[00:00:10]
YOU LOVE ME? I WOULD LIKE TO CALL THIS[Call to Order & Introductions]
MEETING TO ORDER AT 1:02 PM.AND THIS IS OUR FIRST MEETING OF OUR 2021, UM, FORD.
I AM THRILLED AND HONORED TO BE YOUR 2021 BOARD CHAIR, UM, AND EXCITED FOR THIS YEAR.
I THINK WE HAVE, WE HAVE TIME AND SPACE, SO I'M JUST GOING TO GO AROUND THIS ACTUAL ZOOM ROOM AND HAVE PEOPLE INTRODUCE THEMSELVES AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, I'M GOING TO JUST LOOK AT MY PARTICIPANTS LIST.
SO WE'LL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER MID-YEAR UM, HI, MY NAME IS RUDY
I JUST WORK HERE AND I'M IN ALL SINCERITY.
IT'S BEEN AMAZING TO SEE THE EVOLUTION OF CANNON AND ITS INFORMATION, ITS PARTNERSHIPS, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE REGION.
I THINK THE BIGGEST PART THAT I'M PRETTY PROUD OF IS THAT THERE'S A TRUE REGIONAL APPROACH AND SOMETHING THAT, UM, JIMMY AND I TALKED OFFLINE FOR YEARS ABOUT IS THAT A LOT OF OUR ISSUES THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS, WE NEED TO LOOK AT FROM A SYSTEMATIC SYSTEMIC AREA AND A REGION WIDE ASPECT.
AND I THINK THAT CAN CONTINUALLY BE THE FULCRUM THAT WE GO AHEAD AND DRESS A LOT OF THESE THINGS.
SO PRETTY EXCITING TO BE HERE.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER FROM PFLUGERVILLE JUST TO ADD, UM, OKAY.
UH, YES, UH, W WALTER MUSA COMMISSIONER.
UM, NORA, UM, AS CHAIR OF THE CANNED COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
HI, MY NAME IS DAN LEANNE AND I SERVE AS PAST CHAIR OF ONE VOICE, UH, CENTRAL TEXAS, AND IN THE DESIGNEE FOR THIS YEAR TO THE CANNED BOARD.
AND I'M ALSO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE SEEDLING FOUNDATION.
WONDERFUL KATRINA FROM HOUSTON TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY.
UH, ARMOUR JULIAN, FORMER COUNCIL CHAIR, HUNGER, HUNGER ON WITH THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL AND ALSO TERRIBLE TO VOICES FOR EDUCATION.
I'M BECKY PASADENA AND REPRESENTING ST.
MANY OF YOU ARE ACCUSTOMED TO SEEING WILLIAM BUSTER HERE.
UM, HE'S NOW BACK HOME IN NORTH CAROLINA.
UM, AND SO I'M JUST HERE TEMPORARILY.
YOU'LL YOU'LL BEGIN TO SEE A NEW BEGIN TO SEE A NEW FACE REPRESENTING ST.
DAVID'S IN THE COMING MONTHS AS WE, UM, HIRE FOR WILLIAM'S FORMER POSITION.
UM, IT'S GOOD TO SEE EVERYBODY.
RAVINI HEY, Y'ALL HAPPY FRIDAY.
UH, CHRIS RAVINIA WITH AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE.
UM, I'LL MAKE MY LISTS ARE STARTING TO CHANGE, BUT DAVID SMITH.
IT'S GREAT TO SEE EVERYBODY AND DAVID SMITH WITH UNITED WAY FOR GREATER AUSTIN.
WELCOME KENNY ATTORNEY GARZA, WHO I KNOW IS EATING.
UM, BUT I THINK CAN HEAR US, SORRY.
I WAS TRYING TO FINISH MY LUNCH.
UH, TRAVIS COUNTY ATTORNEY, UM, FORMERLY A FAIR PRETEND IN COUNCIL MEMBER.
JEREMY MARTIN WITH THE AUSTIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
I'M COUNTY EXECUTIVE FOR PLANNING AND BUDGET AT TRAVIS COUNTY.
I'M ALSO YOUR PAST COUNCIL MEMBER.
SO, UH, GLAD THAT I GET TO STAY ON THE CANNED BOARD AS YOUR PAST CHAIR FOR THIS YEAR, UH, THAT THEY CAN'T, UH, THEY CAN'T GET RID OF ME FROM THIS BOARD JUST YET.
AND, UM, I, MY NEW GIG IS OVERSEEING THE HILTON AUSTIN HOTEL, UH, UH, NOT WORKING FOR THE CITY, BUT IN THE CITY'S INTERESTS FOR AUSTIN CONVENTION ENTERPRISES, INC.
SO EXCITED TO BE, UH, STILL DOING A LOT OF WORK AROUND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
AND I STILL SERVE ON THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD.
UH, STILL CHAIR OF THAT BOARD, MAYBE FOR ANOTHER WEEK OR TWO, UH, FOR, FOR CAP COCK.
SO A LOT OF, A LOT OF STILL RELEVANT STUFF TO BRING TO THE TABLE.
AND YOU ALL KNOW HOW GRATEFUL I AM TO BOTH JIMMY AND PATRICIA FOR SETTING ME UP IN THIS ROLE AND SO GRATEFUL THAT
[00:05:01]
JIMMY CAN STAY ON AND, UM, AND MAKE THIS ALL RUN BEAUTIFULLY SMOOTHLY.UM, LAWRENCE, SORRY, HAVING TECHNICAL ISSUES AS ALWAYS LAUREN SIMON WITH TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTH HUMAN SERVICES, LIZ JOHNSON WITH ST.
I'M SIMONE TAMA FLOWERS, AND I'M WITH INTERFAITH ACTION OF CENTRAL TEXAS.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TIME OF THE DAY IT IS THE AFTERNOON.
I, I JUMPED WHEN YOU SAID TAM AND I WAS LIKE, OKAY, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
TAMAR ATKINSON I'M WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
I'M TAMMY WILLIAMS HILL FROM THE AUSTIN ISD OFFICE OF EQUITY.
I BELIEVE THIS IS COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN GOOD AFTERNOON.
IT IS UM, TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSIONER PRECINCT ONE ALWAYS GOOD TO BE HERE.
MADAM CHAIR, ARE WE ALLOWED TO BOOT HIM OR IS THAT INAPPROPRIATE? NEVER, EVER, EVER.
NOW YOU GOT TO BE ABLE TO COUNT TO THREE REALLY? AND I BELIEVE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER POINT THIS.
I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE FOR MY FIRST MEETING AS THE NEWEST COUNCIL MEMBER OF, FROM DISTRICT TO WHERE I GET TO FOLLOW THE FOOTSTEPS OF OUR COUNTY ATTORNEY DAHLIA GARZA, AND GET THE HONOR AND PRIVILEGE TO REPRESENT SOUTHEAST AUSTIN.
WE'LL SEE YOU ON PRESENCE, CENTRAL TEXAS.
WHO DID I MISS? DID I MISS ANYBODY? CARLOS? MY GOSH, YES.
I'M GOING TO END AND SEARCHING.
SHE'S HAVING SOME CONNECTIVITY ISSUES.
AND WHERE I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I DON'T SEE NANCY HERE.
I THINK SHE, SHE WAS IN A POWER OUTAGE SITUATION.
AND I'LL TRY CAN'T STAFF, BUT I WILL.
DO YOU WANT TO START? YEAH, I WILL.
I CAN ED AND YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM ME LATER, SO I'LL JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT AND PASS IT ON TO CARLOS.
AND THEN JOLENE AFTER THAT GOOD AFTERNOON, I'VE GOT A LITTLE THOUGH RESEARCH ANALYST, THAT COMMUNITY INVESTMENT NETWORK AND I'M TAKING A MINUTE.
JOANNA I'M CHANCE PROGRAM COORDINATOR.
I BELIEVE THAT'S, THAT'S OUR GROUP AND I'M SO EXCITED UNLESS I MISS SOMEBODY.
AND PLEASE, PLEASE SAY SOMETHING IF I MISSED YOU.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
WE WILL MOVE FIRST TO ANY CITIZENS COMMUNICATIONS, NOTHING.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO, UH, REVIEW AND CONSIDER
[Consider Approval of Minutes for December 11th, 2020 CAN Board meeting. (Action Item)]
THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.SO I ASK YOU TO REVIEW THE MINUTES, UM, AND WE'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THEM, NORA.
SO, AND SECONDED BY WHO WAS THAT? I'M SORRY.
UM, THE OTHER BIG PIECE OF BUSINESS THAT WE NEED TO, UH, TAKE CARE OF FIRST AND VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UM, WE
[Consider Appointment of CAN Board Vice-Chair (Action)]
NEED, OF COURSE I AM[00:10:01]
YOUR CAM BOARD CHAIR, BUT OF COURSE NOW WE NEED A VICE CHAIR FOR 2021.AND, UM, IF IT'S OKAY, I WANT TO PUT FORTH A NOMINATION AND, UM, ALLOW OUR NOMINEE TO, TO RESPOND TO IT FIRST.
AND THEN WE'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
UM, BUT AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, UM, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UH, THE ENORMOUS WORK THAT CAN HAS NOW IN LIGHT OF THIS, THIS PARTICULAR YEAR THAT FOLLOWS 2020.
AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AS WE'VE DISCUSSED IN THIS GROUP IS, UM, A GREAT FOCUS ON CERTAINLY ON BASIC NEEDS.
SO THAT'S OUR SHORT TERM FOLKS OR SHORTER TERM FOCUS ON BASIC NEEDS AND THAT'S JUST EVERYTHING FROM HOUSING TO, TO SCHOOLING.
UM, UM, AND, AND, AND HEALTHCARE, OF COURSE, BUT THEN IN THE LONGER TERM, AND REALLY THE FOCUS OF OUR REGIONAL SUMMIT, WE'LL BE, UM, UH, UH, REINVIGORATING OUR ECONOMY, GETTING FOLKS BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE, UM, PREPARING FOLKS FOR THE WORKFORCE, UM, AND JUST HANDLING THE RAMIFICATIONS OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED ECONOMICALLY IN OUR CITY BECAUSE OF THIS, THIS CRISIS.
SO I AM THRILLED THEREFORE, TO PUT FORTH AS OUR NOMINEE FOR CANNED VICE CHAIR, TAMRA ATKINSON FROM WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, UM, WHO, AS YOU ALL KNOW, HAS BEEN ON THIS TEAM FOR A LONG TIME.
AND WE'RE JUST SO APPRECIATIVE OF HER WORK ALWAYS, BUT COULD NOT BE MORE APPRECIATIVE OF HER WORK, UM, THEN THIS YEAR.
SO, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THAT FORTH AND, UM, ALLOW TAMRA TO ACTUALLY RESPOND TO THAT.
SHE WANTS TO FIRST, BEFORE WE, BEFORE WE, UM, MOVE TO, TO MAKE THE DECISION MADAM CHAIR, I THINK, UM, THE PROCESS WE USUALLY USE, JUST SO THE BOARD KNOWS IS WE HAVE A CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR SORT OF, UM, GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF SELECTING, UM, OR NOMINATING SOMEONE.
AND SO, UM, SO I DON'T KNOW, JIMMY, IF YOU WANTED TO SAY ON HAVING BEEN PART OF THAT PROCESS, IF YOU WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING AND THEN MAYBE PASS IT UP, UM, I THINK BULLYING IS A BETTER WORD THAN NOMINATING, BUT I THINK THAT IS A LITTLE MORE ACCURATELY DESCRIBING HOW THIS PROCESS WORKED ON ME, UH, UH, CREDIT TO, UH, KELLY CROOK AND PATRICIA HAYES FOR ROPING ME IN AND CREDIT TO MYSELF FOR ROOFING SUSHI.
AND SO, UH, WE'RE DOING WELL, UH, BUT I AM EXCITED, EXCITED, EXCITED TO HAVE TAMRA, UH, AGREE TO DO THIS.
IT WAS NOT EASY TO WORK THROUGH THIS NOMINATION PROCESS IN A PANDEMIC.
UM, BUT I AM, UH, REALLY THANKFUL, UH, BOTH TO TAMRA AND TO HER ORGANIZATION AND HER BOARD FOR GIVING HER THE GO-AHEAD TO, TO PROVIDE EVEN MORE TIME AND DEDICATION TO THE WORK OF CAMP.
SO I HOPE THE BOARD WILL CONSENT TO THIS APPOINTMENT.
UH, THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THIS NOMINATION.
IT REALLY I'M HUMBLED AND HONORED, UH, BY THE, BY THE REQUEST, I WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL TO SERVE AS CANNES VICE CHAIR, UH, IF SELECTED.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
UH, REALLY JUST FEEL THAT THE WORK OF CAN IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER AS WE LOOK AT ECONOMIC RECOVERY AS A RESULT OF COVID, UM, JOBS AND PEOPLE HAVING ACCESS TO JOBS, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, UNITING OUR REGION AROUND ECONOMIC PROSPERITY OPPORTUNITIES.
I THINK, UH, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK IT COULDN'T BE MORE IMPORTANT NOW THAN WHEN WE HAVE 40,000 OF OUR CENTRAL TEXANS OUT OF WORK AND STRUGGLING TO RECOVER.
I THINK WORKING TOGETHER IS GOING TO BE KEY AND I WOULD BE HONORED TO SERVE IN THIS CAPACITY TO SUPPORT OUR REGION AS WE CONTINUE TO RECOVER.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR A MOTION AND A SECOND TO ACCEPT THIS NOMINATION, THIS RECOMMENDATION SECOND.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION SHE DOESN'T GET A CHOICE, RIGHT? WE ALL ARE ON THE SAME PAGE, BASICALLY THAT WE'RE, BUT SHE REALLY DID BECAUSE AS JIMMY SAID, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO GANG UP PROPERLY ON ZOOM, SO THIS WAS PRETTY GREAT.
UH, WELL, I, I BELIEVE THAT, WELL, DO WE NEED TO APPROVE BY, BY SHOW OF HANDS OR SHOW OF ZOOM HANDS, MAYBE ALL IN FAVOR, UH, VISUALLY OR THROUGH ZOOM, PLEASE.
[00:15:01]
ALRIGHTY, THEN THAT, THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED AT THE RECOMMENDATION FOR TAMRA TO BE OUR 2021 VICE-CHAIR HAS BEEN APPROVED AND WE CONGRATULATE YOU TAMRA.THANK YOU TO WORKING WITH YOU AND THE TEAM.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR.
OH, IT'S GOING TO BE FABULOUS.
EVEN IF WE HAVE TO DO IT AS THE BRADY BUNCH.
AND MOVING ON, I GUESS, UM, NORA, WILL I PASS IT TO YOU FOR THE
[Community Council Update]
COUNCIL UPDATE OR, OKAY.UM, OUR CHAIR IS NANCY GILLIAM AND APPARENTLY SHE'S HAVING INTERNET ISSUES.
UH, WE HAD OUR MEETING LAST MONDAY WHERE WE HAD A GREAT, THE WAY THE PROCESS IS GONNA WORK THIS YEAR.
WE'VE SELECTED THREE AREAS, VERY MUCH IN SUPPORT OF THE WORK THAT THE CAN BOARD IS DOING.
SO WE'RE WORKING ON BASIC NEEDS.
AND THE FIRST SET OF PRESENTATIONS WAS ABOUT EVICTION.
SO IT'LL BE ABOUT HOME, HOME, UM, HOMES IN GENERAL, UM, LIVING EXPERIENCES.
SO IT'S, UH, WE HAD, UM, EVICTIONS, THEN WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ON HOMELESSNESS AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO BRING THE WHOLE THING TOGETHER.
SO QUARTERLY, WE HAVE THREE, UM, THREE MONTHS THAT WE WILL EXPLORE EACH OF THE TOPICS.
AND THEN WE WILL BRING TOGETHER THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US IN ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CAN BOARD.
SO WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO BE DOING THAT ON A QUARTERLY BASIS AND IT MAY GET UPDATED AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
SO WE STARTED WITH THE HOMELESS SITUATION OR THE ADDICTION HOMELESS SITUATION, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO GO TO FOOD INSECURITY.
AND THE LAST ONE IS MENTAL HEALTH, BUT AS WE WORKED THROUGH EACH OF THE THREE MONTHS OF PRESENTATIONS AND INFORMATION GATHERING, UM, WE WILL TRY TO INCLUDE AS MUCH OF THE OTHER TOPICS IN THERE TO, UM, ENHANCE AND HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, WHAT KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE.
UM, ARE YOU WANT TO ADD ANYTHING? UH, JUST THAT, UM, AS PART OF THIS PROCESS THAT NORA HAS OUTLINED, UH, THE COUNCIL IS REALLY HARD-WIRING ITS WORK TO BE IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE CAN BOARD IS NORA MENTIONED, BUT THE CANCER GIVES YOU PLAN AND WORK PLAN.
AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO ENGAGE WITH CAN BOARD MEMBERS.
SUCHI WAS AT OUR, AT OUR LAST MEETING, UH, AS WELL AS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, DESIRE TO TALK ABOUT HOUSING AND WE'D HAD OTHER PRESENTATIONS, OUR MENTAL HEALTH WORK GROUP HAS REACHED OUT TO DAVID EVANS AND THERE'S OTHERS.
SO, UH, YOU'LL, YOU'LL BE SEEING, I THINK MORE OF THAT THIS YEAR, MORE THAT THIS YEAR MORE, UH, COORDINATION AND WORKING TOGETHER WITH CAN A MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS AND INVITATIONS TO OUR MEETINGS AND TO THE CO-SPONSOR EVENTS JOINTLY AND SO FORTH.
SO, UM, A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT LOOK AND FEEL, UH, IN THIS NEW STRATEGY THAT NORA NANCY HAS OUTLINED.
