[00:00:26]
[CALL TO ORDER]
TO ORDER ON MARCH 9TH, THREE 21.AND, UH, JUST A REMINDER, UH, THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMISSION, UH, OR THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOARD IS TO ADVISE THE COUNCIL AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SERVE THE POOR AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON FEDERALLY FUNDED PROGRAMS. UM, WITH THAT SAID, I BELIEVE
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL (Part 1 of 2)]
WE HAVE, UH, CITIZENS, UH, SIGNED UP TO SPEAK THAT RIGHT.UM, CAN I JUST CHECK AS OLIVIA OVER TURF ON THE LINE? OKAY.
THEY'RE NOT IN THERE, THEY'RE THE ONES THAT HAVE REQUESTED A INTERPRETATION, SO WE CAN GO WITH TIFFANY WASHINGTON.
MY NAME IS TIFFANY WASHINGTON AND I AM A BLACK FARMER HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
AND I WAS WANTING TO TALK ABOUT, UM, ANY ACTIONS THAT YOU GUYS WOULD BE TAKING OR RECOMMENDING TO THE COUNCIL REGARDING THE BASIC NEEDS AND CRITICAL, UM, UTILITY AND OTHER SERVICES FOR RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE HAVE COMMUNITIES IN SOME OF OUR MOST VULNERABLE DISTRICTS, INCLUDING, UM, SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN OH TWO, UM, FAMILIES AT THE MOUNT CARMEL APARTMENTS DO NOT HAVE GAS RIGHT NOW.
AND THEY'RE CURRENTLY BEEN DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOME.
AND I WONDERING, OR TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, IS THERE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE GOING TO BE GIVING FOR THEM TO RECEIVE FUNDING AND SUPPORT, UM, IN THEIR CURRENT CONDITION THAT HAS STEMMED FROM THE WINTER STORM.
AND I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW IF THERE WERE ANY ORGANIZATIONS OR ANYTHING THAT THEY COULD REACH OUT TO, BECAUSE I KNOW FROM BEING THERE THAT THERE WERE NO, UM, LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE OUT THERE WHO ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE THEM FUNDING OR ANY TYPE OF ASSISTANCE WITH GETTING THEIR UTILITY SERVICES, WE STORED, UM, HENCE THE FACT THAT THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE AND DISPLACED FROM THAT COMMUNITY.
AND I WAS ALSO WONDERING IF THERE'S ANY BLACK REPRESENTATION FOR THEM ON THIS BOARD, IN THAT COMMUNITY.
IF THERE'S, I CAN'T SEE YOU GUYS BECAUSE WE'RE ALL ON THE PHONE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANYONE THAT'S EPISODE.
WE REPRESENT THE BLACK PEOPLE IN THAT COMMUNITY.
SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF MY QUESTIONS, UM, THAT I WANTED TO ASK.
AND MY CONCERNS THAT I HAD, DEFINITELY MY MOST MAJOR CONCERN IS THAT THEY HAVE SOME TYPE OF REPRESENTATION FROM SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE THEM.
AND THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE FOR MY TIME.
AND I THANK YOU GUYS FOR LISTENING, AND IF I HAVE CALMNESS OVER, I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN GIVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE, BUT I'M FINISHED.
UM, UH, TIFFANY, IF YOU COULD PLEASE STAY ON THE LINE.
AND, UH, I WOULD LOVE TO ASK SOME CLARIFYING QUESTIONS AND I'M SURE, UH, OTHER COMMISSIONERS, UH, THERE'S A GOOD PROBABILITY THAT WE'LL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AS WELL.
UH, ARE YOU, UH, AND SO DO YOU STAY AT MOUNT CARAMEL OR, UM, WHAT IS YOUR, OH, UH, CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO ME THE CONTEXT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU'RE THERE AND HOW YOU'RE GATHERING THIS INFORMATION? THIS IS REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT AND HELPFUL FOR US.
I WAS ACTUALLY, UM, I ACTUALLY SAW ONLINE THROUGH A FRIEND THAT LIVES OVER THERE THAT THEY WERE HAVING SOME TROUBLE AND I HAD JUST DID MY OWN CALLING AND I ENDED UP GOING OVER THERE TO HELP WITH, UM, OLIVIA
UM, WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO GET A WATER AND EVEN THE NATIONAL GUARD TO COME OUT TO HELP THEM.
UM, BUT JUST BEING A FARMER IN THE COMMUNITY AND BEING BOOTS ON THE GROUND AND JUST KIND OF PAYING ATTENTION TO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT GO ON AROUND AND COMMUNITY.
AND IT WAS JUST KIND OF BAFFLING TO ME THAT THERE WAS NO BLACK LEADERSHIP OR ANYBODY BLACK ORGANIZATIONS WHO WERE TALKING ABOUT IT.
AND I THOUGHT IT WAS VERY PARAMOUNT BECAUSE THAT IS A VERY HISTORIC, UM, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECT IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S WHAT REALLY PIQUED MY INTEREST.
AND I WAS ABLE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION AND MAKING HERE TO THIS MEETING TODAY, JUST TO KIND OF SPEAK.
WELL, THANK YOU, FIRST OF ALL, FOR GOING OUT TO HELP AND, UH, ACTIVATING THE RESOURCES THAT YOU DID ACTIVATE, UH, THAT'S SUPER ABOVE AND BEYOND.
[00:05:01]
THIS WOULD BE A MUCH BETTER PLACE IF ALL OF US DID THAT.UH, THANK YOU ALSO FOR BEING A FARMER.
UH, SECONDLY, UH, IN AS MUCH AS, UH, REPRESENTATION, UH, FOR THAT, UH, PARTICULAR COMMUNITY, UH, I WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, IN, IN AS MUCH AS 77 OH TWO IS CONCERNED, I THINK THAT, UH, WHO, WHICH, UH, I KNOW THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER DELGADO IS, UH, SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN OH TWO, BUT THAT'S HOLLY SIDE.
AND SO WHICH, UH, IS, UH, WELL, I'M, I'M SEEING WHICH OF US COMMISSIONERS IS JUST REALLY, YOU KNOW, IN THAT ZONE IN PARTICULAR.
AND THEN SECONDLY, UH, AS FAR AS BLACK REPRESENTATION ON THIS COMMISSION, THOUGH, IT MAY, WE, WE HAVE BLACK REPRESENTATION ON THIS COMMISSION.
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY ZONED TO THAT AREA IF YOU WILL.
BUT, UH, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT PREVENTS ANY OF US FROM STEPPING INTO ASSIST, UH, IN WHICHEVER CAPACITY, WE MIGHT ALSO ENCOURAGE, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS HERE TO ALSO SPEAK UP WITH EITHER SUGGESTIONS, UH, OR THEIR QUESTIONS.
I'M GOING TO PAUSE FOR A MOMENT TO, TO OPEN THE FLOOR FOR THAT.
MY FRIEND LOUIE HERE, UM, I DON'T HAVE ANY SOLUTIONS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ECHO WHAT, UH, TIFFANY WAS SAYING, BECAUSE I LIVE OFF OF RUNDBERG AND RIGHT AFTER THE SNOW STORM, WE LOST WATER.
WE DIDN'T LOSE POWER, THANKFULLY.
AND ONCE WE GOT WATER BACK, WE WENT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD THE WEEKEND, UH, RIGHT AFTER THE SNOW MELTS HIT.
AND THERE ARE SEVERAL APARTMENT BUILDINGS ON ROMBERG THAT DON'T HAVE RUNNING WATER.
AND IT'S NOT BECAUSE THERE ISN'T RUNNING WATER IT'S BECAUSE APARTMENT MANAGEMENT REFUSES TO TURN WATER BACK ON.
AND THAT SEEMS TO BE THE CASE ACROSS AUSTIN.
AND THAT'S LIKE, UM, A SNOWBALL EFFECT FROM THE STATE LEGISLATOR WHERE PEOPLE WHO ARE RENTING DON'T HAVE AS MANY RIGHTS AS PEOPLE WHO OWN THE BUILDINGS.
RIGHT? AND SO THE BIGGER ISSUE, OBVIOUSLY WE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE PEOPLE GET THEIR GAS AND POWER AND WATER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
BUT THE BIGGER ISSUES THAT HISTORICALLY TEXAS HAS ALWAYS PUT LANDLORDS OVER RENTERS, AND THE RENTERS ARE JUST BEGGING FOR BASIC HUMAN NECESSITIES.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT NOT JUST OUR COMMISSION THAT AS ORGANIZERS AND PEOPLE WHO WORKED IN THE COMMUNITY, WE REALLY NEED TO BE WORKING ON.
