jeringas las llegamos a encontrar, otras cosas muy feas ahí las llegamos a encontrar aquí, habían muchos…”
(haga clic para ver el articulo completo)
GAVA Austin Collaborative Meeting
In November, the GAVA Austin Health Food Store Initiative held a meeting at the Pleasant Hill Library with collaborators from GAMA, the City of Austin Health and Human Services Department, and Austin City Council staff. The goal was to review… (click for full article)
National Parks and Recreation Magazine -March 1, 2016
Communities Rallying for Health
Austin, Texas is widely recognized as one of America’s healthiest cities. Fifty percent of residents live within walking distance of a park and the city has almost three times the national average of green space acreage per 1,000 residents. However, some Austin communities face a real health crisis, struggling with high rates of obesity and diabetes…
(click for full article)
The Statesman – September 4, 2014
Una Comunidad, Varias Raices
Evita Cruz, al centro, participa en una clase de zumba en Franklin Park en el vecindario de Dove Springs. Cruz lidera el grupo G.A.V.A (GO! Austin / VAMOS! Austin) y esta involucrada en su comunidad al ser perte de Austin Interfaith, Sustainable Food Center, Marathon Kids, y los equipos de Franklin y Dove Sprints Park…
Community Impact – July 2013
Health-focused group in 78745 submits action plan for approval
A local community organization is finalizing its plan to boost local health, improve access to nutritious foods and target obesity in the 78745 ZIP code.
Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin, or GAVA, held its last planning meeting July 25 before submitting…
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Healthy Food Access
Two corner stores in the Healthy Corner Store Initiative (HCSI) moved to Tier 3 participation, adding large refrigerators completely stocked with healthy items.
A fourth neighborhood produce stand was launched in 78745 at Odom Elementary school, bringing the total to four produce stands in GAVA’s zip codes of focus.
GAVA partnered with the organization Common Threads to host nutrition education at community events at two stores in the summer.
The City of Austin provided funding to support GAVA’s HCSI as well as a business consultant to identify opportunities for the supply chain and distribution of healthy items so that stores can offer more at lower prices. We hope to see new inventory on the shelves in 2017!
Physical Activity and Community Safety
After years of work by resident leaders and park adopters, Ponciana Park received its new playground and broke ground on the first phase of master planning. What was a triangular lot of land five years ago is now a lush and complete pocket park serving hundreds of families nearby!
Thousands of dollars in sidewalk improvements, ADA accessible amenities, extended pedestrian lights and three re-painted crosswalks were among the many wins of neighborhood teams in 78744 and 78745.
Austin Transportation Department engaged with GAVA residents and staff on a community walk along Teri Road, which brought the lack of lighting to the attention of Austin Energy. New lighting has been promised and will hopefully be installed in 2018.
Coordinated School Health
Breakfast in the classroom and salad bar expansions were successful in increasing student and staff access to healthy meals.
GAVA hosted a CSH gathering for principals to share best practices, troubleshoot on obstacles to a healthy campus, and learn about grant opportunities.
Some campuses instituted “Cheeto-free zones” or other healthy snack policies and others created new volunteer-led efforts for family engagement to support the “whole child” and “whole community.”
Early Childhood
GAVA worked with and trained six child care centers to incorporate brain building and early literacy activities into their lesson plans, as well as the Coordinated Approach to Child Health-Early Childhood (CATCH-EC) curriculum.
GAVA’s EC Partner, United Way, partnered with Bikes for Goodness Sake to build and donate nine bicycles to GAVA EC sites.
A grant of $7,000 was awarded to GAVA to support the construction of a much-needed shade structure at an early childcare site to increase physical activity and outdoor learning.
GAVA & United Way trained 150 AISD Pre-Kindergarten teachers in CATCH-EC to incorporate healthy messaging into their classrooms.
Land Use, Flooding, and Displacement
Evita Cruz Testimonial Carmen Llanes Pulido Testimonial
Frances Acuña Testimonial. Irene Castañeda Testimonial
In May, GAVA brought half a dozen residents to testify to the City of Austin Environmental Commission and the Citizens Advisory Group about the city’s initiative to comprehensively rewrite the Land Development code (LDC). They shared their perspectives on the tragic nature of flooding and economic displacement—consequences of inequitable infrastructure investment and unregulated development. As a result of their testimony, both bodies passed resolutions calling for an equity analysis on flooding and affordability before the approval the new LDC. Click the links below to see their powerful video testimony!