HOPEFULLY THIS WILL GIVE US A CHANCE TO WORK MORE CLOSELY TOGETHER AS TEAM TWO SEPARATE, BUT ONE, ONE, ONE, AND OUR VICE CHAIR IS RACHEL HAMPTON, AND SHE'S ALSO VERY, UM, VERY ENGAGED IN OUR WORK.
UM, WELL, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS FOR NORA OR FERRARA? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
SOMETHING THAT, UM, CAUSE ESPECIALLY THE EVICTION ISSUE HAS BEEN COMING UP OVER AND OVER AGAIN, AND SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN DISCONCERTING TO ME AS, UM, NOT ONLY AS AN ATTORNEY, BUT ALSO AS, UM, PRESIDENT OF THE TEXAS BLACK CAUCUS FOUNDATION IS THAT PEOPLE AREN'T AWARE OF THE SUPREME COURT AND WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES IS DOING REGARDING THAT SPECIFIC FUNDING MECHANISM FOR THAT.
AND THEY THINK THAT IT HAS TO BE PASSED BY COUNTY COUNTY AS OPPOSED TO NO, THIS IS THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT.
SO IT'S IT'S STATEWIDE AND EVERYONE CAN AVAIL THEMSELVES.
BUT THE TENANT AS A PROVINCE TO THE OWNERS TOO, AS WELL, HAVE WE BEEN WORKING WITH, AND I HAD JUST FROM ONE EDIFICATION TO VLS AND SOME OF THESE OTHER GROUPS WHO WERE IN THE TRENCHES DOING SOME OF THESE, TAKING, TAKEN OUT SOME OF THESE CASES BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SOME EVICTIONS THAT ARE HAPPENING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THEY'RE ON THE PIPE BEFORE THE, UM, MORE TOURING HAS PUT IN PLACE.
AND THOSE ARE PRETTY MUCH BEEN THE ONES THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SEE WHERE THE COURTS SIDE ON THESE ISSUES.
BUT I'VE HEARD FROM A LOT OF JUDGES WHO WERE KINDA LIKE RUDY, YOU KNOW, IF ONE, CAN WE GET MORE ATTORNEYS DOING PRO BONO WORK ON THIS STUFF AND THEN TO COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT WITH THAT STUFF.
AND THAT COMMUNICATION ISSUE IS ONE THAT WE ALL CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT HOW TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT.
AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE VOLUNTEERISM, LIKE YOU SAID, PRO BONO WORK.
AND WE HAD A PRESENTATION BY BUSTA WHO REALLY WORKED AT, UH, TALKED ABOUT THE PROCESS SO THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BE AT LEAST ON THE SAME PAGE OF UNDERSTANDING HOW IT HAPPENS AND WHAT SORTS OF INFORMATION PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE AND WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES, ESPECIALLY THE, THE LEGAL RESOURCES.
[00:20:01]
HAVE SOME LEGAL PEOPLE ON OUR TEAM AND THEY WERE ASKING IF THEY COULD PROVIDE TRAINING, IF THERE WAS POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE FOR ANY ATTORNEY WHO MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN HELPING OUT, COULD WE PROVIDE THEM TRAINING OR VOLUNTEERS AS VOLUNTEERS? WE HAVE TO BE SUPER CAREFUL BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ATTORNEYS.AND IN BEING ABLE TO, WE CAN SCREW UP ROYALLY BY TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE.
SO KIND OF LAYING OUT THOSE BOUNDARIES AND UNDERSTANDING, UH, THE BIG PICTURE AND THEN TRYING TO IDENTIFY COMMUNITY RESOURCES TO HELP.
AND WE'LL CALL ON YOU TO MAYBE ALSO CONTINUE TO ALSO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT SOME OF THAT WORK.
AND I WILL VOLUNTEER AND ALSO HERE AT THE AUSTIN BAR, THERE'S ENOUGH FOLKS OVER THERE WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO DEFINITELY SUPPORT AND WORK WITH YOU.
UM, IF, IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, THE COUNTY HAS THROUGH, UH, NICK CHEW AND THROUGH OUR, UM, OUR JP OF PRECINCT, ONE YVONNE WILLIAMS STARTED PUTTING TOGETHER AN ASSET MAP BECAUSE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS WORKING ON THE ISSUE, BUT NOT TOGETHER.
AND AT SOME POINT WE NEED TO PUT TOGETHER A, UH, A LIST OF WHO IS DOING WHAT UNDER WHAT AUTHORITY AND WITH WHATEVER FUNDING SOURCE, SO THAT WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB OF COORDINATING THE EFFORTS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE SENDING PEOPLE TO THE RIGHT RESOURCES THAT WERE DESIGNED FOR THEIR, THEIR SITUATION.
SO, UM, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, AND WE WILL CERTAINLY HELP WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY AND I'D BE WILLING TO, UH, TO, UM, TO MAKE OUR OFFICE, UM, MAKE PRECINCT ONE AVAILABLE TO, UM, TO, UH, ACT AS A CLEARING HOUSE FOR SOME OF THOSE ISSUES, AT LEAST ON THE COUNTY LEVEL.
WE WILL, UM, I'LL MAKE SURE THAT NANCY, UH, AND OUR TEAM LEARNS ABOUT THIS.
AND ALSO, I KNOW I'VE WORKED WITH, UH, LAWRENCE ON YOUR ASSET MAP, WHICH IS YOU'VE GOT, HAD A GREAT START.
SO I WOULD LIKE REALLY, FOR MORE PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT THE WORK YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE AND TO HELP TO GROW THAT ASSET MAP.
ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO OFFER SOME HELP? WE'RE ACTUALLY, AS WE DO OUR CAMP PARTNER UPDATES, I BELIEVE GOING TO TALK IN THIS AREA AS WELL.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF ALIGNMENT.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AT THE CANNED COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING.
IT WAS A LOT OF FUN TO MEET EVERYBODY AND I'M EXCITED FOR THESE TWO ENTITIES TO ALIGN AND WORK CLOSELY COLLABORATE, UM, AND TO KEEP COMMUNICATION OPEN.
I ALSO WANT TO THANK SUSHI FOR RECOMMENDING TWO INCREDIBLE COUNCIL MEMBERS TO US FROM THE ASIAN COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THERE HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUCH AN ASSET TO US.
THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE THEY'RE GREAT.
THEY'RE GOING TO, THEY'RE GOING TO BE GREAT.
UM, MOVING ON A ROW WELL TO YOUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
I HAVE TO CATCH MYSELF EVERY TIME I SAY SOMETHING, UH, UH, IT WAS ABOUT TO SAY GOOD MORNING, BUT, UM, BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING ON SUCH A GREAT TURNOUT FOR THE MEETING.
UH, FIRST OF THE YEAR, AND WE GOT A LOT, UH, ROLLING ALREADY IN JANUARY.
UM, AND I'M GOING TO GET INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT, BUT I DO WANT TO, UM, IT'S GOING TO SAY A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
WE DID HAVE THAT FIRST MEETING AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS DO A LITTLE ISSUE BRIEF OR A SUMMARY OF THE ISSUE RIGHT.
OF THE ISSUE, RIGHT? LOOKING AT SOME DATA, LOOKING AT SOME RESEARCH, UM, AND LOOKING AT, UM, CONVEYING WHAT THEY'VE LEARNED WITH THE COMMUNITY COUNCILS, LEARNING THROUGH THESE PANEL PRESENTATIONS AND OUTLINING RESOURCES, UH, WHICH WAS, I THINK THE QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED.
SO WE DO HOPE AGAIN, THAT AS WE GO THROUGH THE YEAR AND WE FINISH OUR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EVICTIONS, THAT WE FORWARD THAT TO THE BOARD AND NOT WAIT TILL THE END OF THE YEAR.
AND, AND EACH TIME THAT WE FINISHED OUR DIALOGUE ON A PARTICULAR ISSUE, THEN TO KIND OF BE FORWARDING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AS WE GO AND NOT JUST KIND OF HAVE IT BE AN END OF YEAR SORT OF, UH, COMMUNICATION.
SO, BUT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT OUR ANNUAL REPORT, NOT SO MUCH, BUT MOSTLY ABOUT OUR WORK PLAN UPDATE, BUT I'M GOING TO TRY TO SHARE A FEW SCREENS AND HOPEFULLY I WON'T MESS UP.
SO, UM, WE'RE SEVEN MINUTES BEHIND, SO I'LL TRY TO, SO I'LL TRY TO LIKE MAKE UP SOME TIME, RIGHT.
UM, SO HERE'S, UM, IF YOU MISSED IT OR, UM, THIS WEEK WE HAD, UH, CAN USE GO OUT, WHICH IS OUR NEWSLETTER AND WE USUALLY SUBSTITUTE OUR ANNUAL REPORT OVER ONE OF THE NEWSLETTERS, BUT AS YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MUCH AMAZING STUFF HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY RIGHT NOW AND IMPORTANT WORK.
[00:25:01]
I KIND OF HAD TO DO A HYBRID AND HIGHLIGHT A FEW EVENTS AND THEN, AND THEN DO THE ANNUAL REPORT BELOW THIS.SO HOPEFULLY YOU DIDN'T MISS THE ANNUAL REPORT, BUT, UM, UM, BUT HERE'S THAT THE EVENTS WE, UH, WE WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT WAS THIS HUMAN CENTERED ADVOCACY, UM, SERIES THAT THE, UH, UT CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS DOING WITH THE COMMUNITY ADVANCED ADVOCACY AND HEALING PROJECT TONIGHT, IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD ENOUGH WORK THIS, UH, THIS YEAR OR THIS WEEK, I SHOULD SAY, UH, CRT COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TRUST IS HAVING A TOWN HALL ON THEIR LED NEXT COVID STUDY.
SO, UM, AND THAT, THEY'RE ONE OF THE GROUPS THAT WE RECOGNIZED WAS A CAN BUTLER AWARD THIS YEAR.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, I ACT, AND I CAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL AND, UH, AND THE CITY HERE HAVE BEEN KIND OF COORDINATING JUST REMEMBERS OF THOSE WE'VE LOST, UH, DURING THE PANDEMIC.
RIGHT? AND, UM, AGAIN, DIDN'T WANT TO MISS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ABLE TO PROMOTE THESE EVENTS.
I'LL HAVE MORE INFO ON THAT SHORTLY BUT BELOW.
THIS IS WHERE YOU'LL FIND OUR ANNUAL REPORT AND THERE'S EIGHT ITEMS THAT WE HIGHLIGHTED.
UM, AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THESE, BUT, UM, A COUPLE OF THESE ARE OUR RACE EQUITY AND ACTION FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE HAVING OUR FIRST PUBLIC FORUM ABOUT NEXT WEEK, THE KEN BUTLER AWARDS, WHICH IS MARCH THE FIFTH AND THE WINNERS AND ET CETERA, ET CETERA, YOU CAN GO DOWN AND, AND KIND OF REVIEW THOSE.
I'LL, I'M GOING TO SWITCH TO THE POWERPOINT SO THAT, UH, ALTHOUGH I DON'T SEE WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT IS.
UM, SO THIS IS OUR FEBRUARY 12TH MEETING, AND THIS IS THE EVENT I TALKED ABOUT AGAIN, IN OUR, IN OUR SHARED FOLDER, YOU HAVE THIS POWERPOINT, UM, UM, DOCUMENT, AND I BELIEVE YOU CAN CLICK ON THE LINKS IF YOU WANT TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO, YOU KNOW, HOW TO, HOW TO REGISTER FOR THIS TOWN HALL.
UM, THERE'S THE INFORMATION ON THE REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY AS WELL.
SO IF YOU WANT TO LINK, CLICK ON THIS LINK, UH, THIS IS THE LINK, I GUESS, TO, UM, TO ACCESS THE REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY ON FEBRUARY 28TH.
AND I THINK I'VE REACHED OUT TO A FEW OF Y'ALL TO RECORD SOME PARTS OF THIS, UH, THAT CAN BE, IT CAN BE USED DURING THE CEREMONY.
MOST OF IT IS GOING TO BE PEER RECORDED AND ASSEMBLED BEFORE THE 28TH.
BUT, UM, WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A INTERFAITH, UM, UH, UM, GATHERING AND, UM, SO WE'LL HAVE, UM, VARIETY OF FAITH LEADERS, RIGHT.
OFFERING, UM, THEIR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, AND WE'LL HAVE A CEREMONIAL CANDLE LIGHTING, BUT A LOT OF OUR, UH, COMMUNITY LEADERS, UH, IN SOME MUSIC.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF SOME NORA AND SIMONE AND I HAVE REALLY BEEN WITH NORA AND SIMONE, THE EMPHASIS I KNOW IN SIMONE, RIGHT.
UH, WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH THE, UH, THE CITY FOLKS WHO ARE HELPING TO PUT THIS ON.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY WANT TO SAY A LITTLE SOMETHING BEFORE I, BEFORE I MOVE ON.
I'LL TRY TO BE CONCISE HERE BECAUSE NORA HAS, NORA IS THE BRAINCHILD BEHIND ALL OF THIS.
AND, UM, SO WHEN PRESIDENT BIDEN SAID HE WAS GOING TO DO I REMEMBER, AND OF THIS, I WAS LIKE, OH, NORA, HE STOLE THE IDEA.
BUT ANYWAY, BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE ALL GET TO ACKNOWLEDGED ALL THE MAGNITUDE OF THE LIVES LOSS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, AND JUST SO PROUD TO BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF THIS SERVICE WHERE WE CAN BRING SOME HEALING AND BRING SOME UNITY AND BRING SOME CLOSURE, UM, TO THIS AWFUL PANDEMIC.
UM, WE HAVE A LONG ROAD AHEAD AND, UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY WE'RE GOING TO SEE MORE DEATHS AND THAT'S THE SAD PART ABOUT IT.
BUT, UM, BUT THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO COME TOGETHER IN UNITY TO CELEBRATE LIONS.
AND WE'D BE GLAD TO HAVE YOUR PARTNER AS A PARTNER ORGANIZATION.
UM, IF YOU'LL STAND, UM, AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU THE ADDRESS TO SEND YOUR ORGANIZATION'S NAME AND WE CAN ADD IT THERE, WE'LL BE ADDING ORGANIZATIONS THROUGHOUT, UH, PROBABLY UNTIL THE 28TH, THE DATE OF THE EVENT.
AND SO WE ASKED FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN SENDING IT OUT TO YOUR LISTS AND YOUR CONTACTS.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS JUST TO ADD TO, JUST TO ADD TO, UM, WE ARE ALSO ENCOURAGING YOU, IF YOU BELONG TO A CONGREGATION OF SOUL OR ORGANIZATION THAT RINGS BELLS, WE ARE ASKING PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE BY RINGING BELLS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SERVICE, AS WELL AS LIGHTING A CANDLE DURING THE SERVICE.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S ANOTHER WAY FOR PEOPLE TO ALSO PARTICIPATE FOR THE PUBLIC, TO PARTICIPATE
[00:30:02]
OR TRYING TO SEE IF WE CAN HAVE PEOPLE PUT THEIR, THE NAME OF THEIR LOVED ONE THAT HAS BEEN LOST, WHOSE LIFE HAS BEEN LOST INTO A CHAT WE'RE WORKING WITH LEGAL RIGHT NOW TO SEE IF THAT'S POSSIBLE, BUT THAT'S THE WAY THAT WE COULD ACKNOWLEDGE SOME NAMES.OTHERWISE WE CANNOT ACTUALLY USE NAMES.
AND ANY, UM, ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I MOVE ON FROM THAT? UM, ALL RIGHT.
WELL, THANK YOU BOTH FOR DOING THAT AND, UM, OFFERING THIS OPPORTUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK IT'S, UH, BEEN LONG OVERDUE AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD VERY MUCH TO, UH, HAVING A COMMUNITY HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY, UM, UH, KEN BUTLER AWARDS AND OUR CAN ANNUAL CELEBRATION TOGETHER.
SO IN MARCH, UM, WE, UM, WE HAVE OUR CELEBRATION AND WE DO HAVE TENTATIVELY TO MEET BEFORE THE CELEBRATION TO LOOK AT SOME ORGANIZATIONAL DOCUMENTS THAT RELATE TO OUR, UM, BECOMING, UH, AN UNINFORMED ASSOCIATION.
SO HAVING AN OFFICIAL STATUS, UH, WHEN I SAY YOU MIGHT HEAR THE WORD TUNA THROWN AROUND FROM TIME TO TIME CAN BECOMING A TUNA, BUT THAT'S A, IT'S AN ASSOCIATION, UH, FORMED PER THE TEXAS UNINCORPORATED NONPROFIT ASSOCIATION ACT.
SO THAT'S FOR THE TUNA COMES FROM, UH, BUT ANYWAYS, SO WE'LL, WE'LL LET YOU KNOW IF, UH, WE'LL BE READY TO PRESENT THAT OR NOT, BUT, UH, THE CELEBRATION ITSELF IS AS FIVE.
AND THEN IF WE HAVE TO DO A LITTLE WORK WELL, WE'LL CONVENE AT FOUR.
UM, SO IT'S NOT A NORMAL TIME, BUT, UM, THERE SHOULD BE AN INVITE IN YOUR CALENDAR.
AND AGAIN, THE CELEBRATION IS, YOU KNOW, WE USUALLY GIVE THE MAIN FOCUS OF THAT IS TO OBVIOUSLY CELEBRATE THE WORK, UM, THAT CAN IS ACCOMPLISHED, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZE GREAT WORK IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND THIS YEAR, UH, WE DECIDED TO PLACE THE EMPHASIS OF OUR, UM, RECOGNITION RIGHT ON, ON COLLABORATION, UM, OR IN COLLABORATIONS THAT WERE RELATED TO, UH, SOME OF THE VERY CHALLENGING EVENTS OR NEEDS THAT HAVE SORT OF COME TO LIGHT OVER THE LAST, UH, 10 TO 12 MONTHS.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SO WE HAD LIKE AUSTIN LATINO COALITION AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, TRUST, YOU KNOW, COLLABORATIONS THAT SORT OF CAME TOGETHER TO ADDRESS KIND OF SPECIFIC PANDEMIC, PANDEMIC RELATED ISSUES.