UM, AS FAR AS I KNOW, BASA IS DOING SOME REALLY GOOD TENANT ORGANIZING.
UM, AND DSA HAS BEEN WORKING DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA HAS BEEN WORKING WITH BUSTA, UH, AND GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP, BUT THESE SMALL GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS CAN'T BEAR THE LOAD OF A STATE PROBLEM, YOU KNOW? UM, BUT YEAH, I ECHO WHAT TIFFANY IS SAYING, AND I FEEL LIKE ALL THE MINORITY COMMUNITIES IN AUSTIN AND ACROSS TEXAS HAVE BEEN PRETTY MUCH IGNORED BY THE STATE.
THANK YOU FOR CALLING IN TIFFANY.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE AUSTIN AREA URBAN LEAGUE WAS REALLY INVOLVED IN ORGANIZING DIRECT FUNDING AND JUST EVERY, A LOT OF THINGS AROUND THE STORM.
AND, UM, THEY CONTINUE TO DO THINGS FOR THE COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY WORKING WITH THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN BLACK COMMUNITY AND AUSTIN AT LARGE.
UM, AND WE DON'T HAVE ANYBODY SITTING IN FOR ROSEWOOD ON THE COMMISSION.
UH, AND IF I CAN PLUG IN, IF YOU KNOW OF ANYBODY IN YOUR COMMUNITY THAT IS INTERESTED, WE ARE LOOKING FOR A SEAT ON THE COMMISSION.
I'M NOT SURE IF I'M ALLOWED TO SAY THAT, BUT WE ARE FOR SOMEBODY IN YOUR AREA.
AND I THINK THAT THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REALLY HELPFUL TO HAVE SOMEBODY PLUGGED IN, IN THAT REGARD.
AND I DO KNOW THAT THE CITY HAS, UM, THEY JUST PUT A WEBSITE UP TO THE RESPONSE AND MAYBE SOMEBODY FROM THE CITY COME SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THAT.
NOW, A RESOURCE PAGE IN RESPONSE TO THE AFTERMATH OF THE STORM THAT I THINK PEOPLE CAN LOOK TO FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER ISSUES HAVE COME AFTER THAT, I WOULD RECOMMEND AUSTIN AREA, URBAN LEAGUE AND ORGANIZING AROUND, UH, THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
UM, YEAH, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE SMALL GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, NOT BEING ABLE TO HANDLE IT OLIVIA OVER TO DEFINITELY GOT THE NATIONAL GUARD OUT THERE ON HER OWN.
UM, THE COMMUNITY HAD SAID THAT THEY HADN'T HEARD FROM THE URBAN LEAGUE, BUT THEY HAD REACHED OUT TO THEM AND NO ONE REACHED BACK OUT.
[00:10:01]
SO I DON'T, LIKE I SAY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT OTHER OPPORTUNITIES LIKE I SEE DAWA LISTED HERE, UM, AS FUN, BUT LIKE I SAY, IF THERE IS NO ONE TO REPRESENT THEM OR GET THAT INFORMATION NOW, I DON'T THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO KNOW IT.CAUSE I KNOW Y'ALL GOT TO KEEP THE MEETING GOING, SO THANK YOU, ACTUALLY, TIFFANY, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS IF YOU COULD, IF YOU'D BE ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
UM, I WAS JUST GOING TO KNOW, UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTIONS AND YOUR CONCERN AND THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
I JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT, UM, THE AUSTIN DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK IS ACTIVE AND HELPING IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, ACTUALLY THINK THEY THEY'RE DOING, THEY HAVE AN INTAKE RIGHT NOW, UH, THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY OF THIS WEEK TO HELP FAMILIES FROM THE STORM.
UM, SO THAT'S SOMETHING, I THINK THEIR SITE, THEIR WEBSITE IS A D R N.ORG, A D N OH, EXCUSE ME.
A D R N.ORG, A D R N AUSTIN DISASTER RELIEF NETWORK.
UM, SO THEY, THEY ARE, THEY'RE DOING INTAKE, UM, THIS WEEK, LATER THIS WEEK.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, I THINK THERE, THERE IS SOME EFFORT WITH PLUMBING AND PEOPLE THAT ARE HAVING PLUMBING ISSUES HELP AFTER THE STORM.
UM, I WAS LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO DROP THESE LINKS FOR COMMENT.
UM, BUT THERE'S A FEW DIFFERENT RESOURCES AND HONESTLY, ONE OF THE BEST PLACES YOU CAN GO, UH, IF YOU HAVE ACCESS, UH, TO TWITTER, THE THREE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT I'VE SEEN AT LEAST A COUPLE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, GREG CASAR AND NATASHA HARPER MADISON, WHICH IS EAST, EAST AUSTIN, 77 OH TWO MEMBER OF MY, MY S MY COUNCIL MEMBER HAS DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF KEEPING CURRENT RESOURCES.
UM, AND SO I WOULD CHECK THOSE PRETTY REGULARLY.
I RECENTLY SAW ANOTHER MEMBER OF SHARE THE TEXAS RENT RELIEF.COM.
UM, IT'S, IT'S HELPING PEOPLE WHO'VE GOTTEN BEHIND ON THEIR RENT AND UTILITY BILLS FOR THE PAST YEAR.
SO THAT'S TEXAS RENT RELIEF.COM.
I WOULD CHECK THAT OUT AS A RESOURCE.
UM, AND THERE WAS ONE MORE RESOURCE I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU, AND IT WAS SPECIFICALLY WITH REGARDS TO, TO WATER.
UM, BUT I, I ACTUALLY, I CAN'T FIND THAT.
SO, UM, IT'S FOR PEOPLE THAT WERE HAVING ISSUES AND NEEDED, NEEDED HELP FIXING PLUMBING ISSUES, BUT IF THERE'S A WAY THAT I CAN SHARE, UM, COMMENT, LINK, I DON'T KNOW, I'M TALKING TO THE CITY NOW.
I, I, I USUALLY SEE A COMMENT SECTION WHERE I CAN DROP INFORMATION OR LINKS, BUT THAT WOULD BE GREAT IF I COULD JUST SHARE THAT INFORMATION OUT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER DESOLTEL AND ALSO, UH, TIFFANY, UH, YOU SHOULD FEEL FREE TO, UH, ON THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PAGE FOR THE CDC FOR THIS COMMISSION.
UH, IF YOU LOOK UP THE ROSTER THERE AND THERE'LL BE A LINK TO LOOK AT THE ROSTER OF THE COMMISSIONERS, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO FIND OUR EMAIL ADDRESSES AND MAYBE EVEN SOME OF US, OUR PHONE NUMBERS.
UH, AND SO YOU SHOULD LIKELY BE ABLE TO EMAIL, UH, COMMISSIONER DIGITAL OR ANY OF US DIRECTLY, UH, AND HE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE THOSE RESOURCES WITH YOU, OR I CAN SAY FOR MYSELF THAT I'M GOING TO REACH OUT TO THE URBAN LEAGUE, UH, OR AT LEAST THE CONTACTS I, I KNOW THERE.
UH, AND, UH, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAVE ANY ACTIVE CONTACTS AT THE TENANTS' COUNCIL.
UM, BUT I WILL, UH, JUST PERSONALLY, UH, DO MY BEST TO FIND FOLKS AT THE TENANTS COUNCIL AT THE AUSTIN TENANT COUNCIL, UH, BOSTON, AS WELL AS WE SUGGESTED.
UH, AND MIKE CONSIDER, UH, YOU KNOW, AS YOU HAD MENTIONED DALLAS LISTED HERE, I KNOW THAT THIS ISN'T NECESSARILY AN AREA OF DALLAS, UH, IN PURVIEW.
UH, BUT I WAS THINKING ORGANIZATIONS LIKE DOW, UH, UH, UH, AND THE JUSTICE COALITION, THE AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION, IF ANYTHING, SOMETIMES A MEGAPHONE IS A REALLY, REALLY GOOD, UH, WAY TO GET SOME SUPPORT.
UH, AND, UH, I DO KNOW THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS LIKE THE ONES I JUST NAMED HER, COULDN'T BE GOOD AT DRAWING ATTENTION TO AN ISSUE.
UH, AND SO, UH, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO REACH OUT TO THEM AS WELL, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME DIRECTLY.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I'D LIKE TO PARTNER WITH YOU, UH, SEE, I LIKE IT, HOW I'M GOING TO BE ABLE TO HELP, UH, INDIVIDUALLY NOT TO MENTION, OF COURSE, THE CONVENTION AT LARGE, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION, UH, THESE, UH, APARTMENT MANAGERS, APARTMENT HONORS WITH THE ONES ABOUT ADAM ROSENBERG LANE.