In 2016, the GAVA coalition made incredible progress in South and Southeast Austin to improve nutrition and increase physical activity. GAVA is proud to work with more than 1,125 community residents, eight partner organizations, and 500 community stakeholders to bring access to healthy food and physical activity to Dove Springs and 78745.
Read below for highlights from each of our sectors, or read our complete 2016 End of Year Report!
GAVA Key Wins
GAVA measures “key wins” as positive steps in increasing healthy food and physical activity in the GAVA zip codes. All key wins have been grounded in evidence and led by resident and neighborhood leaders to ensure that GAVA’s work is effective and rooted in the community’s needs.
Early Childhood
The Early Childhood (EC) sector is GAVA’s newest sector, focused on improving health access for children ages 0-5 years in 78744 and 78745. Through close collaboration with United Way for Greater Austin, GAVA organizers connected with the daycare centers in the neighborhoods, “family, friends, and neighbors” networks of home-based early childcare providers, and public pre-Kindergarten educators. GAVA’s 2016 goal was to introduce the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) – Early Childhood curriculum to these providers and help them establish better access to physical activity and healthy food for the children in their care.
Community Food Access
GAVA teams and organizational partners have been working hard to make fresh and local produce, healthy snacks, and other nutritious options available at affordable prices across the 78744 and 78745 zip codes.
Three farm stands, supported by Sustainable Food Center and run by residents of the area, make fresh, local, organic produce available weekly to GAVA residents.
In addition, a total of eight corner stores now participate in GAVA’s Healthy Corner Store Initiative, funded through the City of Austin’s Fresh for Less program. They stock fresh produce and other healthy items to increase access to healthy food options in the neighborhoods!
Physical Activity
In 2016, GAVA’s Physical Activity sector teams expanded both their local efforts and city-wide impact! In collaboration with Austin Parks Foundation (APF), GAVA residents have now officially adopted eight city-owned parks in 78744 and 78745 through the City of Austin’s Adopt-a-Park program, and are stewarding four 1/4 mile stretches of greenbelt along Williamson Creek. APF and GAVA park teams are also working with the Austin Independent School District to establish the first ever Adopt-a-Park Program for school parks, too!
Park adoption gives resident leaders the tools to activate their parks, advocate for improved funding and maintenance, and leverage hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and in-kind support to improve their greenspaces!
Schools
This year, the school sector focused on institutionalizing GAVA best practices at the school and district levels to provide students and families with healthy activities, nutrition education, and resources for health access. GAVA schools strengthened their Coordinated School Health teams, which helped increase participation in Breakfast in the Classroom programs, bring more salad bars to school cafeterias, and promote CATCH healthy messaging in school hallways.
GAVA Geographic Teams in 78744 and 78745
GAVA geographic (geo) teams work to eliminate multi-sector barriers to health access in their micro-neighborhoods. For the past four years, these leaders have organized their neighbors to improve traffic safety, ensure safe routes to parks and schools, improve local parks and creeks, and guide the efforts to bring healthy, affordable foods to their neighborhoods, one store or farm stand at a time.
Coalition-Wide Progress
As a coalition, GAVA is moving in exciting directions. Resident leaders have been moving towards working together in coordinated, cross-zip-code efforts to improve safety, mobility, traffic, greenspaces, and food access, which has created systemic changes citywide. The coalition is looking into the other issues that impact the long-term success of GAVA’s work, including the city’s re-write of its land development code (CodeNEXT) and other policies.
The Food Justice Archive
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Videos
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TÁPI Story
GAVA has been working closely with TÁPI Story for more than three years developing three films related to food justice, flooding, and heat. We partnered to tell the important stories of the residents we work with. Please follow our social media or join our mailing list to find out about future screenings.
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Early Childhood and Family Health
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Partner Spotlight: GO! Austin / VAMOS Austin! Michael & Susan Dell Foundation
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Donde corre el agua
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Juana Inés de Austin (Playlist)
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Culture of health