UH, GOOD WORKS AUSTIN, AND KEEP AUSTIN TOGETHER ON THE FOOD ACCESS SIDE, YOU KNOW, OR PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS TO GET FOOD TO PEOPLE'S HANDS.
UM, AS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THE POLICE, UH, REFORM ISSUES HAVE BEEN TOP OF TOP OF MIND, YOU KNOW, DURING THIS, EVEN THIS TIME OF COVID.
SO THE AJCS FOR THEIR WORK ON, UM, AGAIN, SHINING A LIGHT ON THOSE ISSUES AND, AND, UM, GIVING VOICE TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE COULD BE DOING.
AND AT THE VERY BOTTOM CHAVEZ COUNTY CENSUS COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEES, BECAUSE DURING THE PANDEMIC, WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET PEOPLE SIGNED UP.
UM, AND WE WANTED TO RECOGNIZE THE FOLKS WHO JUST FOUND VERY CREATIVE WAYS OF GETTING THE WORD OUT.
UM, AND SO THOSE ARE OUR HONOREES FOR THIS YEAR.
IT'S, IT'S ALL IN THE SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION.
WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES, BUT THIS YEAR, BECAUSE OF KIND OF THE NATURE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY, WE DECIDED TO FOCUS IN ON THIS.
AND, UM, AND WE'LL SEND MORE INFORMATION OUT VIA EMAIL ABOUT THE RECIPIENTS, BUT FOR NOW WE'VE JUST RELEASED, UH, THE NAMES NOW IN THE ANNUAL REPORT, I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH IT.
UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE KIND OF HIGHLIGHT.
AND, UM, I MENTIONED A COUPLE OF THESE, THE, THE, THE CELEBRATION PLUS THE, UH, THE REVIEW OR THE FEEDBACK SESSION ON THE RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK.
UH, WE PUBLISHED THE CANNED DASHBOARD.
WE LAND, WE LAUNCHED WEEKEND ATX WE, WE LAUNCHED THE PODCAST, UH, AND WE ESTABLISHED A CENTRAL TEXAS COLLECTIVE FOR RACIAL EQUITY.
SO WE STILL GOT A LOT DONE AND I WOULD STANDING RIGHT.
AND SO I WANT TO THANK OUR STAFF, CARLOS ANGELINA AND COMMUNITY COUNCIL, AND ALL THE FOLKS WHO HELPED US KIND OF PULL THIS OFF AND VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UM, WHAT, UH, WHAT, WHERE WE'RE GOING.
AND HERE'S A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON, UM, A LITTLE BIT, IT'S A LOT, BUT, UH, UH, WHAT WE'RE WANTING TO DO, SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY ENGAGED WITH RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, AND I DO THIS SO THAT I GIVE YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, YOU CAN REACH OUT AND SAY, I WANT TO BE KIND OF PULLED INTO THIS CONVERSATION OR TO THIS EFFORT.
UH, SO THE FIRST ONE, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY, RIGHT, FOR THOSE LOST, DURING THE PANDEMIC, UM, ON THE DATA SIDE AND RESEARCH.
AND I TALKED, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO GET ON OUR WEEKEND ATX SITE, UH, UH, ON THE
[00:35:01]
DATA PORTAL, UH, SOME INFORMATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND FAMILY VIOLENCE.SO WE'RE COLLABORATING WITH INTEGRAL CARE AND SAVE TO GET SOME OF THE DATA FROM THEIR HOTLINES.
AND SO WE CAN COMMUNICATE THAT, UM, AS A WAY OF HIGHLIGHTING THE NEEDS AND SEEING WHAT RESPONSE, UH, WE MIGHT GIVE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THESE ARE AREAS THAT YOU'VE HEARD ME SAY MULTIPLE TIMES MULTIPLE TIMES, THAT THESE ARE ISSUES THAT COME UP IN MANY CONVERSATIONS, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE FOCUS ALWAYS SHIFTS TO KIND OF THE HEALTH AS IN, YOU KNOW, ADDRESSING COVID ISSUES OR, UM, AND NOT ON KIND OF KEEPING THE LIGHT ON MENTAL HEALTH OR FAMILY VIOLENCE.
SO AS WE GET THIS INFORMATION, I THINK THERE'LL BE OPPORTUNITIES TO HOPEFULLY, UM, UH, FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY RESPONSE.
CAUSE THESE ISSUES, UM, ARE AT A HIGH LEVEL OR A HIGHER LEVEL THAN THEY HAVE BEEN.
AND, UM, THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE TO ADDRESS THIS AS PART OF THE RECOVERY, AS MUCH AS, UH, THE HEALTH ISSUES.
UM, ALSO ON SORT OF THE MENTAL HEALTH SIDE, WE'RE WORKING WITH INTEGRAL CARE AND MISSION CAPITAL IN ONE VOICE AND ABOUT HALF A DOZEN, AT LEAST OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, PUTTING TOGETHER SOME RESOURCES TO HELP NONPROFITS, UM, WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS, YOU KNOW, SUPPORTING THEIR STAFF, WORKING WITH CLIENTS WHO ARE GOING THROUGH VERY TRAUMATIC SITUATIONS.
UM, SO PUTTING TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, SOME TOOLS, RIGHT FOR NONPROFITS, UH, OUR COMMUNITY COUNCIL IS LOOKING AT THREE DIFFERENT AREAS, UM, THAT RELATE TO THE PANDEMICS OF FOOD, ACCESS, MENTAL HEALTH, AND HOUSING.
AND SO YOU'LL BE HEARING, AS NORA SAID, YOU'LL BE HEARING FROM THEM ON SOME SUGGESTIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS OR THINGS TO CONSIDER.
AND, UH, AND THEN I, MYSELF AM INVOLVED IN SORT OF RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY INVESTMENTS.
UM, NOT ON THE TASK FORCE, I'M ON ONE OF THE SUBCOMMITTEES, BUT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WELL, IF, IF WE HAVE SOME FUNDING TO SPEND DIFFERENTLY THAN WHAT'S OUR STRATEGY, RIGHT.
HOW TO, WHAT KIND OF DATA, OR WHAT INFORMATION DO WE USE TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE INVEST THE MONIES IN? HOW SO? I THINK THAT'S A VERY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION AND I THINK THERE'LL BE A LOT THAT WE LEARN FROM WHAT COMES OUT OF THOSE, UM, CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE KIND OF A SUBSET OF THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE RIGHT NOW.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, WE ESTABLISHED A LANGUAGE ACCESS FUND LAST YEAR.
AND SO THIS YEAR, THE IDEA IS TO KIND OF, UM, RAISE SOME FUNDS, RIGHT, USING THAT, UH, FUND THAT WE, UM, WE'LL ESTABLISH IF THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AND THAT THIS YEAR WE'LL BEGIN OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH, UH, KIND OF SPANISH SPEAKING COMMUNITIES AND BURMESE COMMUNITIES.
THOSE WERE THE, THE COMMUNITIES, OUR ACTION TEAM SELECTED TO, UM, DO, UM, FIRST ROUND OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WORK.
UM, AS IT WAS MENTIONED THIS YEAR, WE DO A REGIONAL SUMMIT.
UM, AND USUALLY WE DO THAT IN NOVEMBER, UH, TOBER, NOVEMBER, BUT USUALLY OCTOBER IS A BUSY MONTH, SO WE GET BUMPED TO NOVEMBER.
UH, BUT AGAIN, UM, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT, UH, UM, THE NEED TO ESTABLISH A PLANNING TEAM FOR THAT.
UM, SO AGAIN, WE NEED TO SELECT THE LOCATION AND WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PFLUGERVILLE BEING A POSSIBLE POSSIBLE HOST.
AND SO I NEED TO MEET WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER METAYER AND METAYER AND TREY AND FOLKS OVER THERE TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S, UH, THAT'S STILL A GO OR THERE, THERE IS AN INTEREST THERE AND THAT THEY KNOW KIND OF WHAT IT IS AND WHAT THE OBLIGATIONS MIGHT BE.
SO PLANNING TEAM, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY ESTABLISHING THAT IN THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO.
AND THEN FINALLY, UM, WE ARE STILL KIND OF BUILDING OUR CENTRAL TEXAS COLLECTIVE FOR RACIAL EQUITY, WHICH YOU MAY RECALL THAT WE ANNOUNCED THAT, UH, AT THE END OF LAST YEAR.
UM, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT DEVELOPING THE, THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, UH, IT'S A NEW COLLECTIVE, RIGHT? SO KIND OF DEFINING HOW THINGS ARE GOING TO WORK AND, UH, WHAT OUR STRATEGIES AND GOALS ARE, AND THEN IDENTIFY WELL WITH, THERE'S A FEW GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR DOING RACIAL EQUITY WORK.
AND SO HELPING CAUSE ZIKA WHO'S THE INTERIM DIRECTOR, UM, PURSUE SOME OF THOSE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES.
AND, UM, AND FOR ME, THIS IS KIND OF WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? I ALWAYS, AGAIN, FOR ME, IT'S LIKE, IT'S, IT'S OVERWHELMING, THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON.
I WAS LIKE TO KIND OF BOIL THINGS DOWN TO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN, RIGHT? WHAT ARE THESE NEW TOOLS, THIS WORK WE'RE DOING KIND OF, HOW DO WE LINK IT UP? BUT, UM, UM, AND I KEEP TALKING ABOUT OUR RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK AND WE, LIKE, I SPENT MOST OF LAST YEAR DEVELOPING IT AND WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S A RELIABLE TOOL, BUT THIS IS ONE REASON I WANTED TO KIND OF CONVEY HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'LL BE USEFUL ALONG WITH THE DASHBOARD IN TERMS OF PRIORITIZING ISSUES FOR CAN, RIGHT.
UM, WHEN WE HAVE OUR RETREAT, WE'LL HAVE BOTH THE CAN DASHBOARD AND THE RACE
[00:40:01]
EQUITY ACTION KIND OF FRAMEWORK TO DRAW FROM, UM, IN TERMS OF ENGAGING OUR COMMUNITY.I KNOW THERE'S BEEN, YOU KNOW, WHAT I'VE TRIED TO DO IS TRY TO BALANCE THE RESEARCH PIECE OR ARM OF A CAN WITH THE ENGAGEMENT PART.
AND SO WE'VE CREATED SOME TOOLS TO BETTER ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.
I THINK THE RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK IS GOING TO BE A GOOD, UH, ENGAGEMENT TOOL, UM, THAT WE CAN USE IN DIFFERENT, UM, WITH DIFFERENT AUDIENCES, INCLUDING, YOU KNOW, IN SCHOOLS TO, UH, CALL ATTENTION TO KIND OF RACE EQUITY NEEDS, UH, LOCALLY AND AS WELL AS WHO'S DOING WHAT AROUND THOSE RACE EQUITY NEEDS, UM, IN TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT, THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT BEHIND THE BEHIND THE WEEKEND ATX SIDE IS HOW DO WE STREAMLINE THE COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION ON A SMALL NUMBER OF ISSUES, UH, AND SO THAT WE CAN BETTER ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.
AND THE PODCAST AGAIN, WAS MEANT ALSO TO, UH, SERVE AS A TOOL TO LET PEOPLE KNOW HOW THEY CAN BECOME INVOLVED IN, UM, ALL OF THESE EFFORTS TO ADDRESS COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND FINALLY MAINTAINING THE FOCUS ON RACIAL EQUITY BY CREATING THE RACE EQUITY, COLLECTIVE, HAVING THE RACE EQUITY ACTION FRAMEWORK AND AN EQUITY BLOG, WE CAN HELP INFORM THE DIALOGUES THAT ARE HAPPENING HERE, UM, AROUND, UM, ALL OF THESE ISSUES.
BUT, UH, SO THIS IS SORT OF TO, TO KIND OF SUMMARIZE, SUMMARIZE HOW IT ALL FITS TOGETHER.
AND AGAIN, FOR ME, KIND OF WHERE WE'RE GOING AND HOW WE'RE KIND OF PIVOTING SO THAT WE CAN BE, UM, FOCUSED ON THE ENGAGEMENT PIECE, UM, EQUALLY WITH THE RESEARCH RESEARCH, RIGHT? AND THE REPORTING OR THE PUBLICATION OF REPORTS THAT WE'RE KNOWN FOR, RIGHT.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE KNOW US FOR THE ENGAGEMENT PART AS WELL.
AND, UM, AND I GUESS THAT'S IT.
SO THAT WAS PROBABLY LONGER THAN IT SHOULD BE, BUT, UH, I'LL TAKE A FEW QUESTIONS.
AND, UM, BEFORE WE GET INTO OUR REPORT OUTS OR SO YOU CAN CUT ME OFF WHEN IT'S, WELL, I'M JUST GOING TO SAY, I THINK THAT WE'LL HAVE, UM, TIME TO DISCUSS A LOT OF THIS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK THAT HE, THAT YOU JUST, THAT YOU JUST SHOWED US, BUT I JUST WANT TO CONGRATULATE THE CANNES STAFF ON DOING SUCH A PHENOMENAL JOB IN 2020 WHEN, UM, EVERYTHING WAS SORT OF SLOWED DOWN THE CAN STAFF WAS NOT SLOWED DOWN.
SO THANK YOU, CARLOS JULIANA AND REBEL, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
SO MANY OF THESE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT INITIATIVES.
UM, IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS I WOULD LIKE US TO KEEP MOVING IF POSSIBLE, JUST BECAUSE WE'D LIKE TO DO SORT OF, UM, GENERAL UPDATES, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE SMALL, UH, SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE UPDATES THAT WE GIVE IN THIS LARGER GROUP.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO GO AHEAD AND MOVE US FORWARD, UM, IN GETTING PARTNER UPDATES ON PANDEMIC RESPONSE, AND WE'LL GO BY BY GOAL AREA, IF THAT SOUNDS GOOD.
UM, STARTING WITH SAFETY, JUSTICE, AND ENGAGEMENT AND BASIC NEEDS, UM, I'D LIKE TO START WITH, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY AND I THINK JESSICA WAS GOING TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION I BELIEVE.
UM, SO I WAS LOOKING AT THE AGENDA AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT IS ON THE AGENDA.
WHAT I WAS ASKED TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON WAS THE FINANCE OUTLOOK.
AND, UM, SO I'M PREPARED TO DO THAT TODAY, IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE THAT.
UM, SO LET ME SHARE MY SCREEN.
OH, HOSTED HOST IS DISABLED, UH, SCREEN SHARING.
DO YOU MIND SHARING LETTING ME SHARE IT OR I CAN, I CAN FIGURE IT OUT.
IT SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE ACTIVE THEN.
AND SO LET'S MAKE SURE I GET THIS RIGHT.
AND YOU ALL CAN SEE MY PRESENTATION.
I HOPE AGAIN, I'M JESSICA RIO, I'M THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE FOR PLANNING AND BUDGET AT TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND THIS WILL BE LITERALLY A FIVE MINUTE UPDATE FROM THE FINANCIAL SIDE OF THINGS.
AND LET ME MAKE SURE I KNOW HOW TO GO FORWARD.
UM, I ACTUALLY UPDATED, UH, THIS BOARD IN SEPTEMBER.
AND SO THIS IS GOING TO BE JUST A QUICK SNAPSHOT OR UPDATE TO THAT SEPTEMBER DISCUSSION THAT WE HAD.
SO I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A CARES ACT FUNDING, UPDATE, UPDATE A LITTLE LOOK AT OUR, UM, FYI 20, 21 ADOPTED BUDGET, AND THEN SOME OF THE FISCAL CHALLENGES AHEAD.
HOPEFULLY IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PROVIDED IN SEPTEMBER, YOU'LL SEE THAT THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN IS THE UPDATE THAT I PROVIDED IN SEPTEMBER ALL EXCEPT THE BOTTOM TWO ROWS.
AND I'LL GET TO THAT IN A SECOND.
THE RIGHT SIDE HAS THE REVISIONS THAT WERE DONE IN THE FALL.
SO WHAT A COUPLE OF THINGS I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT AS YOU CAN SEE THE HHS
[00:45:01]
SUBTOTAL OF 15 MILLION WAS REDUCED TO ABOUT 13 MILLION, BUT THEN AGAIN, I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE LAST ROW THERE THAT, UH, WHERE WE MADE UP FOR THAT ON THE GENERAL FUND SIDE, UH, JUST A BROAD OVER VIEW.EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS, BUT LIKE TO PROVIDE THE CONTEXT, THE $61 MILLION WERE FUNDS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DIRECTLY TO TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO, UH, THESE WERE TO ASSIST WITH UNEXPECTED, UM, COVID RELATED, UM, ITEMS. AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY VERY CLOSELY MONITORING TO SEE IF THERE WILL BE ANY ADDITIONAL DOLLARS THAT COME DOWN TO THE AREA WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.
UH, A REMINDER THAT AT THE TIME WE WERE TOLD THAT ALL OF THESE FUNDS HAD TO BE EXPENDED BY DECEMBER 30TH, 2020.
SO WE WORKED UP A PLAN LAST SPRING IN SUMMER AND EXECUTED THAT PLAN AND MADE ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY WHERE NEEDED, UM, THE RENT AND MORTGAGE ASSISTANCE, AS YOU CAN TELL, WAS ORIGINALLY BUDGETED AT 10 MILLION.
IT WAS REDUCED BASED ON EXPENDITURE PROJECTIONS OUT TO DECEMBER 30TH.
UM, AND SOME OF THOSE FUNDS WERE THEN MOVED.
I THINK ABOUT 540,000 WERE MOVED TO THE T CTX SERVE NONPROFIT ASSISTANCE.