WE NEED BUILDING COME UNDER THE HEADING OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, AND ALSO CODE ENFORCEMENT NEEDS TO GO INTO THESE BUILDINGS.
[00:15:01]
MANAGERS, WHY THEY HAVE NOT RELEASED THE WATER BACK ON FOR THEIR TENANTS, AND IF THEY CAN'T GIVE THEM A GOOD EXPLANATION OF WHY THEY WILL NOT TURN THE WATER BACK ON THAT THEY WERE SHUTTING THEM DOWN FOR A WHILE AND LET THEM SEE HOW IT IS TO FEEL THE PINCH THAT THEY TENANT.THAT'S MY RECOMMENDATION UNDERSTOOD COMMISSIONER TAVOR I CAN IMAGINE.
WELL, ACTUALLY, UNFORTUNATELY I CAN IMAGINE HOW FRUSTRATING IT IS WITHOUT WATER FOR SO LONG.
AND I, UH, YEAH, I'M DEFINITELY WITH YOU.
WE NEED TO GET, WE, WE NEED TO GET HELP.
YOU CAN GET HELP FOR FOLKS, AND I APPRECIATE, UH, TIFFANY, YOU BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION.
I WAS TRYING TO RAISE MY HAND, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IF HE DID SEE.
UM, BUT YEAH, I JUST ALSO WANTED TO SAY, THANKS, TIFFANY, FOR BRINGING THIS TO OUR ATTENTION AND, UM, UH, UH, MR. CHAIR, YOU NEEDED A CONNECTION TO SOMEONE AT THE AUSTIN TENANT'S COUNCIL, AND I CAN PROVIDE THAT I'M ON THE BOARD OF THAT ORGANIZATION.
I DON'T, I DON'T THINK THEY CAN PROVIDE FUNDING, BUT AT LEAST THEY SHOULD BE ABLE TO, UM, POINT TO, UM, ASSISTANCE WITH DEALING WITH THE LANDLORD.
THANK YOU, UH, COMMISSIONER PRIVATELY WITH, UH, IT'S, IT'S GOOD TO HEAR YOU, UH, AFTER SOME TIME AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, I CAN'T, UH, YOUR CAMERA'S NOT ON, SO I'M NOT ABLE TO SEE YOU RAISING YOUR HAND, UH, FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN THOUGH, UH, AS YOU, AS YOU WERE.
AND, UH, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY MAKE SURE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, UH, FROM THE COMMISSIONERS? NO.
IS THERE, UH, DOES ANY, UH, TIFFANY, HAVE YOU PLEASE STAY ON THE LINE FOR JUST ANOTHER MOMENT LONGER AS ANY, ANY, ANY, UH, THOUGHTS FROM CITY STAFF, UH, AROUND ANYTHING THAT WE MIGHT'VE MENTIONED, UH, WHERE Y'ALL, MIGHT'VE WANTED TO INTERJECT? OKIE DOKE.
UH, THIS IS ERIC LEEK, CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, IT'S LIKE, YOU ALL HAVE SHARED A LOT OF GREAT RESOURCES.
UM, THERE IS, THERE'S ALSO A, UH, EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT, UM, HERE LATER IN THE AGENDA.
SO THAT'S, UH, ANOTHER RESOURCE FOR, FOR SOME FOLKS.
AND THAT WAS ALSO GOING TO BE, MY NEXT QUESTION IS IF TIFFANY WERE TO STAY ONLINE WHERE SHE WAS SO MOVED TO DO SO, WOULD WE BE ABLE TO, UH, CONTINUE TO TALK TO HER LATER IN THE MEETING, IF SOMETHING WERE TO COME UP THAT MIGHT BE GERMANE TO, UH, UH, THE ER, OR WOULD WE ONLY BE ABLE TO SORT OF DISCUSS THAT WITH HER DURING THE, UH, DURING THE, UH, ITEM THAT SHE SPOKE ON ERICA LINK AGAIN, IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO STAY ON, UM, THAT OKAY.
AND, UH, TIFFANY, SO, UH, YOU'RE INVITED TO STAY ON THE LINE IF YOU'RE SO MOVED TO, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THESE MEETINGS CAN RUN THROUGH SOME TIMES AND YOU SHOULD ALSO FEEL FREE TO, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, LEAVE IF, IF THAT BECOMES UNTENABLE.
BUT, UH, IF YOU'D LIKE TO STAY ON, UH, W WHENEVER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THAT ITEM, UH, WE MAY ENGAGE YOU AGAIN FOR ANY QUESTIONS OR THOUGHTS IT'S UP TO YOU.
AND I JUST WANT TO SAY, I THINK I DO BELIEVE THAT THE APRN IS LIKE A CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION, SO I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT AFFECTS THE LGBT COMMUNITY WHO LIVE OUT THERE AND MAY NEED SUPPORT, BUT I GUESS THEY WILL BE ABLE TO REACH OUT TO ANY OF THE OTHER RESOURCES RIGHT NOW THAT FOR LIKE IMMEDIATE RELIEF.
UM, BUT YES, I DEFINITELY HAVE THE TIME TO, TO SAY AND LISTEN FOR A WHILE.
AND IF YOU HAVE A MUTE FUNCTION ON YOUR PHONE, YOU'RE PROBABLY ALREADY USING IT, BUT IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL JUST, UH, TO KEEP IT ON MUTE UNTIL SO WE'RE ALL CHATTING.
CAN WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS? OKAY.
IS OLIVIA OVER TURF ON THE LINE? WE'RE NOT SEEING HER ON THE LINE.
UH, THE INTERPRETER IS ON THE LINE, BUT NOT THE ACTUAL, UM, SIGNED UP, UH, CITIZENS COMMUNICATION.
UH, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT THIS SPEAKER, UH, THE, THE CITIZEN, UH, UH, WHO SIGNED UP TO SPEAK IS NOT HERE, BUT THE INTERPRETER IS HERE.
AND, UH, WHAT TIME WAS THE SPEAKER, UH, SET TO SPEAK OR TOLD TO BE HERE IN AVAIL? CITIZENS? COMMUNICATION
[00:20:01]
IS THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF THE MEETING.AND, UH, DID THE CITIZEN, UH, THE, THE SPEAKER CALL IN, UH, AT THE TIME THEY WERE ASKED, I THINK, IS THAT A FEW MINUTES BEFORE THE MEETING AS WELL? DID WE GET A CALL AND THEN DID WE LOSE THE SPEAKER OR DEACON? YOU HAVE ANY CONTEXT AROUND THAT? UH, HOLD ON A SECOND, PLEASE.
WE HAVEN'T HAVE, WE HAVE THREE PEOPLE ON THE LINE VIA PHONE TOLLIVER, SLOAN, AND TIFFANY WASHINGTON.
UM, BUT YES, UM, THE OTHER PERSON THAT TURNED UP FOR SUSAN'S COMMUNICATION HAS NOT CALLED IN.
UH, IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE WE SHOULD MOVE ON MOVE FORWARD.
I THINK TIFFANY HAS PROVIDED A SUBSTANTIAL CONTEXT, UH, HERE.
UH, DOES THAT SOUND ABOUT RIGHT WITH STAFF AND WE'RE JUST GONNA MOVE ON.
UM, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US COMMISSIONER TOLERBER.
I BELIEVE WE'LL STILL MAINTAIN FORUM AT THIS POINT.
I'LL VOTE ON EVERYTHING Y'ALL GOT TO VOTE ON.
I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, ALL OF US APPRECIATE THAT VOTE OF CONFIDENCE.
BYE-BYE UH, WORD OF PROCEDURE.
UH, COMMISSIONER TOLLIVER WOULD NEED TO BE PRESENT IN ORDER TO VOTE.
UH, AND, UH, I JUST, I AM VERIFYING THAT WE DO STILL HAVE QUORUM ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX.
WE DO HAVE QUORUM AS FAR AS I CAN COUNT, INCLUDING THE CALLERS ON THE PHONE.
CTM, CAN YOU VERIFY THAT WE HAVE EIGHT ATTENDEES? IF WE HAVE COMMISSIONER DELGADO ON THE PHONE, THEN THAT MEANS WE SHOULD BE GOOD.
HAPPY THAT YES, WE DO HAVE A QUORUM.
UM, LET ME WARNING, IF SOMEBODY SPEAKING IN THAT WE CAN'T HEAR, I THINK THAT'S ANGEL.
CAN YOU HEAR ME? I CAN HEAR YOU VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY LIKE, UH, FAINTLY, ALMOST A NEGLIGIBLE.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO SAY A COUPLE OF THINGS.