AND THEN THE REMAINING NUMBER WERE MOVED TO THE GENERAL, UM, UH, COUNTY RESPONSE OR DIRECT RESPONSE.
HOWEVER, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT WAS VERY CLEAR TOO, ON THE GENERAL FUND SIDE, MAKE AN EARMARK TO, UH, CLOSELY APPROXIMATE THAT, THAT ORIGINAL INTENT OF THOSE DOLLARS.
UM, AND I ALSO WANT TO NOTE THAT THE, UM, W WE HAVE RECEIVED ANOTHER GRANT OF 10 MILLION, 10.6 MILLION, UM, FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ON RENTAL ASSISTANCE THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH RIGHT NOW TO, TO SET UP AND MAKE SURE THAT, THAT THOSE DOLLARS GO INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, THE CCTX THRIVE PROGRAM WAS DONE THROUGH MY OFFICE, THE PLANNING AND BUDGET OFFICE THROUGH THE ETSY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS PROGRAM.
UH, AND THAT IS FINISHING OUT RIGHT NOW.
I KNOW THAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY THIS WEEK, WE'RE, WE'RE HOPING TO COMPLETE THE PROGRAM AND, AND PAY THE LAST OF THE INVOICES.
THE SMALL CITIES ASSISTANCE PROGRAM WAS BUDGETED AT 7.3 MILLION.
IT ENDED UP BEING ABOUT 6.1 MILLION.
THERE WERE SOME SMALL CITIES THAT DID NOT PARTICIPATE, UM, PARTICIPATE.
UM, AND THEN AS THE INVOICES CAME IN, THAT'S WHERE IT ENDED UP THAT COUNTY DIRECT RESPONSE.
AS I STATED EARLIER, WAS ORIGINAL BUDGET OF 20 MILLION.
IT DID GO UP A LITTLE BIT, BUT AGAIN, MOST OF THOSE FUNDS THAT WERE ALLOCATED AFTER WERE THEN EARMARKED.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM, I TRIED TO HIGHLIGHT THE TOTAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
PROGRAMS WERE $15 MILLION ORIGINALLY, AND THEY WENT UP TO ALMOST $16 MILLION.
I'M NOT GOING TO GO OVER OUR TAX RATE, JUST WANTED YOU TO HAVE IT IN THE BACKUP.
UH, SO HERE IT IS OUR TAX RATE ON MNO SIDE AND THAT SERVICE AS IT COMPARES TO 2020, AND THEN THE TAX IMPACT, THE ONLY THING I'D LIKE TO NOTE ABOUT THIS IS THAT TRAVIS COUNTY REPRESENTS A LITTLE BIT UNDER 15% OF THE TOTAL TAX BILL IN THE AREA FOR THE AVERAGE TAXABLE HOMESTEAD.
AND IF THAT AVERAGE TAXABLE HOMESTEAD WERE TO LIVE WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN ACC DISTRICT CENTRAL HEALTH DISTRICT AND AISD DISTRICT, THEIR TOTAL BILL FROM US THIS 1,330, BUT THEIR TOTAL BILL FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR TAXES WAS, UH, NEARLY $9,000.
AND, UM, UH, THIS SLIDE IS MEANT TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT TO THE NEXT SLIDE THAT, UM, WE'LL GIVE YOU A LOT OF NUMBERS THAT WE WANTED TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT AROUND.
THAT MAIN THING I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR BEGINNING FUND BALANCE WENT UP BY ABOUT $58 MILLION, BUT THAT MOSTLY WAS BY DESIGN.
SO WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT IN MARCH, WE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT AND IN APRIL ADJUSTED AND MADE A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE COURT TOOK, UM, TO PASH FUND, EXCUSE ME, TO DEBT FUNDS, SOME PROJECTS THAT WE WERE ORIGINALLY GOING TO CASH FUND, SO THAT WE COULD SAFEGUARD $35 MILLION IN CASH IN THE EVENT, UH, TAKE YOU BACK TO WHAT IT'S LIKE BACK LAST MARCH AND APRIL.
WE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE WE WOULD BE FINANCIALLY.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAD CASH ON HAND.
AND, UM, WE ALSO IMPLEMENTED THE HIRING FREEZE, HAD A LOT OF OTHER EXPENDITURE FOR DECREASES THAT, OF COURSE ALSO ADDED TO THAT, THAT HEALTHY FUND BALANCE, UH, PROPERTY TAXES DID INCREASE MODESTLY, AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR OTHER REVENUE SOURCES DECREASED.
UM, AND I THINK THAT THE LAST BULLET POINT SAYS IT ALL ON THIS SLIDE, THE, THERE WAS AN OVERALL $3.9 MILLION INCREASE IN ONGOING REVENUE, NOT BEGINNING FUND BALANCES ONE TIME, BUT THERE WAS A $3.9 MILLION INCREASE IN ONGOING REVENUE.
AND THAT WAS, UH, REPRESENTS 0.5% AND HAS BEEN THE LOWEST IN THE LAST 20 YEARS.
AND THIS IS THAT CHART WITH ALL THE NUMBERS.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT TO ME.
[00:50:01]
HAPPY TO GO INTO IT FURTHER.UM, JUST WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE THAT WE'RE BEGINNING OUR BUDGET PROCESS LATER THAN WE USUALLY DO.
WE USUALLY, UH, GO TO COURT RIGHT AROUND VALENTINE'S RIGHT AROUND VALENTINE'S DAY.
WE ALWAYS JOKE THAT OUR GUIDELINES ARE AT COURT, UM, AS A VALENTINE'S GIFT TO OUR COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
AND THIS YEAR, THAT IS NOT THE CASE BECAUSE WE ARE REALLY WANTING TO HAVE AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE ON THOSE PROPERTY TAX RECEIPTS.
AND MAKING SURE THAT WE KNOW WHERE WE STAND FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE, UH, LOOKING TOWARDS FYI 20, 22, AS YOU KNOW, TRAVIS COUNTY STOOD UP A NEW PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE.
ISN'T IN THE PROCESS OF STANDING THAT OFFICE UP.
THAT'S A FOUR YEAR GRANT THAT ENDS IN MARCH 20, 24, AND A VERY SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
THEY ALSO HAVE SOME NEW FACILITIES THIS YEAR.
WE OPENED UP THE FEDERAL COURTHOUSE, UH, THAT HOLDS THE PROBATE COURT AND THAT HAD NEW COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
WELL, WE'RE ABOUT TO OPEN UP NORTH CAMPUS, WHICH WILL BE HOME TO HHS VETERANS SERVICES AND PART OF THE DISTRICT CLERK'S OFFICE, MAINLY THEIR JURY PASSPORT OFFICE.
THEY ALSO HAVE NEW PARKS ON THE HORIZON THAT WERE APPROVED BY VOTERS.
THAT'D BE CREEK SPORTS COMPLEX COMES TO MIND.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE SENATE BILL TWO AND, UH, COVID-19, WHICH CONTINUED TO LOOM LARGE FORCE.
AND I APOLOGIZE IF THEY WEREN'T QUITE IN THE RIGHT CONTEXT OF YOUR AGENDA, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I DO HAVE TO LEAVE RIGHT AT TWO.
SO I WON'T BE AROUND MUCH LONGER, BUT THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AND LET ME SEE HOW I UNSHARE MY SCREEN.
THANK YOU, JESSICA KNOW, WE WERE, WE APPRECIATE THE OVERVIEW AND ABSOLUTELY WE'LL REACH OUT TO YOU WITH QUESTIONS.
IF I MAY, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I'VE WORKED IN GOVERNMENT FOR ALMOST 40 YEARS, AND I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE AN EXPERIENCED BUDGET AND FINANCE STAFF THAT HAS GONE THROUGH EMERGENCIES BEFORE AND HAS THE BANDWIDTH TO MAKE CONSTRUCTIVE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THAT GUARANTEE THE COMMUNITY, THE STABILITY THAT IT NEEDS DURING CRISIS AND WITHOUT JESSICA AND HER TEAM, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY WOULD BE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE.
THEY ARE THE BEST AT WHAT THEY DO, AND I APPRECIATE THEM EVERY YEAR.
AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT PUBLICLY.
WE APPRECIATE THAT THE INSIGHT.
MOVING ON TO COMMUNITY JUSTICE, COUNCIL THAT'S COUNTY ATTORNEY GARZA, I WAS NOT AWARE I WAS MAKING ANY PRESENTATION.
DATE ON, ON ANY KIND OF, UH, PANDEMIC RESPONSE FROM COMMUNITY JUSTICE COUNCIL.
UM, ANYTHING WE NEED TO KNOW? UM, I GUESS MY FIRST QUESTION IS WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY JUSTICE COUNCIL AND WHO ARE THE MEMBERS? AND IT WAS THAT SENSE, WAS THAT SENSE IN THE, IN THE BACKUP ROLE? NO.
NO, BUT THERE'S A WHOLE LONG HISTORY ON THAT.
UH, BUT, UH, YEAH, BUT, BUT WE CAN, WE CAN VISIT ABOUT THAT, BUT REALLY WE'RE JUST ASKING PARTNERS.
IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SHARE ABOUT WHAT IT'S DOING TO RESPOND TO THE PANDEMIC, THEN, UH, UM, THAT'S AN OUT, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY AND THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY NO REQUIREMENT FOR ANYONE TO GO OUT, BUT, UH, BUT WE CAN TALK, I CAN SHARE, I CAN SHARE SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UM, THAT I BELIEVE IS, I MEAN, NOT ONLY IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, BUT WILL HELP WITH, UM, I THINK MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE OF THE COVID CASES IN THE JAIL AND, UM, IN AN EFFORT TO JUST GENERALLY AND BROADLY REDUCE OUR JAIL POPULATION, BECAUSE WE KNOW ABOUT, UM, FRANKLY RACIAL BIAS IN OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AND HOW COMMUNITIES OF COLOR ARE, UM, MORE LIKELY TO GET PULLED OVER, TO GET SEARCHED, TO END THAN TO GET ARRESTED.
AND THEN, AND THEN COMMUNITIES OF COLORS THAT Y'ALL ARE ALL VERY AWARE OF THIS, THAT THEY ARE ALSO GIVEN LONGER SENTENCES THAN, UM, THAN THEIR WHITE COUNTERPARTS.
AND SO, UM, WE ARE REALLY WORKING HARD TO END DIRECT FILE, WHICH IS THE PROCESS HERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY WHERE, UH, POLICE OFFICERS BASICALLY GET TO, UM, FILE THE INITIAL CHARGE BEFORE SOMEONE IS MAGISTRATED.
AND I DON'T WANT TO GET TOO MUCH IN THE WEEDS CAUSE I DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME I HAVE HERE, BUT JUST BASICALLY I THINK WE'VE MADE A LOT OF GREAT PROGRESS.
WE HAVE MET WITH THE SHERIFF TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE STATE CAN BE REPRESENTED.
UM, HAD GREAT CONVERSATIONS WITH JUDGE STATMAN.
THE, UM, THE MUNICIPAL JUDGES ARE THE ONES THAT MAGISTRATE PEOPLE, WHICH IS THE PROCESS OF DETERMINING THEIR BAIL AND THE CHARGE AND DETERMINE
[00:55:01]
IF THERE'S PROBABLE CAUSE.UM, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL TO LITERALLY BE GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR BECAUSE UNFORTUNATELY THE PROCESS ISN'T, UM, DIGITIZED RIGHT NOW, UH, WE WILL LITERALLY BE GOING INTO THE COURTHOUSE ON MARCH 1ST TO GET PIECES OF PAPER, UM, AND, AND BEING ABLE TO REVIEW, UH, THE PROBABLE CAUSE AFFIDAVIT AND WE'LL HAVE POLICIES SOON ANNOUNCING POLICY SOON ABOUT, UH, CASES THAT WE WILL JUST START REJECTING.
UM, MANY OF THEM ARE JUST, UH, OFFENSES THAT REALLY CRIMINALIZE POVERTY AND, AND, UM, AND YOU KNOW, HOMELESSNESS.
AND SO, UM, THAT IN EFFECT WILL I BELIEVE REDUCE THE JAIL POPULATION, WHICH WE SHOULD ALL BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHEN, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CASES OF COVID IN THERE.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONE I CAN THINK OF NOW, BUT, UM, UM, YEAH, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT EFFORT.
WE APPRECIATE THE UPDATE, UM, UH, THAT ACTUALLY A VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE AND THAT ACTUALLY HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT, WHAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE AS A TEAM AS WELL.
UM, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THE CITY OF AUSTIN COUNCIL.
I BELIEVE THAT'S COUNCIL MEMBER, WHY THIS WE'RE GET TO PICK ON FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN IN THEIR NEW POSITION OR WHATEVER YOU WANT.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET YOU SOME FACETIME REALLY WELL.
I MEAN, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST A LITTLE PLUG IN TO WHAT YOU MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING.
WE ARE THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TRUST ORGANIZATION IS HAVING A TOWN HALL TONIGHT AT 6:00 PM TO GO OVER A STUDY THAT THEY'VE CONDUCTED AROUND COVID-19 IMPACT ON THE LATINO COMMUNITY.
UM, AND IT'S REALLY GREAT, UH, RAPPORT, AND IT HAS A LONG LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND MY OFFICE HAS BEEN IN TOUCH WITH OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.
AND SO, UM, I'LL BE PRESENTING TONIGHT ON EFFORTS BY OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT HAVE BUBBLED UP FROM THE CRT, UH, BUT ALSO TO SHARE, UM, THE CITY OF BOSTON'S COMMITMENT TO OF COURSE BE DOING MORE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE PANDEMIC HAS NOT AFFECTED EVERYONE EQUALLY AND THAT OUR BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES CONTINUE TO BEAR THE BRUNT OF THE VIRUS AND WE'RE SEEING IT PLAY OUT WITH THE ACCESS TO THE VACCINE.
UM, SO PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE TIME TONIGHT, YOU KNOW, TUNE IN, BE PART OF THE DISCUSSION, DO YOU HAVE IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT MORE WE CAN BE DOING? UM, PLEASE LET US KNOW AS SURE YOU ALL KNOW RIGHT NOW IT'S A, IT'S AN ISSUE OF JUST NOT HAVING ENOUGH SUPPLY.
AND SO WE'RE ANXIOUSLY AWAITING TO GET MORE VACCINES INTO THE COMMUNITY.
UH, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY FOR WHEN WE DO HAVE THE DOSES AVAILABLE AND THEN WHEN WE CAN HAVE THE MASS VACCINE SITES GOING.
SO THAT IS, UM, I THINK THE BIG UPDATE FOR NOW, AND I HOPE TO HAVE MORE CONTENT TO SHARE THE NEXT MEETING IF I COULD COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE.
YOU'VE CERTAINLY HIT THE GROUND RUNNING.
AND, AND WE APPRECIATE THAT, UH, AS, AS WELL AS OUR ILLUSTRIOUS COUNTY ATTORNEY, UH, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH BOTH OF YOUR OFFICES MORE, UH, BUT, UM, AS IT RELATES TO, UM, VACCINE DISTRIBUTION, UH, WE HAVE AT THE NAACP, UH, BEEN WORKING, UH, WITH MAYORS AND COUNTY JUDGES AROUND THE STATE.
AND I THINK THAT NUMBER IS 33 NOW, BUT WE HAVE BEEN ASKING THAT THE VACCINE BE DISTRIBUTED AS CARES DOLLARS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO JURISDICTIONS WITH MORE THAN 500,000 MEMBERS, BECAUSE THERE IS SUCH ANIMUS BETWEEN THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, AND ULTIMATELY TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, THAT, THAT WE THINK THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE AN EFFORT MADE, UH, TO MAKE A STATEMENT THAT WHETHER WE LIKE EACH OTHER OR NOT, THIS IS NOT PERSONAL IT'S BUSINESS, AND WE NEED TO BE ABOUT THE BUSINESS BUSINESS OF TAKING CARE OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
SO I HOPE THAT AT SOME POINT WE CAN, UH, CAN WORK TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY TO SAY, UH, THIS IS AN ALL RIGHT, WE ARE GOING TO SIT FORWARD.
AND IF, IF YOU CAN'T DISTRIBUTE EQUITABLY, THEN LET US WORK THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND LEAVE THE STATE OUT.
COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE COUNCIL MEMBER MET HERE.
I SEE WHERE THAT THE PICKING LINE GOES FROM.
UM, YOU KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, JUST HEARING WHAT, UM, OUR COUNTY ATTORNEY HAD TO SAY
[01:00:01]
OR A COUNCIL MEMBER FROM AUSTIN, AND OBVIOUSLY YOU GUYS KNOW MY RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMISSIONER.HE'S ONE OF MY MENTORS AND CLOSE FRIENDS FOR DECADES ON END HERE.
I DO WANT TO ILLUSTRATE SOMETHING ABOUT HOW I AM PROUD ABOUT HOW THINGS WERE HERE AT LEAST.
SO I THINK A PERFECT ILLUSTRATION IS THAT, UH, WE KEEP LET'S USE THE VACCINE ROLLOUT.
SO W YOU KNOW, IT WAS LATE DECEMBER.
UM, MANY OF US SAW, UH, SHOCKED, SLOW JACK'S ANGER, FRUSTRATED TO SEE THE DISPROPORTIONATE EFFECT OF WHERE THE VACCINE WAS BEING ROLLED OUT ON THE WEST SIDE OF 35, AS OPPOSED TO THE EAST SIDE OF 35.
AND, YOU KNOW, TO BE FRANK MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, WHEN WE JUMPED INTO THESE CONVERSATIONS, WE'RE THINKING TO OURSELVES, OKAY, THERE MUST BE SOMEONE MALEVOLENT, THERE MUST BE SOME SORT OF SERIOUS MANIACAL ISSUE.