UH, YOU GUYS WERE GREAT IN OFFERING FROM THE RESOURCES, UH, TO ADD TO THAT FOR TIFFANY IS THE OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY, UH, HAS BEEN WORKING WITH SOME OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT ROSEWOOD AND, UM, REGARDING FOOD NEEDS AT MOUNT CARMEL.
UH, I BELIEVE THAT GOOD WORDS, AUSTIN, ADAM ORMAN THERE ARRANGED FOR THE DELIVERY OF A 200 MEALS AND THEY WERE DOING MORE, UH, LAST TIME I HEARD, UH, THEY'RE ALSO WORKING WITH, UH, TEXAS GAS AND GLAD TO GET THAT, UM, BUMPED UP AGAIN AND GOING AND REPAIRED.
SO THERE ARE FOLKS WORKING ON THIS.
UM, I JUST THINK IT'S SUCH A HUGE CHALLENGE ALL AROUND.
UM, BUT THERE ARE PEOPLE FROM THE CITY AND FROM GOOD NONPROFITS, UM, HELPING THAT COMMUNITY WITH BASIC NEEDS JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT.
THANK YOU FOR CALLING OUT GOOD NONPROFITS.
UH, AND, UH, ADAM ORMAN, UH, THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN TIME.
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
GO ON AND, AND HEAD AND MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM ONE, WHICH IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.UM, I'M ASSUMING EVERYONE'S HAD TIME TO REVIEW THE MINUTES, UH, LAST MEETING, IF NOT, UM, I THINK NOW'S A GOOD TIME TO DO A QUICK SCAN OF THEM AND, UH, I'M HAPPY TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO PROVE COMMISSIONER MIHIR.
I MOVE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM COMMISSIONER MAY HERE.
[00:25:02]
CAN WE SPECIFY? AND IT'S THAT YOU'RE REFERRING TO BECAUSE WE DO HAVE TOO MUCH.THAT'S, UH, UH, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH.
MINE WOULD BE, UM, THE, NOT THE LAST ONE, CAUSE I WASN'T AT IT.
SO I THINK WE'RE TALKING, UH, JANUARY MINUTES I WAS PRESENT.
IS THAT WHAT WE NEED? CAN I MOVE TO APPROVE JANUARY MINUTES? UH, COMMISSIONER MIHIR, I WOULD JUST ASK THAT YOU, UH, MOVE TO APPROVE BOTH AND THEN VOTE ON, UH, WELL, WELL, YEAH, YEAH.
A MEETING I WASN'T PRESENT AT THOSE.
UH, UH, WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 12TH, UH, 2021 MEETING.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND? I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A CORRECTION TO THE MINUTES.
ON ITEM THREE, A ON THE FEBRUARY MINUTES WE HAD ASKED IN RESPONSE TO THE AUSTIN ENERGY PRESENTATION ON PLUS ONE TO HAVE A PRESENTATION ON THE, ON CAP.
AND THAT'S NOT REFLECTED IN THE MINUTES.
CAN YOU PLEASE REFER TO THE FULL WHAT THE CAP ACRONYM STANDS FOR? WELL, I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHAT EXACTLY IT'S FOR IS THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
UH, I THINK FROM THE, FROM THE, UH, UTILITY.
SO WITH THAT CORRECTION I'LL MOVE APPROVAL OR SECOND, WHATEVER.
UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE, UH, WE ARE MOVING UP.
IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S A, THAT'S A MOTION TO APPROVE.
SO, UH, CAN WE GET A SECOND? UH, AND WHO IS THAT COMMISSIONER? THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER.
WE HAVE A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER LOUIE.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY CDC MEETING, PLEASE SAY AYE.
ALL OPPOSED
AND, UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY MINUTES? UM, THAT WAS THE FEBRUARY MINUTES.
MY CORRECTION IS TO THE FEBRUARY MINUTES.
I HEARD, I HEARD YOU COMMISSIONER.
THE CORRECTION WILL BE MADE TO THE FEBRUARY MINUTES REGARDING THE CAP ITEM AND THE JANUARY MINUTES WERE APPROVED AS WRITTEN IS IF I'M CORRECT, PLEASE CONFIRM CHAIR.
UNLESS THE VICE CHAIR WANTS A, UNLESS THE VICE CHAIR, UH, HIS ORIGINAL MOTION, UH, ALMOST MY SISTER SAYS HER ORIGINAL MOTION WAS TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY MINUTES AND NOT THE JANUARY MINUTES.
SO I'M DEFERRING TO THE VICE CHAIR HERE WHERE YOU MOVING TO APPROVE JANUARY OR FEBRUARY? WELL, I WAS MOVING TO APPROVE THEM BOTH.
YOU CAN ONLY DO ONE THEN IT WAS FOR THE FEBRUARY'S.
UH, WELL THEN I'M GOING TO ASK, UH, STAFF, IF WE CAN, UH, JUST, UH, REDO THIS TO SORT OF START IT OVER AND JUST CLARIFY.
UM, AND IF WE COULD FIRST JUST, I, I THINK WE FIRST AFFIRMED ALREADY THAT THERE'S A CHANGE TO THE FEBRUARY MINUTES AND, UH, AND SO NOW I WOULD LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE JANUARY MINUTES AS WRITTEN.
CAN WE GET A SECOND, PLEASE? AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR MICHELLE AND, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE JANUARY MINUTES AS WRITTEN, PLEASE SAY AYE.
THANK YOU ALL OPPOSED ANY ABSTENTIONS? FANTASTIC.
UH, IF WE CAN GET A MOTION TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY MINUTES AS AMENDED FOR, UH, VICE-CHAIR POPS.
CAN WE GET A SECOND? IS THIS COMMISSIONER SLOAN? I'LL SECOND.
[00:30:01]
THANK YOU.UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF APPROVING THE FEBRUARY MINUTES AS AMENDED, PLEASE SAY AYE.
AND ANY ABSTENTIONS, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AS ABSTAINING, WE HAVE AN EXTENSION FROM COMMISSIONER LOUIE COMMISSIONER STAINING, EXTENSION FROM COMMISSIONER WITH BETO COMMISSIONER METEA ABSTAINING UNDERSTOOD ANY MORE.
UM, AND SO WE WILL MOVE ON TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO NOW, UH, THAT BEING SAID, UH, ON HILL AND, UH, UH, STAFF, I'M WONDERING, UH, GIVEN WHAT I KNOW OUR LIMITATIONS ON THE TIME FOR, UH, OUR FIRST SPEAKER UNDER NEW BUSINESS, IF WE SHOULD, WE CAN SWAP NUMBER, UH, NEW BUSINESS AND, UH, UH, OR AT LEAST, UH, A AND B FROM NEW BUSINESS, UH, AND, AND DO THOSE FIRST.
UM, IF THAT'S A POSSIBILITY THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND IF NOT, UH, I UNDERSTAND, BUT I JUST WANTED TO CHECK IN, UM, SOMETIME, UH, UH, ERICA,
[CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL (Part 2 of 2)]
TWO, TWO THINGS.UM, THE SECOND CITIZEN COMMUNICATOR COMMUNICATIONS PERSON, UH, ARRIVED, PERHAPS WE COULD TAKE THAT ITEM AND THEN THE IOWA ITEM, IF THAT WORKS FOR ON PILLS, UH, ON HILL WILL THAT, W WILL YOU, WILL YOU BE ABLE TO BEAR WITH US? UH, UH, YES.
UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? WE CAN HEAR HER.
CAN WE CHECK WITH, UH, THE PRESENTER KELLY NICHOLS? HI, SIR.
Y'ALL ARE Y'ALL ARE VERY KIND.
UH, WE, WE JUST, WE APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR TIME DEARLY IN THE EVENINGS.
UH, AND, UH, LET'S, LET'S, UH, MOVE ON TO OUR SPEAKER.
HI, THIS IS OLIVIA OVERCHARGE, SORRY.
I LIVE IN SOUTHEAST TRAVIS COUNTY AND I DON'T ALWAYS HAVE INTERNET CONNECTION, WHICH MAKES, UH, ONE OF THE POINTS I'M ABOUT TO MAKE.
UH, I WAS TRYING TO LOG ON THOUGH.
I JUST WANT TO LET EVERYBODY KNOW AND I APOLOGIZE.
I ALSO WANTED TO BRING UP THE, UM, MOUNT CARMEL SITUATION.
IT'S BEEN 16 DAYS, IF NOT MORE, THAT THEY HAVE NOT HAD GAS.
UM, THE RESIDENTS ARE IN A STATE OF PANIC, MYSELF AND TIFFANY WASHINGTON WERE THERE LAST WEEK, UM, WITH PRODUCE BOXES, WATER AND MRAS AND THE NATIONAL GUARD.
UM, SO IT'S NOT LIKE THE CITY ISN'T AWARE.
UM, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE, UH, GOODIE MEALS.
THOSE WERE BACK AND FORTH, PUT ON HOLD.
UM, AND THE APARTMENT MANAGEMENT HAS NOT BEEN IN CONTACT REGULARLY WITH THE RESIDENTS.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT LINE ITEM 67 WAS SIGNED BY CITY COUNCIL LAST THURSDAY, UM, UH, AN INFORMAL APOLOGY TO THE HISTORICALLY, UH, HISTORIC OPPRESSION OF THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
AND WE REALLY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THAT WAS JUST A PIECE OF PAPER BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING AT MOUNT CARAMEL AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE CITY HAS NOT HELPED THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
AND WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING IMMEDIATELY TO ASSIST THESE RESIDENTS AND NOT KEEP PLANNING.
WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE SAVED AND THEIR AUTONOMY IS RESPECTED AND WE CAN DO WHATEVER WE CAN FOR THEM.
IT SHOULD NOT BE REGULAR CITIZENS.
THESE RESIDENTS HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS WATER ANYWHERE NEAR THEM, AND WE'VE GOT TO DO A BETTER JOB IMMEDIATELY.
THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY, WHATEVER COMMISSIONER'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS AREA, WE NEED TO HOLD ACCOUNTABLE AS WELL AS THE DISTRICT LEADER.
UH, OLIVIA, UH, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OLIVIA MR. CHAIR? I HAVE A QUESTION.
UH, YOU LISTED SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS AND, UM, AGENCIES, AUTHORITIES, HAVE YOU CHECKED WITH HUD'S? HAVE YOU BEEN IN CONTACT WITH HUD'S REPRESENTATIVE FOR THOSE APARTMENTS, THE SOUTHWEST HOUSING COMPLIANCE CORPORATION? UM, UH, YES MA'AM I HAVE.
AND THEY SAID I COULD NOT MOVE FORWARD BECAUSE I WAS PERSONALLY NOT A RESIDENT, BUT I DID PASS ALONG THE INFORMATION TO THE RESIDENTS ALONG WITH THE DOWNLOADED COPY OF THE CODE VIOLATIONS, BECAUSE THE CODE VIOLATIONS WERE POSTED AND THEN REMOVED.
UM, BUT THEY ARE, THEY, I DOWNLOADED THEM AND PASS THEM TO AS MANY OF THE RESIDENTS AS I COULD, UM, ONLINE, BUT I'VE BEEN ON THE PHONE WITH AUSTIN TENANT'S COUNCIL TRALA, UH, EVERYONE ELSE I CAN POSSIBLY THINK OF TODAY TO HELP GET THEM SOME
[00:35:01]
DIRECT ASSISTANCE AND WE JUST NEED TO EXPEDITE IT.BUT I DID, I DID IN FACT, CONTACT HUD, UM, AND I PASS THAT NUMBER ONTO THE RESIDENTS IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
THIS IS COMMISSIONER IT'S CLONE.
UM, I ACTUALLY HAVE A QUESTION FOR STAFF THAT I WAS GOING TO HOLD ONTO UNTIL LATER, BUT ACKNOWLEDGING THOUGH LESSONS ON ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY AND SOMETIMES EVEN PHONE ACCESSIBILITY FOR OUR COMMUNICATION AND STAFF.
UH, I AM READING IN THE, IN THE INFORMATION THAT YOU ALL PROVIDED US EARLIER THIS WEEK, THAT THERE IS AS FUNDING PLANNED THROUGH THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT OUT OF THE HOUSING TRUST FUND TO BE MADE AVAILABLE, UH, FOR SHORT TERM HOUSING OPTIONS FOR FOLKS WHO ARE JUST PLACED.
AND OBVIOUSLY THERE HAVE BEEN A NEED FOR THAT FOR QUITE A WHILE FOR FOLKS FROM PLACES LIKE MOUNT CARMEL.
UM, DO YOU ALL KNOW IF THAT FUNDING IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE OR WHAT THE STATUS OF THAT IS? IT SAYS UP TO A THOUSAND DOLLARS PAID DIRECTLY TO EACH ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS, AND I HAVE TO IMAGINE THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL RIGHT NOW.
HI THERE, THIS IS ERIC LEAK FROM THE HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE ARE WORKING TO GET THAT FUNDING DEPLOYED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, UM, TO GET A CONTRACT IN PLACE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO PARTNER WITH THE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, SO WE ARE WORKING ON IT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN AND HOPE TO HAVE IT AVAILABLE SOON, BUT WE DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC DATE YET.
THIS IS JESSE GUTIERREZ AT CITY HALL.
I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THERE WAS ANYONE ON THE LINE, THAT'S A SPANISH SPEAKER THAT NEEDS INTERPRETATION OR TRANSLATION CAUSE WE DO HAVE A SPANISH INTERPRETER ONLINE.
UM, YES, THAT WAS MORE PEOPLE WHO ARE SITTING IN MY LIVING ROOM.
I'M SORRY, UM, WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO, UH, UH, CELL SERVICE CURRENTLY.
SO WE'RE SORT OF ALL SITTING HERE, UM, AND LISTENING TO WHATEVER TRANSLATION AND THE NUMBER THAT THEY CALLED.
I THINK WE DO HAVE A, I DON'T KNOW, JACQUELINE, DO YOU WANT TO TRANSLATE SOME OF WHAT, UH, OLIVIA, UH, MENTIONED EARLIER? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE HER TO GIVE HER COMMENTS TODAY? SORRY.
WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT OLIVIA, IF YOU WANT US TO INTERPRET, UH, YOUR COMMENTS, UH, VIA THIS WEBEX MEETING, UM, IF YOU CAN, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
IT'S NOT, UM, ALL JUST DO THE BEST I CAN TO TRANSLATE WHEN I'M DONE WITH THE CALL, BUT IF THE MEETING CAN BE TRANSLATED ON ATX N UM, LIVE, HOPEFULLY, SO IT COULD BE BROADCAST BETTER.
SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE LOOKING FOR A LIVE, UH, TRANSLATION IF OUR CURRENT CURRENT TRANSLATION, IF POSSIBLE.
UM, UH, SOMETHING THAT FOLKS THAT ARE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM, MY PEOPLE TO HEAR AS OPPOSED TO A RETROACTIVE TRANSLATION RIGHT NOW, DOES THAT SOUND RIGHT? OLIVIA? YES.
I HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE, UH, UH, FOOD POLICY BOARD.
UM, BUT THEY, THEY DID A RECORDED, I BELIEVE IT WAS RECORDED TRANSLATION THAT THEY POSTED LATER ON AND THE, UM, FOLLOWUP NOTES, WHICH SUFFICE SINCE WE CAN'T REALLY FOLLOW A MOTION OR ANYTHING TO MOVE FORWARD TODAY, WE JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY'S GETTING THE SAME INFORMATION.
UM, AND, UH, YOU CAN FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT, UH, TO ME AND MY, AT THE, AT THE EMAIL LISTED, UH, BEFORE THE NEXT MEETING THAT YOU COME SPEAK AT AND, UH, I'LL WORK, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TRANSLATION NEEDS ARE AS, AS YOU'VE SPECIFIED.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING.
UM, I APPRECIATE, UH, YOU COMING TO SPEAK, UH, AS WELL AS ADVOCATES, UH, AND, UH, NOT ONLY THAT, BUT ACTIVATE, UH, SO MANY OF THE RESOURCES FOR THE COMMUNITY AT MARTIN MOUNT CARMEL AND AMONG OTHERS, UH, AS WELL, UM, AS TIFFANY.
SO, UM, YOU, UH, OLIVIA YOU SHOULD ALSO FEEL FREE TO STAY ON THE LINE AS WE'RE ADDRESSING, UH, THAT AGENDA ITEM LATER, AS LONG AS YOU CAN KEEP IT ON MUTE RIGHT NOW.
[3A. Briefing on DAWA Heals (Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone, DAWA Fund representative)]
UH, IF WE COULD, UH, MOVE ON TO NEW BUSINESS, UH, A[00:40:01]
BRIEFING ON DOW HEALS WITH, UH, JONATHAN CHAKA MAHOEN, UH, WHO REPRESENTS THE DOW FUND PEACE GOING ON? GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY.UM, YEAH, SO I'M NOT EXACTLY SURE.
I THINK PEOPLE ASKED ME TO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST COME AND SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT DAWA.