WE KNOW THERE'S A TUPAC AND BIGGIE BATTLE BETWEEN, UM, THE GOVERNOR AS WELL, YOU KNOW, WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND, YOU KNOW, AND WE'RE ALL CAUGHT IN BETWEEN ESSENTIALLY REGARDING ALL THOSE ACTIONS WITH THAT AS WELL.
SO OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE THINKING, OKAY, THERE'S SOMETHING NEFARIOUS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN HERE AFTER SITTING DOWN WITH, AND SOMEONE WHO WE HAVEN'T MENTIONED YET, AND SHE NEEDS TO GET A TON OF CREDIT IS STEPHANIE HAYDEN AND WHAT SHE'S DONE OVER AT APH, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN ASTOUNDING AND, AND SITTING AFTER SITTING DOWN WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, DIRECTOR HAYDEN, UM, SPEAKING TO SOME OF OUR PARTNERS OVER AT, UM, SEEDING THE CENTURY, SPEAKING TO CRT, UM, VANESSA, I LOVE YOU BRINGING THEM UP BECAUSE THEY ARE HAVING, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PEOPLE DOING WORK ON THE GROUND AND MAKING TRUE CHANGE, THAT'S WHAT SIERRA T'S DOING.
I MEAN, IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONER HAD BEEN INVOLVED IN THEIR MEETINGS SOMETIMES OVER THIS PANDEMIC AND THEY ARE MAKING SERIOUS CHANGE.
IT'S JUST AWESOME TO SEE PEOPLE EMPOWERED TO GO AHEAD AND DO THESE THINGS.
DO YOU THINK THAT WE'LL SEE YOUR TWO FOLKS AND HAVING A CONVERSATION AND THEN SITTING AS COMMISSIONER WITH OUR STATE REP, CHERYL COLE, UM, UH, PRESENT ONE, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED TO HARPER, MADISON, MAYOR, WALLACE, UM, AND MYSELF, AND HAVING AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT WE'RE GOING ON HERE.
WE ATTACK THIS FROM A LEVEL THAT WE SAW THAT, HEY, WAIT A MINUTE.
WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE IS WHAT WE IDENTIFY TRULY AS SYSTEMIC RACISM, BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE OUT THERE TWIRLING THEIR MUSTACHE ON SCREWING BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE.
AND THIS IS WHY, YOU KNOW, IS WHY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ROLLING OUT THE VACCINE THE WAY IT DID, BUT THE WAY THE VACCINE WAS ROLLED OUT FROM DISHES, FROM THE DSHS, FROM THE STATE LEVELS, THIS, THEY HAVE PARTNERS THAT THEY'VE HAD FOR TRADITIONS FOR DECADES ON END, LIKE HEB, LIKE WALGREENS, CVS, AND ALL THESE SPECIFIC AREAS, DOCTORS, OFFICES, ALL THESE PLACES WHERE THEY'RE LIKE, OKAY, LISTEN, WE NEED TO GET THIS UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD.
WE HAVE THIS RFP, WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND LET YOU GUYS HAVE THIS VACCINE.
YOU ROLLED THE VACCINES IN YOUR SPECIFIC AREAS, WHAT THEY FAIL TO REALIZE AND HAVING THAT CONVERSATION AS WAIT A MINUTE.
WHAT ABOUT PLACES THAT ARE FOOD DESERTS? WHAT ABOUT PLACES THAT DON'T HAVE DOCTOR'S OFFICES? WHAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO CARRY NOTES WITH YOURS? HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET IT OUT FROM THERE? AND AS WE'VE SAID WITH COVID-19 WHAT IT IS, IT DIDN'T BRING THESE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE HERE.
ALL OF THIS IS AN X-RAY OF OUR SOCIETY AND SHOW.
THESE ACTUALLY SAID, EXCEPT FOR GENERATIONS AFTER GENERATIONS.
AND THAT RIGHT THERE WAS A MICROCOSM OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE AND WORK FROM THERE AS WELL.
SO I'M PROUD TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING WHEN WE'RE HAVING THESE HUGE VACCINE, UM, YOU KNOW, AREAS, CLINICS, MILLENNIUM, THOSE ARE THE PLACES BEING UTILIZED.
I'M PROUD TO SEE THIS LOOKING AT CHURCHES TO BUILD A UTILIZE FOR THAT AS WELL.
I MEAN, HERE AT PFLUGERVILLE, WE'RE USING OUR REC CENTER AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, REGIONAL REC CENTER.
WE USED SOME OF THE PARTNERS TO GO AHEAD AND GET THESE OUTS AND, AND BROAD QUANTITIES AND, YOU KNOW, FIRE DEPARTMENTS AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS, CAUSE SCHOOLS, SCHOOLS ARE IN THESE NEIGHBORHOODS AND DOING THAT.
I'M ALSO PROUD, YOU KNOW, TO BE FRANK OF OUR BLACK LEADERS IN THIS ASPECT, WE CAME TOGETHER TO GO AHEAD AND PUT TOGETHER PSA'S TO GO AND TALK TO THEM ANY, BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT'S MORE FUN TO I IS THAT IT'S NOT JUST GETTING SHOTS AND ARTS.
THERE ARE PEOPLE, AND THERE'S TRUE REASONS WHY BLACK AND BROWN PEOPLE DO DISTRUST.
WHAT'S HAPPENED WITH THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY IN THIS COUNTRY BASED ON WHAT THEY'VE SEEN BEFORE THERE AS WELL, AND TRYING TO GET THEM TO ACTUALLY BE A PART OF THE PROCESS, TRULY GO AHEAD AND ADD SOME STILLS FOR VACCINES.
THAT'S BEEN AN ISSUE THAT CONTINUES TO BE AN ISSUE.
AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE LEADERS IN PLACES OF POSITION OF POWER, WHO ARE TRUSTWORTHY, PASTORS LEADERS, YOU KNOW, ELECTED OFFICIALS, OTHER FOLKS WHO, WHO ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO TALK TO THESE COMMUNITIES AND SAY, HEY, LISTEN, I GET IT.
BUT IF WE'RE TRULY TRYING TO USE ALL THE TOOLS IN OUR TOOL SETS TO GET THINGS DONE, THEN WE HAVE TO GO AHEAD AND, AND PARTICIPATE IN INTAKE.
THIS VACCINATION RIGHT THERE AS WELL.
AND IT JUST SHOWS THAT WE'RE DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT HERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE GENERAL AREA WE'RE GETTING ALONG WITH IT AS WELL.
LIKE I SAID BEFORE, BEFORE A MEETING STARTED AT WHAT I LOVE ABOUT CAMP IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS AT A REGIONAL LEVEL.
I LOVE THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY SPREADING OUT BECAUSE LET'S BE HONEST.
THE DIASPORA HAS CHANGED OUR WHOLE DIRECTOR OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO IN OUR RELATIONSHIP IS I JUST BROUGHT IN THE REGION AND IT'S GOING TO BE EATING FURTHER RELIANCE ON ONE ANOTHER AND WHAT WE DO AND HOW WE DO ABOUT THINGS.
SO, YOU KNOW, OFTENTIMES WE COME HERE AND WE TALK ABOUT, MAN, THIS SUCKS.
I GOTTA SAY, I'M PRETTY PROUD.
CAUSE I STARTED, YOU KNOW, DECEMBER 31ST HARLEY WHEN ANGRY ABOUT A LOT OF DIFFERENT ISSUES.
[01:05:01]
TAKE THEIR TIME, TAKE THEIR EFFORTS AND WORKING TOGETHER EFFORTS AND WORKING TOGETHER TO TRY TO MAKE TRUE CHANGES ON ISSUES IS PRETTY PROUD.AND I'LL GIVE DISHES A LOT OF CREDIT, HELLA STEAD CAME OUT AND HE SAID HE WANTS EQUITY TO BE PART OF THE MAIN REASONS WHEN HE ROLLS OUT THESE VACCINATIONS.
EVEN NOW WE DID SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN DALLAS, WITHIN THE CITY OF DALLAS, THEY TRY TO DO EQUITY, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.
WHEN DID HE SAY, I DON'T KNOW IF I JUST SAID THAT PUBLICLY.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S THE KIND OF THINGS THAT THIS ORGANIZATION HAS.
IT BRINGS US ALL TOGETHER TO HEAR WHAT EVERYONE'S DOING, PLAY OFF ONE ANOTHER AND TRY TO WORK ON THESE THINGS.
SO I'M PRETTY PROUD ABOUT THAT.
AND THE CITY, AS WE SAID, WE HAVE, WE'RE ALWAYS TOP THREE IN COVID COUNTS.
AND WE'VE HAD LITERALLY FROM THE START SEVEN, EIGHT, SIX, SIX ZERO TO NOW.
SO IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE RESOURCES, IDEAS TO PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE COUNTIES, KARMA, MRES, CENTRAL HEALTH COMMUNITY, UM, COMMUNITY CARE AND OTHER FOLKS OVER AT LONE STAR CIRCLE OF CARE, COMING IN TO GO AND DO THESE THINGS RIGHT THERE.
BUT WE COULDN'T DO THIS IF WE'RE DOING THIS IN A VACUUM AND I REALLY WANNA APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU PARTNERS OVER THERE AS WELL.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, SEEING ERIC BLUE STRESS AND CAP METRO STARTING UP HERE NEXT MONTH AND TRYING TO GET AHEAD AND GET SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO SEE FROM THAT LEVEL TOO.
AND YOU JUST SET THAT UP PERFECTLY BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO ASK ERIC ABOUT CAMP METRO AND, AND, AND WHAT'S GOING ON THERE.
JUST TO, TO EVERYONE KNOWS IT ALREADY IS ALREADY IS TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN OUT IN PFLUGERVILLE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, UM, DOING A TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT, UH, PROGRAM PROCESS AND THAT IT CULMINATED AND WE APPROVED OR COUNCIL AND OUR BOARD APPROVED AN ILA BACK BACK IN THE FALL.
AND SO WE'LL BE LAUNCHING, UH, OUR PICKUP SERVICE AND SOME PARTS OF PFLUGERVILLE, UH, NEXT MONTH.
AND WE'RE ALL REALLY EXCITED ABOUT, ABOUT THAT BEING BACK IN THE PFLUGERVILLE AREA.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, UH, KIND OF BRINGING IT BACK TO OUR TOPIC IN VACCINES SOMETHING AND TO RUDY'S POINT SOMETHING I COULD USE, EVERYONE'S HELP WITH THEIR CAP.
METRO COULD USE EVERYONE'S HELP WITH THIS.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE STARTED, UM, UH, VACCINE ACCESS PROGRAM.
WE'RE OFFERING COMPLIMENTARY CURB TO CURB, UH, SERVICE TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO GET THEIR VACCINE.
UH, AND SO I'M GOING TO DROP THAT LINK, UM, TO THAT WEBPAGE AND THE CHAT, BUT I'M ALSO GOING TO SEND RAUL, YOU KNOW, OUR FLYER AND ALL OUR MATERIALS, SO HE CAN SEND OUT TO THE GROUP BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY NEED HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT ON THAT.
UM, SO THAT PEOPLE CAN, CAN MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A RIDE TO GET THEIR VACCINE ONCE THEY HAVE THEIR APPOINTMENT.
AND THEY GET, GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT.
SO I'M GOING TO DROP THAT IN THE CHAT WE ARE PROVIDING THAT, THAT SERVICE TO FOLKS.
UM, AND SO HOPEFULLY PEOPLE WILL TAKE ADVANTAGE.
AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS.
WE APPRECIATE IT AND ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UH, I KNOW, UH, I KNOW, I KNOW THOSE OF US UP NORTH ARE VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS, THIS NEW LINE.
UM, I ASKED SIMONE, ARE YOU STILL HERE? YES, I'M HERE JUST TRYING TO UNMUTE MYSELF.
SO I, I ACT, I MEAN, WE CONTINUE BEING REMOTE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN THIS SITUATION, I WOULD SAY ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS THAT WE FACE IS RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
WE HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF WORK, UM, IN PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR, UM, REFUGEE FAMILY IS TO, UM, CONTINUE TO LIVE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND RENT IS NOT CHEAP AS YOU KNOW, SO IT IT'S A CONTINUOUS NEED.
AND AGAIN, WITH FOOD, UM, JUST PROVIDE ANOTHER ADDITIONAL, UM, BASIC NEEDS SUPPORTS THAT IS CONTINUOUS.
AND WE DON'T SEE ANY LETTING UP ON THAT IN THIS YEAR, ESPECIALLY AS WE CONTINUE TO.
UM, I MEAN, RIGHT NOW WE, IN THE HEIGHT OF COVID, I MEAN, WE ARE HAVING MORE EXTREME MEASURES TO STAY HOME OR NOT COME, COME OUT AS MUCH.
UM, WE CAN, OF COURSE THIS YEAR, WE DON'T, WE DON'T SEE OURSELVES COMING BACK TOGETHER IN GROUPS UNTIL NEXT YEAR IN 2022.
SO THAT MEANS THAT, AGAIN, JUST NAVIGATING THIS, I WILL I'LL WORK WORKING REMOTELY WITH PEOPLE AND JUST HELPING THEM BE, GET THE SUPPORT AS FAR AS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE THINGS CONTINUE AND, AND AS WE GO INTO IT, YES, THINGS ARE MOVING SMOOTHER, BUT THE ONES THAT WE'RE FALLING BEHIND THAT NEED THAT EXTRA SUPPORT AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THAT IS SHOWING UP MORE.
[01:10:01]
SO IT'S JUST, I'M POOLING RESOURCES AGAIN.UM, THIS IS, UH, A LOT OF WORK.
IT'S NOT AN EASY FIX AND WE JUST CONTINUE TO NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND, AND IT JUST TAKES SO MUCH LONGER TO DO EVERYTHING.
AND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES.
AND, UH, AND AGAIN, AND, AND, AND JUST FOR ALL PEOPLE WORKING IN THIS SPACE, JUST HAVING COMPASSION, HAVING GRACE, HAVING, UM, UH, UNDERSTANDING THAT, THAT WE NEED ALL NEED SUPPORT AND WE ALL NEED TEXT AND COMPASSION ON EACH OTHER, AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE AT.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE DAVID SMITH UNITED WAY, OR ARE WE BEHIND? WE ARE, BUT WE'RE GONNA CHANGE THE SCOPE OF OUR BREAKOUT.
I THINK THAT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, FOR ALL OF OUR PARTNERS, TO BE ABLE TO SHARE WIDELY ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON SINCE IT'S OUR FIRST MEETING.
I, I WANNA, I WANNA RESPECT EVERYBODY'S TIME AND, UH, THANKS.
IT'S GREAT TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS.
YOU ALL HAVE HEARD ME ALREADY TALK ABOUT ALTOGETHER ATX IF WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT OUR, WHAT WE'VE DONE DURING PANDEMIC AND COVID.
SO I WON'T, I WON'T GO INTO THAT TOO MUCH, UH, REALLY PROUD OF THE COMMUNITY AND COMING TOGETHER AROUND THAT, UM, AND ST DAVID'S WAS A BIG FOUNDATION, WAS A BIG CONTRIBUTING PARTNER FOR THAT IN ADDITION TO THEIR ALREADY INCREDIBLE, UH, COVID RELIEF WORK.
UM, BUT WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO, WITH THE SUPPORT OF MANY OF YOU, INCLUDING COUNTY ATTORNEY GARZA, THANK YOU, UH, ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE AN ADDITIONAL $5 MILLION CHURCH CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
AND HONESTLY, THAT SAVED MANY OF THEM.
UM, I THINK PROBABLY THIS GROUP IS SO WELL-INFORMED, YOU ALL KNOW, 800,000 WOMEN HAVE LEFT THE WORKFORCE SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN.
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON THEY GAVE WHEN ASKED WHY WAS LACK OF CHILDCARE.
SO THIS WAS A REALLY VISIONARY RESPONSE, REALLY TALK ABOUT BEING PROUD OF, OF OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, THIS, WE SHOULD ALL BE PROUD THAT OUR CITY STEPPED UP AND PROVIDED THIS VISIONARY RESPONSE, UM, WHICH ALLOWED A LOT OF SINGLE MOMS TO STAY IN THE WORKFORCE, GIVING THEIR FAMILIES FINANCIAL STABILITY.
THE MAIN THING I REALLY WANTED TO MENTION IS SOMETHING THAT WE AT UNITED WAY STARTED RIGHT AS COVID HIT.
AND SO IT HAD BEEN OVER A YEAR IN THE PLANNING, BUT, BUT WE JUST SO HAPPEN TO BE STARTING AT RIGHT AS COVID HIT.
AND THE PANDEMIC REALLY ACCELERATED BOTH THE NEED AND THE USAGE.
AND THIS IS CONNECT ATX, WHICH IS AN ONLINE NAVIGATION PLATFORM, KIND OF A COMPLIMENT TO TWO, ONE, ONE THAT OFFERS THE OPTION TO COMPLETE A NEEDS SURVEY THAT PROACTIVELY ASSESSES MULTIPLE NEEDS AND OFFERS A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO CONNECTING PEOPLE IN NEED WITH PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES.
UM, IT'S WE DO THAT THROUGH A CLOSED LOOP REFERRAL PROCESS, MEANING WE CAN FOLLOW UP AND ENSURE THAT NEEDS ARE MET.
AND MAYBE MOST IMPORTANTLY, SINCE, SINCE DATA IS THE NEW OIL CAN COLLECT LONGITUDINAL DATA ON CLIENT OUTCOMES.
SO THERE IS A HELPLINE FOR ANYBODY WHO, WHO IS UNABLE TO ACCESS OR NAVIGATE THE WEBSITE, ALONG WITH THE OPTIONS TO CHAT ONLINE WITH A PROFESSIONAL NAVIGATOR IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE WANTED FOREVER TWO AND ONE, AND ARE UNABLE TO DO BECAUSE OF OUR CONTRACT WITH HHSC.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE CONNECT ATX, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE RIGHT NOW IS JUST OVERWHELMED WITH, UM, INQUIRIES AROUND COVID, UH, UH, RESOURCES.