UM, I STARTED DOLL ON MY BIRTHDAY IN 2019 SEPTEMBER BECAUSE, UM, I LOST A LOT OF FRIENDS TO THE SUICIDE, UH, DRUG ADDICTION, YOU NAME IT, UM, BECAUSE OF FINANCIAL CRISIS.
AND A LOT OF MY FRIENDS THROUGH THE YEARS THAT HAVE BEEN SOCIAL WORKERS HAVE BEEN, TEACHERS HAVE BEEN MUSICIANS, UM, AND EVEN MYSELF GOING THROUGH, UH, FINANCIAL STRUGGLES, LEADING TO MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES, UM, BEING AN ARTIST I'M HERE AND I MOVED TO AUSTIN TO, TO BE A MUSICIAN, TO BE AN ARTIST, TO BE A CREATIVE, UH, WITH MY WIFE.
UH, WE ARE, UM, WE ARE RIDERS AGAINST THE STORM AS PERFORMERS.
AND, UM, I HAD JUST RECENTLY LOST A FRIEND, UM, AND IT FELT LIKE, UH, IT WAS THIS, IT WAS JUST, IT WAS TOO, IT WAS TOO DIFFICULT TO FIND ACCESS TO MONEY, UM, QUICKLY.
AND, UM, I WENT TO SOME FRIENDS AND ASKED THEM, LIKE, IF THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT THEY KNEW OF WHERE THEY COULD, YOU KNOW, JUST GET FINANCIAL RESOURCES, UM, IN A WAY WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH HOOPS.
AND THERE WAS NOTHING AT THE TIME THAT EXISTED.
SO I THREW A PARTY ON MY BIRTHDAY, UM, RAISED $3,000 AND I HAD PLANNED TO JUST GIVE IT OUT, UM, AFTER THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, AND WHEN PEOPLE NEEDED IT, BUT I WAS CONVINCED BY OTHER FOLKS THAT I HAD KIND OF STARTED TO ORGANIZE, TO FORMALIZE THE IDEA OF DAWA, WHICH IS DIVERSITY AWARENESS AND WELLNESS AND ACTION TO ACTUALLY FORMALIZE IT INTO SOMETHING MORE STRUCTURED.
AND SO, UH, FAST FORWARD TO, YOU KNOW, THE PANDEMIC IN MARCH, UM, I HAD RAISED PROBABLY ABOUT $6,000 AT THAT POINT AND WAS KIND OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE BEST WAY TO LIKE, JUST, JUST GIVE IT OUT.
I DIDN'T, UM, AGAIN, INITIALLY MY PLAN WAS JUST TO GIVE IT OUT THROUGH VENMO OR WHATEVER.
UM, BUT, UM, AGAIN, PEOPLE WERE ENCOURAGING ME TO FORM MORE OF A, OF AN ORGANIZATION AROUND IT.
SO THE PANDEMIC KIT, AND, AND THERE WAS SOME WORD GETTING AROUND ABOUT DAWA.
I CREATED A WEBSITE FOR PEOPLE TO APPLY, AND, UM, WE WERE FIGURING OUT THE WAYS TO DISTRIBUTE THE MONEY BECAUSE WE DIDN'T, WE DIDN'T HAVE A FORMAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO DISTRIBUTE IT.
UM, THE, THE AWARENESS AROUND, AROUND THAT WERE BEGINNING TO GROW.
SO FUNDS STARTED TO COME IN AND WE, UH, HAD A FORMAL APP APPLICATION PROCESS READY TO GO IN JUNE.
SO IN JUNE WE HAD AROUND $20,000, RAISED A LITTLE OVER, POSSIBLY FROM FOLKS, EVERYONE FROM, YOU KNOW, MUSICIANS DOING A LITTLE LIVE STREAM TYPE OF SHOW TO RAISE MONEY TO JUST YOUR AVERAGE PERSON, FINDING OUT ABOUT THE FUND AND GIVING FIVE, 10, 15, $20, WHATEVER THEY HAD.
SO OPEN APPLICATIONS AND WITHIN 48 HOURS, WE HAD OVER 200 APPLICATIONS IN JUNE.
SO JUNE 28TH, I THINK WE OPENED IT UP BY JUNE 29TH.
WE HAD TO SHUT IT DOWN BECAUSE WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ENOUGH MONEY, OR WE HAD JUST ABOUT ENOUGH MONEY TO GIVE THOSE, UH, ORIGINAL 200 APP APPLICANTS, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME MONEY.
UM, SO WE HAD PLANNED TO GIVE EACH APPLICANT $200.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS AN ALL VOLUNTEER STAFF.
UM, I HADN'T RECEIVED A, I HAVEN'T TAKEN ANY MONEY FROM ANY OF THE FUNDS THAT HAVE COME IN UP TO THIS POINT.
UM, WE HAVE A BOARD OF ADVISORS OF, OF EIGHT OR NINE PEOPLE.
AND, UM, IT WAS JUST REALLY GRASSROOTS AND WE FIGURED OUT, UM, HOW TO GET VISA CARDS TO PURCHASE VISA CARDS AND SEND THOSE OUT TO THE FIRST 200 APPLICANTS.
AND WE FINISHED THAT ROUND AND WE'RE NOW IN A ROUND TO A DISTRIBUTION, BUT DURING THE, UM, DURING THE DISASTER, UH, I POSTED ON FACEBOOK AND JUST, YOU KNOW, I HAD, I HAD ABOUT $3,000 IN MY VENMO ACCOUNT FROM DOWEL FUNDRAISING.
AND I JUST POSTED TO PEOPLE JUST TO BE BY NEWS.
LIKE IF YOU NEED SOME HELP, JUST, JUST HIT ME UP AND, AND, AND I'LL SEND YOU SOME MONEY VIA VENMO.
WELL, SOMEHOW MY NUMBER GOT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND BEFORE I KNEW IT, UM, MY PHONE IS STILL, I'M STILL GETTING TEXTS TO THIS DAY, BUT PEOPLE ASKING FOR, UH, FOR FINES.
UM, SO ONCE I GIVEN OUT THAT $3,000 PLUS AN ADDITIONAL, UH, $2,000, $5,000, I HIT THE LIMIT ON VENMO.
UM, I STARTED TO ASK PEOPLE TO DONATE SO THAT I COULD GIVE, GIVE MONEY OUT THROUGH MY FAMILY.
UM, GET THE LIMIT ON VENMO, HIT A $7,500
[00:45:01]
LIMIT ON CATCH UP THE NEXT DAY.AND THEN I HIT THE LIMIT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S ACCOUNT.
THE NEXT DAY I HAD TO GET CASH APP FMO TO LYFT, LYFT, THOSE THOSE LIMITS, SO THAT I CAN CONTINUE TO GIVE MONEY LONG STORY SHORT.
UM, JUST THROUGH MY PHONE, I GAVE OUT $32,000 OF EMERGENCY, UH, FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
AND THAT WAS NOT PART OF THE PLAN, A DOLLAR THAT WAS A UN MISSION WAS, UH, TO GIVE TO THE GIVERS.
WE CALL PEOPLE, PEOPLE ON THE COMMUNITY FRONTLINE.
SO THAT'S PEOPLE THAT ARE ARTISTS, TEACHERS, PEOPLE OF COLOR, WHO ARE ARTISTS, TEACHERS, SOCIAL WORKERS, UM, HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, UM, AND, UM, THUS FAR, UH, OUT OF ALL OUR APPLICANTS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THOSE HARDEST HIT, UM, ARE THE ONES THAT ARE APPLYING THE MO MOST FREQUENTLY, ABOUT 80% OF, OF APPLICANTS ARE BLACK OR FROM THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
UM, 70% OF THOSE HAVE BEEN MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS.
UM, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE OUTREACH IS REALLY JUST BEGINNING IT'S, IT'S REALLY, IT'S REALLY GROWING FASTER THAN I CAN EVEN REALLY HANDLE IT AT THIS POINT.
UM, DUE TO THE FACT THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS NOT A, IT'S NOT A JOB FOR ME.
THIS IS A, UM, AT THE, AT THIS POINT, A STATE, UM, STATE RECOGNIZED NONPROFIT, AND WE'RE WORKING TO FORMALIZE INTO, UH, A FIVE OH ONE C THREE FEDERAL NON-PROFIT.
BUT AGAIN, THE INTENTION AT ITS OUTSET WAS SIMPLY TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT WAS EASY FOR PEOPLE TO, UH, RECEIVE FUNDS.
NOW, SETTING UP ALL THAT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN EASY, BUT WE'RE FIGURING IT OUT.