SO WE'RE DOING EMERGENCY FOOD, DISTRIBUTION SERVICES, CURBSIDE MEALS, TESTING SITES, MENTAL HEALTH ASSISTANCE, OF COURSE, VACCINATION INFORMATION, UM, AND MORE SO IS THIS ALL PART OF THE MODEL COMMUNITIES FRAMEWORK, WHICH IS A LOCALLY SUPPORTED BY THE MSDF, UM, UM, AND POWERED BY ANNE BERTHA.
SO WE'RE PROUD TO PARTNER WITH
UM, DAN, WITH MY VOICE, IF YOU'D LIKE TO, UM, I JUST WANT TO START OFF BY ALSO THANKING CITY AND COUNTY OFFICIALS FOR YOUR SUPPORT, UH, IN 2020 TO BRING ADDITIONAL FUNDING, UH, AND CARE SPENDING AND THE LIKE FOR, FOR THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, ONE VOICE CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON'T KNOW, IT'S, UH, A GROUP OF WHAT WAS 85 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, NONPROFIT EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS, UH, COMING TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
LAST YEAR, WE HAD A 50% INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP AND OUR MEMBERSHIP IS NOW LAST YEAR WAS AT 128 MEMBERS.
AND SO I THINK WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR NONPROFIT COMMUNITY IS
[01:15:01]
A LOT OF RESILIENCE.I THINK THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY PREVIOUSLY WAS MAYBE SEEN BY THE OUTSIDE AND MAYBE EVEN WITHIN ITSELF IS, YOU KNOW, THIS IS WHAT WE DO.
ARE WE CAPABLE OF INNOVATION? I THINK WE SHOWED THAT WE HAVE SHOWN A LOT OF INNOVATION AND CAN DO IN THE NONPROFIT WORLD.
THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SMALLER NONPROFITS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO SURVIVE, UM, BUT A GOOD MAJORITY, THANKS TO, YOU KNOW, THE SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO.
UH, AND THEN THE NEXT THING I WANT TO SAY IS WHEN I LOOK AT THE CAN ACTION PLAN FOR 2021, THERE'S JUST SO MUCH ALIGNMENT WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING AT ONE VOICE WITH THE EQUITY AND DIVERSITY WORK THAT SAMOAN IS CO-LEADING WITH ONE VOICE, WE'RE GONNA TRAIN UP OUR NONPROFITS, UH, AND PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR THEM AROUND THAT WORK.
UM, ALSO WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE MENTAL HEALTH, UH, SUPPORT OF THE PEOPLE WHO GIVE AND OFTEN HAVE COMPASSION, FATIGUE, UH, THE FACT THAT ROLE'S JUST WILLING TO PARTNER TO, TO HELP THE HELPERS I THINK IS, IS HUGE.
UM, AND THEN WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT REGIONAL ALIGNMENT, UM, ONE VOICE IS STARTING TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH SAN ANTONIO AND THE NON-PROFIT COUNCIL IN SAN ANTONIO ABOUT WAYS THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE IMMEDIATE BENEFITS ARE SOME OF THE SHARED BENEFITS THAT WE CAN HAVE FOR NONPROFIT EMPLOYEES, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT, RIGHT.
UM, BUT THEN ALSO WE'RE LOOKING AT ADVOCACY COALITIONS SO THAT WE CAN BRING THE NEEDS OF THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY TO THE STATE LEVEL IN A MORE EFFECTIVE WAY.
AND I THINK WE'RE LEARNING THAT JUST US ALONE AS AN AUSTIN NONPROFIT COMMUNITY, CAN'T DO IT ALONE.
AND SO WE'RE STARTING TO BRING SAN ANTONIO INTO THE MIX, UH, TO BRING THAT.
AND I'M JUST REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE INDIVIDUAL NONPROFIT PROVIDERS, PROVIDERS LIKE CENTRAL TEXAS FOOD BANK AND WHAT DEREK AND HIS TEAM ARE DOING OVER THERE.
UH, WITH SIMONE IS DOING WHAT THE, UM, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGENCIES, THE HOMELESS SERVICE PROVIDERS, EVERYBODY IS JUST DOING EVERYTHING THEY CAN, UH, TO DELIVER SERVICES TO THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA.
AND I'M SUPER PROUD OF OUR NONPROFITS AND A GRATEFUL OF CAN AS WELL.
UM, I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC, AND I'D LIKE TO START WITH TAMRA.
AND DO YOU MIND, I THINK YOU'VE GOT MY DECK, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME OUT.
UM, SO I, UH, HAVE A FULL DECK AND NOT A LOT OF TIME.
SO I'M GOING TO RUN THROUGH THIS REALLY QUICKLY AND YOU ALL HAVE A COPY OF THIS.
SO AS YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, FEEL FREE TO PING ME IN CASE YOU DON'T KNOW.
I WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, CAPITAL AREA STANDS FOR CONNECTING LOCAL PEOPLE TO LOCAL JOBS.
AND WHAT WE'VE SEEN AS WE HAVE GONE THROUGH COVID IS SOME AMAZING RESILIENCE AMONG OUR WORKFORCE, BUT WE'RE ALSO SEEING THAT COVID HAS SHOWN A LIGHT ON THE INEQUITIES THAT EXISTED IN OUR COMMUNITY EVEN BEFORE COVID.
SO I WOULD SAY, UH, AN UNFORTUNATE DITTO TO WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID BEFORE ME.
UM, I WILL ALSO GO AHEAD AND GIVE YOU MY HEADLINE FIRST, WHICH IS WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS HAS OPPORTUNITIES, AND WE'D LOVE YOUR HELP GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT OUR ABILITY TO HELP PEOPLE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THAT.
SO IF WE COULD QUICKLY MOVE TO THE NEXT SCREEN, NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS IS A, THIS IS A SLIDE THAT JUST KIND OF TRIES TO ENCAPSULATE IN ONE SLIDE.
THE, THE IMPACT THAT WE'VE SEEN FROM A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT JOBS PERSPECTIVE, SOME OF THE HEADLINES ARE THAT WE ARE SEEING THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE YOUNGER, UH, WHO HAVE, UH, THE LOWEST LEVELS OF EDUCATION AND WHO HAD THE LEAST TO LOSE IN THE FIRST PLACE ARE THOSE WHO ARE DISPROPORTIONALLY IMPACTED FROM AN EMPLOYMENT JOBS PERSPECTIVE.
WE ALSO CAN SEE FROM LOOKING AT THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DATA, THAT 37% OF OUR WORKERS ARE JOBLESS CLAIMANTS HAVE COME FROM SPECIFIC FORMER FACE-TO-FACE INDUSTRIES THAT ARE SLOW TO RECOVER AS A RESULT OF THE PANDEMIC.
IF THEY COME BACK AT ALL, WE ALSO LOOK AT, UH, WHO IS BEING IMPACTED BY UNEMPLOYMENT.
WE SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, AS OF THE LAST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, 8.1% OF OUR, UH, INDIVIDUALS, UH, WHO ARE BLACK IN OUR COMMUNITY, 5.7 HISPANIC, UH, IS THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE COMPARED TO THE 5.1.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF HURT ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, WE KNOW THAT, UH, ALL IN, SINCE COVID 106,
[01:20:06]
COVID 167,000 PEOPLE HAVE APPLIED FOR JOBLESS BENEFITS, UH, AS A RESULT OF CHANGES AND, UM, THE STRUCTURE, UH, OUT OF DC, WE KNOW THAT THERE IS ADDITIONAL WEEKLY ASSISTANCE COMING TO MANY OF OUR UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS AND NEIGHBORS.UM, AT THE SAME TIME, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
AND AS WE LOOK AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS IN OUR ABILITY TO RESPOND, WE KNOW OVERALL THAT OUR RESOURCES TO DO SO, AT LEAST FROM A FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE, UNFORTUNATELY, WERE CUT IN, IN PART BECAUSE WE WERE ALMOST A VICTIM OF OUR OWN PREVIOUS ECONOMIC SUCCESS BEFORE COVID NEXT SLIDE.
AND I'LL JUST GO REALLY QUICKLY THROUGH A FEW OF THESE THINGS.
I WON'T GO INTO GREAT DETAIL, BUT WORK.
YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS VERY CLOSELY TRACKS WITH OUR FRIENDS AT THE AUSTIN CHAMBER AND WITHIN ALL OF THE CHAMBERS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WE'RE TRACKING WHERE THERE IS RECOVERY BY INDUSTRY SECTORS.
SO WE'RE LOOKING NOT ONLY AT SECTORS BUT JOBS, UH, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, REALLY WORKING TO, AGAIN, CONNECT OUR LOCAL RESIDENTS WITH THOSE LOCAL OPPORTUNITIES.
SO THIS, YOU CAN CALL THIS SLIDE, THE OPPORTUNITY SLIDE, UH, AND THAT IS WHEN WE LOOK AT THE DATA ON WHO'S BEEN IMPACTED IN COVID AGAIN, AS WE SEE 37% OF OUR RESIDENTS CAME FROM FORMER FACE-TO-FACE INDUSTRIES, BUT WHEN WE COMPARE IT TO WHERE THERE ARE STILL JOB OPPORTUNITIES NOW AND GROWING, WE SEE IT HEALTHCARE.
AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE IN JUST A MINUTE, WE'RE GOING TO SEE MANUFACTURING.
WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE INDUSTRY SECTORS THAT ARE STILL STRONG AND OPERATING GREAT MIDDLE-CLASS AND UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANY OF OUR RESIDENTS.
SO THERE IS A PATHWAY THAT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND TOGETHER WITH OUR COMMUNITY CAN HELP THEM.
SO WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS IS SO GRATEFUL FOR OUR BOARD MEMBERS, AND I KNOW LAUREN SLEIMAN, WHO IS A PART OF THIS MEETING TODAY IS ON OUR BOARD.
IT TAKES A PARTNERSHIP FROM OUR CITY COUNTY AND OUR BOARD MEMBERS.
THESE ARE JUST A FEW INDIVIDUALS WHO DO SERVE ON THE WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS BOARD, AND WE ASKED THEM, WHAT DO YOU SEE INTO THE FUTURE? AND SPECIFICALLY, AS THEY LOOK AT SKILLED TRADES IN MANUFACTURING, WE KNOW A TESLA COMING ONLINE.
WE KNOW WITH OTHER ADVANCES IN ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTRY MID-LEVEL AND UPPER MID-LEVEL GROWTH IS ONLY GOING TO CONTINUE TO INCREASE.
AND WE WANT TO HELP ALL OF OUR LOCAL NEIGHBORS HAVE THE SKILLS TO COMPETE FOR THOSE GOOD JOBS.
SO BY THEN, NUMBERS, I WON'T GO THROUGH THIS, BUT IF ANY OF YOU SHOULD BE ASKED, HOW HAS WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS RESPONDED IN? COVID ONE OF THE, OF, OF ALL OF THESE NUMBERS AND I'M PROUD OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM AND THE ENTIRE TEAM BEHIND IT.
I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT WE REALLY WORK HARD TO BE THAT HUMAN TOUCH BEHIND VIRTUAL HUMAN TOUCH, IF YOU WILL, BEHIND SO MANY OF OUR JOB LISTENING, OUR JOBLESS NEIGHBORS.
SO WE ENSURE THAT WE'VE, WE'VE GOT A PERSON ON THE END OF A PHONE OR AN EMAIL TO REALLY HELP AND SUPPORT OUR NEIGHBORS WHEN THEY'RE STRUGGLING AND OFFER THEM THAT VIRTUAL HELP TO THAT NEXT OPPORTUNITY, INCLUDING IF THEY'VE GOT QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW TO NAVIGATE THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE SYSTEM, UH, WHICH IS MANAGED THROUGH THE STATE, BUT WE KNOW WE CAN HAVE NEXT SLIDE.
SO THANKS IN GREAT, GREAT PART.
AND I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THIS TO OUR FRIENDS WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE ARE SO GRATEFUL TO BE IMPLEMENTING A SPECIFIC COVID RESPONSE FOR HELPING PEOPLE GET THE SKILLS TO QUALIFY FOR THESE JOBS.
AND AGAIN, THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY PHASE ONE, WE'RE ABLE TO TARGET 260 INDIVIDUALS FOR WHAT IS ADMITTEDLY, ONE OF THE MOST GENEROUS OFFERINGS WE'VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO OFFER TO PROVIDE SAFE VIRTUAL HYBRID WITH A STIPEND, INCLUDING CHILDCARE, IF PEOPLE NEED IT, INCLUDING A LEVEL OF PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT TO HELP PEOPLE GET EDUCATION THROUGH AUSTIN, COMMUNITY COLLEGE, GOODWILL, AND MANY OF OUR PARTNERS SO THAT THEY CAN GET ONTO A NEXT BETTER OPPORTUNITY.
SO DAVID SMITH'S SAID IT SO WELL, WE KNOW THAT SO MANY OF OUR FRIENDS, UH, AND OUR IN OUR, IN THE CHILDCARE INDUSTRY HAVE REALLY BEEN IMPACTED AS A RESULT OF COVID.
UH, WE HAVE BEEN AT WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, A PROUD PARTNER ALONG WITH UNITED WAY IN HELPING OUR, UH, HELPING OUR CHILDCARE COMMUNITY.
AND SO WE HAVE CONTINUED TO PROVIDE STABILIZATION GRANTS, INCREASED PAYMENTS TO THESE PROVIDERS AND SUPPORTED THE FAMILIES ALONG THE WAY SO THAT IT REALLY TAKES A VILLAGE TO SUPPORT THIS CRITICAL PART OF OUR ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE CHILDCARE.
NEXT SLIDE, ALMOST THERE, UH, JUST W YOU KNOW, WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS IS ALSO PROUD THAT OVERALL, WE LOOK AT ENSURING THAT PEOPLE ARE BETTER OFF AS A RESULT OF SERVICES THAT WE'VE
[01:25:01]
RECEIVED.SO WE LOOK AT PRE AND POST PROGRAM WAGES, AND WE'RE PROUD THAT AS A RESULT OF PEOPLE ENROLLING IN OUR PROGRAMS AND BEING SUPPORTED BY MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF THIS VERY COUNCIL, WE WERE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE OVER $400 MILLION IN TOTAL WAGES BACK INTO THE LOCAL ECONOMY.
SO THIS IS MONEY GOING TO PEOPLE'S HANDS TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES, THEIR FAMILIES, UH, THROUGH ECONOMIC PROSPERITY.
OR SOME OF THESE BY THE NUMBERS REWORK.
NOW THIS, AGAIN, GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE CITY AND COUNTY.
MANY OF THOSE WHO HAVE GRADUATED HAVE FOUND JOBS, AND WE ARE WE'RE TRACKING THAT THEY ARE, THEY'RE SEEING THEIR WAGES INCREASE AS A RESULT OF PRE-PROGRAMMED VERSUS PRO PROGRAM WAGES.
WE'VE STILL GOT A WAYS TO GO, GOT A WAYS TO GO FROM AFFORDABILITY, BUT WE'RE DEFINITELY SEEING THE NEEDLE MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
NEXT SLIDE, THEN TO FINISH OUT, UH, MADAM CHAIR, I'LL JUST SAY THE FINAL SLIDES AND FEEL FREE TO LOOK AT THESE AT YOUR LEISURE.
WE HAVE MADE SURE THAT WE ALSO CHRONICLE THE SUCCESSES OF OUR NEIGHBORS WHO ARE RECEIVING SERVICES, UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE A PARTNER WITH ALL OF YOU AS WE RECOVER FROM.
COVID GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE THROUGH THE CHAT OR PRIVATELY, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE THE UPDATE.
AND WE WILL DEFINITELY SHARE THAT DECK ACROSS, ACROSS OUR CHANNELS.
MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON AND MAKE SURE THEY CAN REACH OUT TO YOU AND ASK ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, KENNY, CAN I CALL ANY FOR GOODWILL? IS THERE, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPDATE US ON? THANKS.
UM, WE'VE HAD QUITE A LOT OF CHANGES BECAUSE OF COLOR, JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE HAS, BUT WE WERE STILL FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO PULL THROUGH THE YEAR AND REALLY IMPACT A LOT OF PEOPLE.
UM, WE'VE DEVELOPED A THREE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN FIRST TIME, ABOUT SIX YEARS IN THE COMPANY, AND IT'S FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT.
UM, WE DID GRADUATE ON THAT NOTE.
WE DID GRADUATE 229, UH, ADULT GRADUATES THIS YEAR.
UM, LAST YEAR THAT NUMBER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY BIGGER BECAUSE WE DID, WE HAVE DO IT IN PERSON.
UM, BUT IT'S BEEN, IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL TO SEE ALL THE GRADUATES DO WHAT THEY'VE DONE.
UM, MANY OF THEM WALKED RIGHT INTO JOBS BEFORE THEY GRADUATED.
UM, WE DID FINISH UP THE RISE GRANT, UM, WHICH WAS FOR, UH, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT RENT EARLIER.
UM, WE HAD A $2.1 MILLION RISE GRANT THAT RAT WRAPPED UP AND, UH, THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2020, UM, IT'S PRIMARILY WAS PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON PEOPLE WHO HAVE FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS DUE TO COVID.
SO WE PROVIDED RENT ASSISTANCE AND A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER THINGS THAT, UH, REALLY KIND OF MOVE THE NEEDLE A LITTLE BIT IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION.
UM, WE'RE HAPPY TO SAY THAT WE'VE NOW IMPLEMENTING THE FATHERHOOD GRANT.
UM, YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT THAT.
IT'S A, FIVE-YEAR $1.5 MILLION PER YEAR GRANT THAT BASICALLY IS FOCUSED ON FATHERHOOD, FAMILY, MARRIAGE, ALL THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW CREATE WHEN YOU HAVE A CORE TEAM, A CORE UNIT.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE NOW STARTING THAT ONE.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT, SOME GOOD STUFF GOING ON THERE.