UM, BASICALLY UNDER THE PREMISE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF, IF I, IF IT WAS UP TO ME, EVERYONE WOULD, WOULD HAVE MONEY THAT THEY NEED.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW WE NEED MONEY TO EAT.
WE KNOW WE NEED MONEY TO FIND SHELTER.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, FOOD AND CLOTHES ARE NECESSITIES, BUT MONEY IN THE SOCIETY IS IN NECESSITY.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE THAT, YOU KNOW, MY, MY FOCUS THROUGH DOWEL WAS THOSE THAT GIVE THE MOST, YOU KNOW, SHOULD, SHOULD BE, SHOULD BE, UH, SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT EVERYONE SHOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF.
AND, UM, SO, YOU KNOW, JUST DOING WHAT WE CAN TO, TO CONTINUE TO OFFER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ROUND TO JUST CLOSE WE'VE SET OUT, UM, FUNDS TO, I HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NUMBERS, BUT IT'S DEFINITELY OVER OVER A HUNDRED PEOPLE, PROBABLY 150, 160 PEOPLE.
AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE ANOTHER A HUNDRED FOLKS IN THE QUEUE, UM, TO SEND MONEY TO.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE OVER 200 PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO RECEIVE $200 VISA CARDS, UM, IN THIS SECOND ROUND.
AND WE'RE LOOKING TO OPEN ROUND THREE WITH HOPEFULLY SOME MORE STRUCTURE AND SOME MORE ORGANIZATION, AND SOME MORE ABILITY TO GET THE MONEY OUT FASTER.
WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN, UM, WITH THE, UM, THE VOLUNTEER STAFF THAT WE HAVE, WE GOT A UNITED WAY GRANT FOR $30,000, UM, WHICH WE, UM, PAY, WE'RE PAYING A PART-TIME COORDINATOR THAT CAN DEAL WITH, UH, APPLICANTS AND, AND HELP US TO, TO WITH VARIOUS PROGRAM COORDINATION.
UH, BUT OTHERWISE THAN THAT, LIKE ALL THE DONATIONS ARE GOING OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND HOW WE WERE JUST RECENTLY, UM, OFFERED SOME MONEY FROM THE MOODY FOUNDATION.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE GONNA USE THAT MONEY TO CREATE AN APP, UM, SO THAT WE CAN DISTRIBUTE MONEY VIA THIS APP BECAUSE THE EMERGENCY FUND SITUATION WITH THE DISASTER JUST WOKE ME UP TO THE REALITY THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S NEEDED ON A MORE REGULAR BASIS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO SERVICE, UH, ON A MONTHLY BASIS, BUT WE SHOULD FIGURE OUT SOME TYPE OF WAY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY, HOPEFULLY, UM, TO DISTRIBUTE, UM, FUNDS THAT PEOPLE IN NEED THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY IN THAT BRACKET OF, UH, SOCIAL WORKERS, TEACHERS, ARTISTS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE WERE JUST GOING TO KEEP IT MOVING AND, UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY, UM, JUST TAKING IT ONE DAY AT A TIME.
THIS IS, IS VERY, IT'S VERY GRASSROOTS AND IT'S VERY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UH, WE'RE HERE AND WE'RE GLAD THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SERVE THE PEOPLE THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SERVE.
TALK, UH, FOR, UH, NOT JUST COMING HERE TO SHARE ABOUT DOLL WITH US, BUT FOR YOUR WORK, UH, IN, IN TAKING CARE OF OUR SHARED COMMUNITIES, UH, AND GIVING BACK TO THE GIVERS.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, UH, THE INITIATIVE? OKAY.
AND, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE WITH US THIS EVENING AND ALSO FOR BEARING WITH US, UH, THROUGH MULTIPLE RESCHEDULES, UH, SHOPPING, UH, WE WILL MOVE ON TO OUR
[3B. Briefing on Family Independence Initiative (Ivanna Neri, Partnership Director, Family Independence Initiative)]
NEXT ITEM, UH, UNDER NEW BUSINESS, UH, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON THE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE.FII UH, AND YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT, UH, ERICA, UH, EARLIER ALLUDED TO FII AS WELL.
SO WE HAVE IVANA, UH, NETTIE IS THE, UH, PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR.
[00:50:15]
SORRY, I COULDN'T UNMUTE MYSELF.CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME NOW? THAT'S CORRECT.
I HAVE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
UH, JESSE, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU CAN.
CAN YOU SAY THAT AGAIN? HE'S GETTING TO THE PRESENTATION AND JUST, AND BY THE WAY, IF I DON'T KNOW IF ANYBODY COULD CONTROL THE GAIN ON, UH, ON JESSIE'S SOUND, UH, BUT IT'S UP REALLY HIGH TO THE POINT OF, WE CAN'T REALLY HEAR IT.
UH, I GUESS THE MIDS ARE WAY TOO HIGH.
UM, I'LL TRY TO BE A LITTLE MORE, UH, THANK YOU.
OR IF YOU MAY BE ABLE TO MOVE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER AWAY FROM THE MICROPHONE, JESSE, THAT MIGHT HELP.
I'M NOT SURE HOW THE AUDIO IS MANAGED.
WELL, THANKS EVERYONE FOR INVITING ME MY QUESTION TO BE HERE, GO LIKE I KNOW MANY OF YOU, SO I, UH, I THINK THIS IS GONNA MAKE THINGS EASIER AS I GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.
I SAID, MY NAME IS
UM, I GOT TO HAVE THE PLEASURE OF OPENING THE FIRST, UM, SITE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, AND EVER SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GROW, UH, THE NETWORK OF, UM, JUST THE SAME WORK THAT WE'RE DOING ACROSS TEXAS AND OTHER STATES IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION, MOVING ON.
UM, REALLY THE, THE VISION AND MISSION OF FII IS TO TRUST AND INVEST IN LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES SO THAT THEY CAN ACHIEVE PROSPERITY, UH, WITH, WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND ALSO WITH THEIR COMMUNITIES NEXT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY AND HOW WE WERE FOUNDED.
UH, WE WERE ACTUALLY FOUNDED IN 2001 IN OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA BY A SOCIAL INNOVATOR AND MUELLER.
UH, AND YOU CAN SEE THE LITTLE BOOK ON THE LEFT SIDE.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND, UM, IF YOU HAVE $16 TO BUY IT, UM, IN, IN MAURICIO, HE WAS AN IMMIGRANT, CAME TO THE U S WHEN HE WAS EIGHT YEARS OLD.
AND, UH, HE WORKED IN SOCIAL SERVICES FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS PRIOR TO FUND TWO FOUNDING THE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE.
THE REASON WHY THE THOUGHT BEHIND IS THAT, UM, IN THE SOCIAL SERVICES THAT HE, HE USED TO WORK AT, HE, SO HOW THIS SYSTEM IS SET UP TO ALWAYS ASSUME THE WORST PEOPLE KNOW THE BEST OF PEOPLE.
AND JUST LOOKING AT HIS OWN STORY, HOW HIS MOM WAS ALWAYS AN ENTREPRENEUR THAT WAS NEVER RECOGNIZED BECAUSE OF THAT, OR RATHER, SHE WAS ALWAYS, UM, BY THE SYSTEM BEING BULLIED, UM, BECAUSE OF THE SITUATION THAT THEY WERE LIVING IN, WHICH WAS POVERTY.
SO WE BACK SAID, UH, HE GOT APPROACHED BY URI BROWN, WHO AT THE TIME WAS A ME OR PORTLAND.
AND, UH, HE SAID, HEY, MARRISA, IF I GIVE YOU $1 MILLION, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH THAT MAURICIO COMING, UH, REALLY FRUSTRATED FROM SOCIAL SERVICES.
HE SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? I WOULD JUST GIVE THEM MONEY TO PEOPLE, AS I KNOW, BELIEVE THAT THEY KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR THEMSELVES AND THAT, WELL, WE MIGHT HAVE REALLY GOOD.
I'M SHARING SOME, UM, BACKGROUND NOISE.
I THINK IT'S COMING FROM CITY HALL, A B OKAY.
SO THEN, UM, US, UM, YOU'RE FINE.
SO WAS HE, UM, WITHOUT BELIEF THAT PEOPLE KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR THEM, UH, IN ANOTHER WAY THAT THE SYSTEM IS SET UP, IT'S NOT REALLY ALLOWING US TO SEE, UH, THE STRINGS OF THE PEOPLE WERE RATHER TO CONTINUE SEEING THE DEFICIT OF THE PEOPLE SHE CREATED IN 2001, UM, THE FAMILY DEPENDENCE INITIATIVE EVER SINCE THEN, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, TO JUST GROW THE MOVEMENT ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN 2010, UH, UM, TELL HIM BARACK OBAMA RECOGNIZED THE WORK AND APPROACH OF FII AND THEN ARTWORK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN DIFFERENT MAGAZINES, SUCH AS THE NEW, UH, THE, THE NEW YORK TIMES, UM, NEWSLETTER, UM, NEWSPAPERS MIXED, REALLY THE PROBLEM.