UM, ONE THING THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO ALL OF YOU IS, UM, WE HAVE NOT DONE AS AN ORGANIZATION, ANY KIND OF COMMUNITY COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT IN ABOUT FIVE YEARS.
UM, AND, UH, SO I, I AUTHORIZED THE FUNDING AND THE TEAM THIS YEAR TO GO, UH, WE'VE ALREADY ENGAGED, UM, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS.
UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO ASK THEM TO START DOING SOME, THE REAP MORE COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH SO THAT WE CAN COME BACK, THAT WE CAN COME BACK AT THE END OF THE YEAR AND KNOW EXACTLY WHAT OUR CONSTITUENTS LOOK LIKE, UM, AND, AND KNOW HOW TO PRIORITIZE THEM AND TARGET THEM.
UM, RIGHT NOW IT'S ALL, YOU KNOW, MOST OF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE FOCUSED ON, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE RIGHT AT, OR JUST ABOVE THE POVERTY LINE AND, UH, AND HAVE A LOT OF DISADVANTAGED ISSUES IN FRONT OF THEM.
SO WHEN I GET THAT, UM, WE WILL GO THROUGH SOME SUMMARIES, KIND OF CLEAN IT UP A LITTLE BIT, AND THEN I'LL TRY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN PUBLISH IT ACROSS THE GROUP HERE.
UM, WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UM, WE'RE ALSO, UM, ARE WORKING ON BUILDING A, UM, A MISSION SERVICE PLAN THAT WILL COME OFF OF THAT A COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND WE'VE GOT PEOPLE ALREADY ON BOARD DOING THAT, UH, BUT WE'VE ALSO BROUGHT IN, UM, DR.
SARAH AND VILLANOVA ONTO OUR TEAM.
SHE'S NOW A SENIOR DIRECTOR, UH, TO HELP US WITH THESE KINDS OF MISSION SERVICES COMPONENTS, THE D THE DDI PROGRAM THAT WE'VE NOW ROLLED OUT ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMPANY, UM, INCLUDING LEADERSHIP.
UM, SO I THINK W WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN EXCITING
[01:30:01]
YEAR THIS YEAR.UM, THE, ON THE MENTAL HEALTH FRONT, WE'VE, UH, CONTRACTED WITH LIFEWORKS HERE IN TOWN, UM, AND THEY WILL BE PROVIDING, UM, AND INITIALLY ALL, ALL OF OUR INTERNAL 1400 EMPLOYEES, UM, WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THOSE GOODWILL.
WE'LL BE PAYING, PAYING FOR THOSE SERVICES.
UM, SO IF ANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES HAVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES OR FEEL LIKE THEY NEED TO TALK TO SOMEBODY THAT'S CONFIDENTIAL, WHERE OUR HR DEPARTMENT ISN'T INVOLVED IN ANY WAY, THEY CAN DO THAT THROUGH A HOTLINE, UM, AND IN PURPOSE AND IN PERSON.
SO THAT'S BEEN COMPLETELY DONE.
NOW, WE JUST STARTED ROLLING THAT OUT ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT HOPEFULLY AFTER WE HAVE A YEAR OR SO OF THE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM INITIATIVES, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UH, SIT BACK AND THEN START TRYING TO SAY, ALL RIGHT, HOW MUCH OF THIS CAN BE PUSHED INTO THE CLIENTS THAT COME IN TO, INTO OUR WORLD THAT REALLY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY NEED IT.
UM, BUT WHEN THEY GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW, ANY KIND OF ONBOARDING PROCESS, IT BECOMES PRETTY CLEAR, MANY, MANY OF THEM DO.
SO HOPEFULLY I SPOKE FAST ENOUGH TO WRAP THAT UP.
IT'S A, IT'S A LOT OF GOOD WORK, AND THAT'S WHY, THAT'S WHY THIS IS REALLY WONDERFUL TO SHARE.
AND THANKS FOR ALL YOUR PARTNERSHIP.
UM, I CAN SEE THAT WE'RE ALL SORT OF WORKING FOR US.
MAY I ASK A QUICK QUESTION, KENNY, UM, WHO AT UT IS HELPING YOU WITH THAT ASSESSMENT? IS IT THE MARSHALL CENTER? OKAY, THANKS.
UM, ANYBODY FROM OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO WOULD LIKE TO PRESENT OR GIVE US AN UPDATE? NO.
CAN MAKE IT, YEAH, I CAN CERTAINLY PROVIDE AN UPDATE.
AND, UM, WE'LL JUST SAY THANK YOU.
UM, JUST TO ALL OF YOU, JUST BECAUSE OF OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES RELY ON, RELY ON A LOT OF THE SERVICES YOU PROVIDE.
AND SO WE GREATLY APPRECIATE THE PARTNERSHIP AND JUST THE COLLECTIVE ENERGY AROUND HELPING ALL OF THE FAMILIES AND STUDENTS.
AND SO JUST TO GIVE JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT WE'VE DONE OR HAVE IMPROVED UPON SINCE THE LAST CAN MEETING IS THAT WE'VE INCREASED OUR MASS COVID TESTING IN OUR CENTRAL OFFICE.
WE HAD A LOT FOCUSED ON OUR CAMPUSES, AND SO WE'VE INCREASED THOSE EFFORTS TO OUR CENTRAL OFFICE.
WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, TO HELP GET STAFF AND TEACHERS VACCINATED AND HAVE BEEN APPRECIATIVE OF SOME OF THOSE PARTNERSHIPS WHO WERE ABLE TO ESTABLISH TO GET THOSE FIRST ROUND OF VACCINES OFFERED TO SOME OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS.
AND THEN WE'VE ALSO BEEN PROVIDING WITH OUR MEALS TO THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.
WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, UM, FOR OUR STUDENTS, UM, BY HAND TO LET THEM KNOW HOW TO ACCESS THOSE SERVICES WHILE THEY'RE LEARNING FROM HOME.
SO WE'VE BEEN SENDING THAT MESSAGE ALONG WITH THE MILLS THAT OUR FAMILIES PICK UP.
AND THEN ALSO WE'VE, UM, HAVE TRIED TO HELP WITH, UM, THE, UH, RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UM, ISSUES THAT ARE, ARE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AID ISSUES THAT OUR FAMILIES ARE AND OUR EMPLOYEES ARE FACING.
AND SO LAST NIGHT, OUR BOARD MEMBERS ARE APPROVED FOR OUR EMPLOYEES, BOTH FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME TO HAVE A $1,000, UM, RETENTION INCENTIVE TO HELP, BUT SOME OF THOSE EXPENSES THAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING, AND WE'VE ALSO EXPANDED OUR TESTING AND HAVE OPENED IT UP TO OUR COMMUNITY BY OPENING UP OUR PERFORMING ARTS CENTERS SO THAT, UM, STUDENTS CAN GET TESTED, UM, IN PERSON.
AND IF THEY'RE STILL LEARNING REMOTELY, THEY CAN COME TO THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER.
AND SO THAT'S KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING SINCE OUR LAST MEETING, UM, AS A RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC AND SEE IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM IF I CAN, OR IF YOU WANT TO SEND ME A MESSAGE VIA EMAIL OR CHAT, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THAT WAY AS WELL.
UM, AND I, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WORK OF ALL OF OUR PARTNERS IS PHENOMENAL AS A PARENT.
I CAN SAY I SO APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT THE ISD OR ARE DOING TO, TO CONTINUE, UM, CONTINUE TAKING CARE OF OUR KIDS.
UM, I SEE CHRIS AND CHRIS, YOU AND I THINK ARE HOLDING DOWN HIGHER EDUCATION RIGHT NOW.
SO CHRIS FROM ACC, WELL, I JUST WANT TO, I JUST WANT TO ADD ONTO WHAT TAMRA REPORTED.
I MEAN, IT'S, UH, THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN WITHOUT GREAT COLLABORATION AND TAMRA'S LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN AMAZING.
UH, THE ONE THING I DID WANT TO DROP INTO THE CHAT IS IN THE FALL, WHEN I REPORTED, WE WERE CREATING A FAST TRACK PROGRAM FOR, UH, UM, FOR FAST-TRACK CAREERS, IN WHICH WE CUT THE COST ON COST ON QUICK TURN WORKFORCE PROGRAMS. BY 50%,
[01:35:01]
WE HAD 12 PROGRAMS IN THE FALL.WE'VE ACTUALLY EXPANDED IT NOW TO 26 PROGRAMS. AND SO I'M GOING TO DROP THE LINK TO THAT PAGE IN THE CHAT.
AND THEN THE ONLY OTHER UPDATE I WOULD HAVE IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CARISSA FUNDS ARE BEING DISTRIBUTED AND COMMUNITY COLLEGES AROUND THE STATE AND INSTITUTIONS ARE GETTING CHRISTA FUNDS TO PROVIDE MORE DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO STUDENTS.
WE ACTUALLY HAVEN'T GOTTEN OURS YET.
UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH REPRESENTATIVE DOGGETT'S OFFICE TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THE HITCHES, BUT, UH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE GETTING OUR CARISSA FUNDS VERY QUICKLY, BUT OTHERWISE I'LL DROP THE FAST TRACK CAREER STUFF IN THE CHAT.
AND, UM, I BRIEFLY, YOU KNOW, REPRESENTING UT WE'LL JUST SAY WE ARE JUST IN THE, IN THE SAME MIX AS EVERYBODY ELSE, JUST TRYING TO SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS, TRYING TO SUPPORT THEIR SUCCESS THROUGH THE REST OF THE SEMESTER, UM, AND PROVIDING THOSE BASIC NEEDS, HOUSING TESTING, CONSTANT TESTING, UM, AND THEN TAMRA, WE'LL SPEND OUR 2122 YEAR REALLY THINKING ABOUT HOW TO, UM, NOT ONLY PREPARE OUR STUDENTS FOR OUR CHANGED, OUR CHANGED LANDSCAPE AND WORKFORCE, BUT ALSO, UH, WORKING HOPEFULLY WITH YOU AND OTHER PARTNERS TO PREPARE OUR WORKFORCE LANDSCAPE FOR OUR STUDENTS.
SO, UM, I WILL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
UM, I THANK YOU, CHRIS, FOR THE LINK AND BECKY, I BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE OUR HEALTHCARE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY.
AND I KNOW THIS IS JUST A SLICE OF THE PIE AND OTHERS WOULD BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN.
I KNOW FROM OUR PARTNERS AT CENTRAL HEALTH AND, AND ESSENTIALLY SETON, UM, FROM THE ST DAVID'S FOUNDATION PERSPECTIVE, UM, UH, DAVID SMITH HAD MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, OUR COVID-19 RECOVERY FUND, UM, THAT WE, UM, LAUNCHED IN 2020, UM, AND WE'RE ABLE TO INVEST $10 MILLION IN CLOSE TO 200 DIFFERENT, UM, NONPROFITS IN THE REGION ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS, UM, FOR BASIC NEEDS AND HEALTHCARE RELATED, UM, COVID EFFORTS.
UM, LOOKING AHEAD, UM, WE'RE SORT OF DEEP IN VACCINE LEARNING.
UM, WE DO INTEND TO SUPPORT THE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF VACCINES IN CENTRAL TEXAS, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH OUR SORT OF PHILANTHROPY HAT AND FIGURING OUT WHERE, UM, IT MAKES NO SENSE TO PLUG IN, PARTICULARLY LOOKING AT SUPPORTING DISTRIBUTION IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND DISCONNECTED, UM, COMMUNITIES FROM SORT OF BOTH THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, AS WELL AS ADDRESSING VACCINE HESITANCY.
SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN LISTENING AND LEARNING MODE.
I HAVE A COUPLE OF TEAM MEMBERS, UM, WHO ARE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PI SEVERAL OF YOU AND OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND WE REALLY WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM OTHERS WHO ARE IN THE SPACE.
SO I INVITE YOU TO SORT OF REACH OUT TO US AS, AS Y'ALL ARE EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES TO, UM, ONCE THERE IS SUPPLY, UM, BE ABLE TO GET VACCINES OUT INTO, UM, COMMUNITIES THAT NEED IT.
UM, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND SO WE'RE LOOKING AT SORT OF THE DUAL ISSUES OF BOTH, UM, VACCINE EXPEDIENCY, BUT ALSO, UM, RACIAL EQUITY AND SORT OF HOLDING BOTH OF THOSE THINGS, UH, FRONT AND CENTER.
UM, AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE CONNECTING WITH GRANTEES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS, UM, TO BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHERE WE CAN PROVIDE THE SUPPORT TO THEM IN BOTH THE SHORT TERM, AS WELL AS THE LONGTERM, REALIZING THAT THIS IS GONNA BE A LONGER RUNWAY THAN MAYBE WE'D THOUGHT THAT ORIGINALLY OUR CURRENT FOCUS IS IN SUPPORTING THE VACCINE HUBS ACROSS THE REGION, UM, AND CLINIC GRANT PARTNERS, UH, TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE TO BOTH RECEIVE AND DEPLOY THE VACCINES, UM, EFFICIENTLY.
AND SO WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS.
AND SO, AGAIN, WE'RE SORT OF LOOKING AT THE URGENT NEED, UM, BUT RECOGNIZING, RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONGER ROAD, UM, THAT REALLY REQUIRES A UNIFIED EFFORT.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, LIKE I SAID, SORT OF IN LISTENING AND LEARNING MODE, BUT WE DO INTEND TO PLAY A ROLE IN FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING VACCINE DISTRIBUTION, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS NOW, OR FEEL FREE TO PING ME, UM, BY EMAIL.
WELL, WE APPRECIATE, UH, WE BE ABSOLUTELY APPRECIATE ALL YOU DO AND ALL OF OUR, UH, WHAT OUR HEALTH CARE PARTNERS DO.
AND, UM, THANK YOU, DAN, FOR THAT, THAT SHOUT IN THE CHAT AS WELL.
UM, I DO WANT TO CALL ON OUR CITY AND COUNTY PARTNERS, UH, IF YOU ALL HAVE ANY, UH, UPDATES ON, ON HEALTH HEALTHCARE.
I THINK IT'S THANKS, LAWRENCE.
I THINK IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE SHARE WHERE WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF 2021, AS WE SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AND, UM, ARE DOING, MAKING ALL EFFORTS TO GET OURSELVES THERE AND TO GET OURSELVES ON THE OTHER SIDE.
SO, UH, APPRECIATE ALL OF THESE UPDATES.
UM, I DO THINK RELATIVE WE HAVE TIME TO CONSIDER ONE QUESTION FOR THIS TEAM OR, UH, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED? YEAH, I THINK WHAT, UM, OBVIOUSLY IT'S A LOT TO DIGEST.
UM, BUT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE THOUGHT TO KIND OF PULL FOLKS
[01:40:01]
ON IS A REGIONAL SUMMIT, RIGHT? AGAIN, IT'S, WE'RE STILL IN THE RESPONSE TO THIS PANDEMIC REDDIT.WE'RE NOT EVEN IN RECOVERY MODE YET, BUT WE KNOW THAT RECOVERY IS GOING TO TAKE KIND OF MULTIPLE, IT'S GOING TO HAVE MULTIPLE PRONGS, RIGHT.
OR, UM, UH, WITH, UH, ECONOMIC RECOVERY BEING ONE OF THEM, RIGHT.
SORT OF, KIND OF STRENGTHENING KIND OF HEALTH, UM, MENTAL HEALTH AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE ARENAS, UM, ARE GOING TO BE SO IMPORTANT, BUT, UM, FOR OUR REGIONAL SUMMIT, WE'VE TYPICALLY, YOU KNOW, UM, LOOKED AT SORT OF REGIONAL ISSUES.
WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, KIND OF WORKFORCE HOUSING, TRANSPORTATION ISSUES.
AND, UM, AND, UM, AND AT THE END OF LAST YEAR, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS WITH THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE PANDEMIC, RIGHT? SO THAT'S ONE ECONOMIC THING THAT WE NEED TO STRATEGIZE AROUND, BUT WE ALSO HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE GROWTH, RIGHT.
THESE COMPANIES THAT ARE MOVING TO AUSTIN, RIGHT.
WHICH CREATE THIS, THESE OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, SO SOMEHOW TRYING TO LOOK AT SORT OF REINVIGORATING THE REGIONAL ECONOMY AS A TOPIC FOR, YOU KNOW, FOR THE SUMMIT.
AND I KNOW WE LOST RUDY WHO, UH, WAS VERY EXCITED TO OFFER, UH, HIM, HIS, UH, YOU KNOW, HIS ORGANIZATION OR THE CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE AS A POTENTIAL HOST, BUT, UM, REALLY WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT.
THERE THERE'S MANY, MANY ISSUES, AND WE WERE GOING TO TRY TO GET INTO BREAKOUT ROOMS AND THEN BRAINSTORM AROUND THAT AND SOME OTHER ISSUES.
BUT, UH, I REALLY WANTED TO THROW THAT OUT BECAUSE AGAIN, IT'S KIND OF HARD TO PICK RIGHT NOW WHEN WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RESPONSE AND THE NEEDS RIGHT NOW ARE SO IMMEDIATE AND IN TERMS OF BASIC NEEDS AND EDUCATION AND HEALTH.
AND, UM, AND SO, SO, SO IT'S KIND OF JUST LIKE AN OPEN QUESTION IS IT IS KIND OF LOOKING AT SORT OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY RIGHT NOW, SORT OF A, UM, SOMETHING PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN.
CAUSE WE KNOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO IT.
SO DO WE PUT SORT OF THE, THE WHEELS IN MOTION NOW, OR ARE WE STILL IN RESPONSE MODE? RIGHT.
AND, UM, SHOULD WE KIND OF BE LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT'S MORE, UM, AROUND WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE ISSUES WE'RE GRAPPLING WITH AT THE MOMENT I SEE DAN'S HANDS UP, BUT REALLY IT'S JUST AN OPEN CONVERSATION.
IT'S A SMALL ENOUGH GROUP WHERE WE CAN MAYBE JUST, UH, HAVE THE CONVERSATION, UH, SINCE WE'VE KIND OF DWINDLED DOWN TO ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF WHERE WE STARTED.
I ALSO JUST HAD A QUESTION FOR THE ROOM, SEE IF ANYBODY HAD ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS AND, YOU KNOW, KN IS SUCH A GREAT COLLABORATION OF, UH, GOVERNMENT AND NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY AND EDUCATIONAL SECTOR COMING TOGETHER.
I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT CONVERSATIONS, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, PARTICULARLY HELPING OUR LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN HAD WITH THE CORPORATE SECTOR IN WHERE, OR HOW THEY WOULD BE BROUGHT TO THE TABLE, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH CITY OR CAN TO GET THEM TO PITCH IN.
AND I JUST, IT'S JUST A QUESTION.
I MEAN, NOT JUST WHAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENED OR WHAT CONVERSATIONS HAVE COME ABOUT WITH THE CORPORATE SECTOR.
YOU CAN, I THINK WE LOST DAVID CAUSE THERE MIGHT'VE BEEN SOMETHING THERE, UH, ON THE ALTOGETHER ATX SIDE.
BUT, UM, I MEAN, I THINK THAT THAT'S THAT'S, FOR ME, THAT'S ONE OF THE QUESTIONS, RIGHT.
UH, AND MAYBE THAT'S PART OF A REGIONAL CONVERSATION OF HOW DO WE ENGAGE, UM, WITH KIND OF THE WEALTH OF, OF, OF THE BUSINESS, YOU KNOW, OUR BUSINESS SECTOR, RIGHT.
UH, HERE LOCALLY, UM, AND IN MEETING SOME OF OUR CORE NEEDS.
AND, UM, BUT, UH, BUT AGAIN, I JUST, I HAVEN'T, I'M NOT, I'M NOT IN THOSE CIRCLES TRYING TO CONNECT YOU WITH THE CORPORATE PARTNERS, ALTHOUGH AGAIN, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF OUR, A COUPLE OF OUR AWARDEES, RIGHT.
FOR SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION WHERE, UH, PRIVATE SECTOR AND PUBLIC SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS, RIGHT.
TO MEET KIND OF THE FOOD NEEDS THAT CURRENTLY EXIST.
I DO THINK WE'VE SEEN SOME, SOME OF THE, SOME OF THAT, BUT IN TERMS OF INVESTMENTS, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE KIND OF WHAT WE'VE SEEN MAYBE EITHER AT, UM, SORT OF ACF OR, OR ST DAVID'S OR I DUNNO, ST.
DAVID'S KIND OF JUST BEEN RAISING ITSELF, UM, OR, UH, ALTOGETHER ATX, BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE KNOWS SOMETHING AND FEEL FREE.
AND SO I'M THINKING DAN, THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT SORT OF, UM, AS WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS RECOVERY OR RESUSCITATING SORT OF OUR ECONOMY, THAT WE'RE DOING IT IN AN INCLUSIVE WAY THAT WE'RE ENSURING THAT WE'RE PULLING IN ALL, ALL THESE DIVERSE COMMUNITIES AS WELL.
[01:45:02]
I'M SORRY.THE CORPORATE SECTOR HAS BEEN SO HELPFUL, THE INDIVIDUAL NONPROFITS, RIGHT.
I MEAN, WE HAVE CORPORATE INDIVIDUAL DONORS THAT ARE HELPING OUR NONPROFITS AND THAT IS SO NEEDED AND APPRECIATED, BUT YEAH, I'M JUST WONDERING ABOUT BRINGING TO THE TABLE FOR SOLVING OR HELPING TO CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS SOLVING BIG COMMUNITY NEEDS AND CONVERSATIONS, YOU KNOW, AND HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
I MEAN, I JUST, I JUST THINK, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY WITH THE GREAT ECONOMIC, UM, CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTIN, WHERE CAN WE BRING THEM TO THE TABLE TO BE A PARTNER IN WORKING ON CERT ON ISSUES IS A QUESTION.
AND, AND THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE QUESTION FOR THE CANDOR, BUT IT'S JUST A, A QUESTION THAT I'M SURE THAT CITY COUNCIL HAS TALKED ABOUT AND TRAVIS COUNTY HAS TALKED ABOUT.
AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING I HOPE BECAUSE WHEN WE LOOK AT THE, THIS GROUP SHOWS THE POWER OF COLLABORATION, BUT THERE'S ANOTHER PIECE THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO ADD TO THE COMMUNITY IMPACT CONVERSATION.
MAYBE WE CAN TALK TO JEREMY ABOUT SORT OF WHAT THE GREATER AUSTIN CHAMBER HAS DONE, CAUSE THEY CONVENED A TREAD THAT THEIR OWN TASK FORCE EARLY ON.
BUT, UH, IT MIGHT BE A WAY TO MAYBE CONNECT WITH, UM, WITH THE, THE CHAMBERS, RIGHT.
IN A WAY TO SEE, UM, UM, HOW, HOW MAYBE THEY'RE, THEY'RE LOOKING TO PLUG IN OR HOW THEY'RE LOOKING TO HAVE AN IMPACT.
I WAS THINKING DIDN'T THEY, AT ONE POINT THERE WAS A BIG EFFORT TO ASK CORPORATIONS TO HELP WITH THE HOMELESSNESS SITUATION.
AND THERE WAS A WHOLE, THERE WAS AN EFFORT AROUND THAT AND FOR SOME REASON IT DIDN'T COME TO FRUITION, DIDN'T COME TO FRUITION.
SO I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF NEED TO RETHINK THAT WHOLE, UM, HOW WE BRING PEOPLE IN AND WHAT WE ASK THEM TO DO.
UM, I THINK THE CHAMBER CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT, UM, THAT THEY CAN OFFER, BUT, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND BETTER AND, UM, KIND OF WHAT THEIR INTERESTS ARE AND HOW IT FITS WITHIN THE CORPORATE, UM, MISSION AND WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO.
AND I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THAT HAPPENING.
AND DEFINITELY SOMETHING AGAIN, TO FOLLOW UP ON WITH SOME OF OUR PARTNER AGENCIES TO SEE IF, UH, AGAIN, WE CAN GET SOME PEOPLE IN THE ROOM, RIGHT.
TO BRAINSTORM AROUND HOW CAN WE DO THIS? RIGHT.
HOW CAN WE, UM, BETTER COORDINATE AND, AND, AND, UM, AND ADDRESS WHAT, WHAT THE NEEDS ARE ON THE GROUND.
I'D LIKE TO DO ONE THING WITH SOMEBODY ELSE GONNA SAY SOMETHING.
UM, I JUST ALSO THINK THAT THERE IS A LOT OF COMMUNITY.
THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN AUSTIN WHO HAVEN'T FIGURED OUT HOW TO HELP YET.
AND IT'S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY, EVEN THOUGH IT TAKES MONEY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
BUT IF PEOPLE ADOPTED A FAMILY OR A FAMILY ADOPTED A FAMILY, OH, WE HAD MORE, UM, WAYS THAT INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING, UH, AN INDIVIDUAL THROUGH TWO YEARS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE OR A CERTIFICATE PROGRAM OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
AND YOU GET CONNECTED IN SOME WAY TO THOSE PEOPLE.
IT GIVES A HUMAN, IT MAKES AUSTIN MORE HUMAN.
AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR THOSE WAYS.
I THINK PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS SAYING, WHAT CAN I DO? WHAT CAN I DO? I DON'T JUST WANT TO WRITE A CHECK.
AND SO IF WE COULD COME UP AGAIN, PART OF THE CONVERSATION, THE CORPORATIONS NEED TO DO SOMETHING, BUT THEN INDIVIDUALS TO, HOW DO WE BRING US TOGETHER? ESPECIALLY AROUND MENTAL HEALTH.
I KEEP THINKING, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN SUPPORT EACH OTHER, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW PEOPLE, YOU NEED TO MEET THEM AND YOU NEED TO INTERACT WITH THEM TO BUILD THEM UP AND TO HELPING THEM IN WHATEVER WAY THEY NEED.
SO I WOULD LIKE US, I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE US TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE DO THAT IN NEIGHBORHOODS.
ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? I GUESS MY QUESTION WOULD BE, IS THERE A BETTER DIRECTION FOR US TO GO WHEN WE HAVE THIS, UM, UH, REGIONAL, WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO FOCUS ON THE REGIONAL, RIGHT.
AND WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO BE IN PFLUGERVILLE.
IS THERE, UH, WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY IS THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WE SHOULD TAKE, UM, AS A, AS A BOARD, AS A COUNCIL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AS ALL OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS ALIGNED IN COLLABORATE, COLLABORATING.
AND I KNOW THAT, UH, LOU GREVILLE
[01:50:01]
HAD REACHED OUT FOR US TO HAVE A, UH, A BRAINSTORMING SESSION RIGHT.SO I DEFINITELY WANT TO GET THEIR TAKE TOO KIND OF FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE ON IT.
UM, BUT I DO THINK, UM, SINCE THEY'RE ON THAT SORT OF ONE 30 CORRIDOR, IT'S JUST ALL THIS KIND OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION RIGHT ALONG THAT CORRIDOR.
AND, UM, WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS? RIGHT.
AND IN TERMS OF, UM, OPPORTUNITIES AND, UM, AND WHAT ELSE AGAIN, CAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT FIVE COUNTIES, RIGHT.
SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE COUNTIES HAVE DIFFERENT SETS OF NEEDS.
UM, SO IT'S KIND OF LOOKING AT WHAT, WHAT APPEALS TO, UM, TO CALDWELL COUNTY, RIGHT.
IN BASTROP COUNTY, WHETHER THEY'RE IN THE LESS URBANIZED OF THE COUNTIES.
UM, CAUSE I THINK TECHNICALLY, UH, CALDWELL'S THE ONE WE HAVEN'T VISITED YET.
UM, BESIDES, UH, BESIDES THE OTHER FOUR, BUT THEY'RE ALSO THE MOST RURAL.
SO AT SOME POINT IT'S KIND OF, WE NEED TO REALLY CONNECT WITH THEM IN SOME WAY, BUT, UM, AND THEN WE HAVE, I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, IT'S WHAT OTHER, WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK, I MEAN, IN TERMS OF REGIONAL ISSUES, I KNOW THERE'S THE RACE EQUITY STUFF.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, UM, THERE'S ALL THESE THINGS THAT ARE REGIONAL IN NATURE THAT WE'RE ALL GRAPPLING WITH.
UM, BUT UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY LIKE TRYING TO, TRYING TO THINK NOVEMBER IS WHAT SEVEN MONTHS AWAY IS FIGURING OUT, OKAY, WELL, IF WE ARE IN RECOVERY AND HOPEFULLY WE ARE, THEN WHAT ARE THE TWO OR THREE MAIN THINGS? SO USUALLY WE HAVE TWO OR THREE TO TWO MAIN TOPICS, RIGHT? SO WE'LL HAVE A PANEL AND BREAKOUTS AROUND TO DIFFERENT TOPICS.
IT DOESN'T JUST HAVE TO BE ALL OR NOTHING RIGHT.
BUT IF THERE ARE TWO SORT OF RECOVERY RELATED THEMES, WHAT ARE THOSE THEMES? AND USUALLY WORKFORCE ALWAYS IS ON TOP OF THE LIST BECAUSE YOU BRING IN THE HIGHER ED AND THE K THROUGH 12 AND THE, AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR STUFF, BUT THEN YOU HAVE THE OTHER, UM, MORE SAFETY NET RELATED KIND OF ISSUES, UM, OR TRANSPORTATION, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT'S, THAT'S MORE KIND OF REGIONAL TOO.
UM, ANY THOUGHTS OR ANY OTHER IDEAS OR ANYONE WANT TO BE ON THAT PLANNING TEAM WHEN WE GO MEET WITH PFLUGERVILLE AND BEGIN THE CONVERSATION, UH, WE'LL DEFINITELY EMAIL EVERYONE, BUT, UH, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SAY I'M IN, NOW WE CAN MAKE A NOTE OF THAT.
YOU KNOW, WHAT ROLE WITH THE PFLUGERVILLE, UM, AND RUDY CAN HELP WITH THIS IS THAT, UM, PC EMMA SAYS SERVING THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
AND THE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM ARE SO GOOD BECAUSE THEY'RE DOING SUCH GREAT WORK AROUND THAT AREA WITH INDUSTRY.
UM, AND I KNOW LIKE PCDC IS WORKING WITH SKILL POINT ALLIANCE, WHICH IS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION TO GET LOW INCOME PERSONS OR PERSONS THAT NEED TO WORK.
AND SO THE MORE WE CAN MARRY THOSE RESOURCES, THE CORPORATE, THE CITY, OR, YOU KNOW, CIVIC PIECE LIKE PCDC AND THE NONPROFITS LIKE GOODWILL AND SKILL POINT, AND THESE KINDS OF MORE, WE CAN MARRY THAT TO GET PEOPLE INTO THE WORK SECTOR THE BETTER, YOU KNOW, AND TO MAKE SURE IT'S EQUITABLE.
I MEAN, THAT'S JUST A HUGE, GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTNERSHIP.
AND MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN HIGHLIGHT IS A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, BECAUSE I KNOW ACC IS WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH TESLA AND MANY EMPLOYERS.
BUT, UM, I THINK THAT, UH, MAYBE HIGHLIGHTING SOME OF THOSE, WE TALKED ABOUT THE PRIVATE SECTOR RIGHT.
AND THEIR ROLE IN, IN CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH WHAT THEY NEED.
SO IT COULD BE THAT WE TRY TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS THAT ARE IN PLACE TO SHOW UP THAT WE WANT TO SEE MORE OF THAT.
AND, AND MAYBE THING IN SOME COMPANIES, UM, YEAH.
TO JUST BRAINSTORM AROUND THAT AS WELL, YOU KNOW, HOW COULD WE HAVE THESE PARTNERSHIPS WITH THE NONPROFIT IN THE, IN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE, UH, ARMS RIGHT.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE DAN IS COMING WITH US TO PFLUGERVILLE PROPOSE THAT, UM, ONE FINAL THOUGHT ABOUT THAT IS IT, PEOPLE ARE IN, I THINK WE HAD THIS CONVERSATION, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT ECOSYSTEMS, YOU KNOW, WHAT DOES THE ECOSYSTEM AROUND, WHATEVER TOPIC YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT.
AND SO REALLY KIND OF LOOKING AT ALL THOSE THINGS, DAN, THAT WE WERE, WE'VE BEEN KIND OF TALKING AROUND TO SEE HOW THAT COULD GET BUILT OUT, TO SUPPORT VARIOUS GOALS THAT, THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR REGION.
WELL, ROLE, I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT, UM, THAT WE, AS P SINCE WE ALL SORT OF HAVE LEVEL SET, WE KNOW WHAT, WHAT IS GOING ON IN ONE ANOTHER'S, UH, ORGANIZATIONS AT THIS TIME THAT WE REALLY DO GO BACK TO OUR ORGANIZATIONS AND HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT WHAT WOULD BE MOST USEFUL AS WE'RE HEADING INTO THE FALL.
[01:55:01]
NONE OF US KNOW WHAT IS TO COME, BUT, UM, I KNOW THAT WE ALL ARE PARTNERS IN, UM, STRENGTHENING OUR, OUR COMMUNITY AND TO, TO COMMITTING TO THAT AS OUR NEXT STEP.SO, UM, PLEASE DO I ASK YOU, UM, AS PARTNERS TO SORT OF GO BACK AND, AND DETERMINE IF, YOU KNOW, CONCENTRATION ON WORKFORCE AND AS WE SAY, SORT OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS AND EQUITABLE GROWTH OR EQUITABLE REGROW, UM, UM, IS SORT OF WHERE WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE IN THE FALL.
DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A, A NEXT CONVERSATION WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATIONS? I THINK SO.
AND JUST KNOW, WE'LL BE ASKING FOR FOLKS TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PLANNING PROCESS AND, UH, WE'D BE THINKING ABOUT RIGHT.
WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, BECAUSE WE CAN TALK ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR REINVIGORATE, REINVIGORATING THE ECONOMY, BUT THERE'S SO MANY STRANDS, RIGHT.
UM, OF THAT CONVERSATION, RIGHT? SO IT COULD BE THAT AS AN OVERARCHING THEME, BUT THEN YOU HAVE THE EQUITY LENS AND YOU HAVE THE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP LENS, AND THEN YOU HAVE THE RETRAINING SORT OF LENS OR EDUCATIONAL SORT OF PIPELINE SORT OF LENS.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF, A LOT OF, UM, A LOT OF, UM, POTENTIAL FOR, FOR PUTTING TOGETHER A GOOD PROGRAM THAT FOLKS WILL, WILL PARTICIPATE IN.
UM, BUT THEN MAYBE WE WON'T START ASKING THEM TO COMMIT, TO ATTEND UNTIL THINGS GET A LITTLE BIT MORE UNDER CONTROL WITH THE THAT'LL HAPPEN SOON.
WELL, UNLESS THERE ARE OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS I SO APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S TIME AND APPRECIATE.
UM, AND I'M HONORED TO BE ABLE TO LEAD THIS ORGANISM, THIS BOARD THIS YEAR.
UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU AND PLEASE DO CALLING ME IF YOU'D LIKE US TO, TO, TO APPROACH SOMETHING, TO GO IN INTO A SPECIFIC DIRECTION THIS YEAR, I WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO, TO ANY OF YOU.
UM, BUT WITHOUT ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, I'M GOING TO ADJOURN US AT THREE, O'CLOCK HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.