[00:55:01]
UH, WE SEE THE SYSTEM THAT WE HAVE IN, AND I FEEL LIKE THIS IS ONE OF THE CONVENTIONS THAT YOU PROBABLY ARE SEEING THESE, UM, EVERY DAY IS THAT THE, THE, THE SYSTEM AND SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS THAT WE DESIGN ARE ALWAYS, UM, UPLIFTING THE DEFICITS OF THE PEOPLE ALWAYS COME IN WITH AN ASSUMPTION THAT PEOPLE NEED TO TEACH, THAT WE NEED TO TEACH PEOPLE THE SKILLS NEEDED TO HAVE BETTER JOBS, THAT WE NEED TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO FISH, THAT WE NEED TO TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO MAKE POSITIONS.ALWAYS ASSUMING THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE CAPABILITY TO DO THAT.
AND IT'S, IT IS REALLY COMING, UM, BY THE SYSTEM AND HOW THIS, THIS SYSTEM IS DESIGNED TO LOOK AT PEOPLE THAT WAY MIXED AT THE SAME TIME, UM, AS A SYSTEM, WE INVEST MORE THAN $400 BILLION BETWEEN PHILANTHROPY AND GOVERNMENT.
I TELLS THE CONFLICT FIGHTING THE WAR ON POVERTY, AND YET THE POVERTY GETS ACROSS THE U S HAVE NOT CHANGED IN THE LAST 50 YEARS, SOCIAL CAPITAL.
AND THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING IN COMMUNITY ARE STILL NOT BEING RECOGNIZED.
UM, THERE IS NOT AN INVESTMENT THAT GOES DIRECTLY TO PEOPLE AND MOST OF THE FUNDS GO TO DEFICIT-BASED MODELS.
UH, THE REALITY ON THE OTHER SIDE, AND I'M FROM WHAT WE GET TO SEE, IT'S REALLY DIFFERENT.
PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET TO A BETTER PLACE.
MOST OF THE TIME, PEOPLE ALREADY FIGURED IT OUT AND THEY KNOW WHERE THEIR NEXT STEP IS.
PEOPLE ARE HARDWORKING AND RESILIENT.
PEOPLE LIVE IN COMMUNITY AND SOLUTIONS ARE CREATED IN COMMUNITY, AND THAT SUCCESS IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE.
AND WHILE, UM, A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS AND, UH, PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT ARE DESIGNED, WHETHER BY GOVERNMENT OR PHILANTHROPY, UH, THEY DEFINE OUTCOMES FOR PEOPLE RATHER THAN ASKING PEOPLE, WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES THAT YOU WANT IN YOUR LIFE? AND SO I THINK THAT LINE IN BETWEEN, YOU KNOW, SUCCESS MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT IN EVERYONE MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENTLY, EVERYONE.
SO THAT DEFICIT BASED SYSTEM HAS MORE THAN 15 MILLION PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY TODAY.
WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT WITHIN FOUR YEARS, 75% OF THOSE 50 MILLION PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN POVERTY TODAY ARE GET TO MOVE ABOVE THE POVERTY LINE.
UM, HOWEVER, BECAUSE THAT IS NOT A SYSTEM THAT INCENTIVIZES THEIR MOBILITY COMPETITOR INCENTIVIZES THAT MOBILITY 50% OF THEM FALL RIGHT BACK IN FIVE YEARS, ABOUT 40% OF THE PEOPLE INTENTIONALLY DON'T ACCESS ANY TYPE OF, UH, FEDERAL SUBSIDIES OR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.
UH, YOU KNOW WHAT, UH, OH YEAH, SORRY.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THIS IS, THIS SHOULDN'T BE NEW TO YOU, BUT THIS IS JUST REFLECTING THE CLIFF EFFECT AND HOW SOMEONE IS TRYING TO GET TO A BETTER PLACE.
UH, WHAT DO YOU SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE, THE GREEN LINE, UH, YOU SPEAK HOW, UH, AS PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET BETTER, THIS SYSTEM ACTUALLY PENALIZE PEOPLE FOR THAT, UH, FOR, FOR THEIR WORK THAT THEY ARE DOING.
WE KNOW THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE FOR THE WEALTHY, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A DIFFERENCES.
SAME AS PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES, CREATING ASSETS, WE ACTUALLY INCENTIVIZE THE WELLBEING RATHER THAN PENALIZING THEM.
WHEREAS IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES THE DAY THAT SOMEONE EARNS AN EXTRA DOLLAR BECAUSE OF THEIR HARD WORK, THE SYSTEM ACTUALLY PENALIZES THEM.
SO IT NOT THAT PEOPLE ARE STUCK IS THAT AS A SYSTEM, WE'RE STICKING WITH IT NEXT.
SO OUR APPROACH IS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
WHAT WE DO NEXT IS WE FOLLOW WHAT WE CALL A STRENGTH BASED APPROACH THAT HAS THREE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS.
ONE OF THEM IS GIVEN ACCESS TO ON THE STREET, THEIR CASH, THEY ARE LOOKING AT COMMUNITY AND INCENTIVIZING AND PROMOTING, UM, THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE ALREADY DOING IN COMMUNITY LEARNING FROM THAT AND UPLIFTING THOSE SOLUTIONS THAT PEOPLE ARE CREATING THAT WORK BEST FOR THEIR COMMUNITIES.
AND THE LAST ONE IS AGENCY MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE POSITIONED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE DECISIONS THAT BEST FIT THEIR OWN CIRCUMSTANCES.
WE DO THAT THROUGH, UH, THROUGH AN ONLINE PLATFORM LET'S GO UP TOGETHER THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CHANGE YOUR FINANCIAL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL.
SO THINK ABOUT ANY OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM.
THAT'S WHAT ALTOGETHER IS ABOUT JUST THAT OUR GOAL IS TO BE ABLE TO LEAVE THE DATA IN THE LEARNING THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM PEOPLE SO THAT WE CAN INFLUENCE POLICIES AND PRACTICES.
WELL, WE HAVE TWO TYPE OF USERS
[01:00:01]
IN THE PLATFORM.ONE IS THE MEMBERS, WHICH ARE USUALLY LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES.
UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN AN ACTIVE CRISIS AS WE PROVIDE ANY TYPE OF UBET SUPPORT.
UM, AND THEN ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE DO HAVE PARTNERS WHERE USUALLY GOVERNMENT AND PHILANTHROPY WE'RE INVESTING DIRECTLY IN PEOPLE.
WELL, WE TYPICALLY SEE AFTER, UM, AFTER 12 MONTHS OF, UH, ENGAGING WITH, UM, WITH MEMBERS IS THAT PEOPLE ARE, UH, GET TO INCREASE INCOME.
THEY, THEY GET TO THE CREASE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.
SOME OF THEM GET TO BUILD ASSETS, ARE LIQUID ASSETS.
SOME OF THEM GET TO DECREASE THAT, AND THEN THEIR INVESTMENT, UH, WOULD TYPICALLY HAD INVESTED $3,200.
UM, OVER TWO YEARS, WE SEE THAT THAT HAS A RIPPLE EFFECT IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
AND THAT, UM, THAT GETS BACK INTO THE LOCAL ECONOMY WITH ABOUT $15,000, JUST FOR THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT PEOPLE GET TO DO.
UM, SO THIS IS JUST A REFLECTION OF HOW, AS A SECTOR, WE TEND TO LOOK AT PEOPLE HOW THE SYSTEM COMES WITH PEOPLE AND HOW REALLY PEOPLE LOOK AT THEMSELVES.
SO YOU GET TO SEE HOW WE ALWAYS HIGHLIGHT THE BEING A SINGLE MOM.
THAT'S, UH, A DB GRADUATE, AT LEAST IN SECTION EIGHT.
WHEN IN REALITY, WHEN YOU HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH PEOPLE, YOU, YOU CAN TELL ALL THE PRIDE, UH, THAT PEOPLE FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO DO AND HOW THEY'RE ADVANCING THEIR LIVES, JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE MIX WELL, CENTRAL TEXAS, AND THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, SO WE, UH, WE'RE UM, WE LAUNCH THE SITE, UH, HERE IN AUSTIN, ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE GOOGLE FOUNDATION, SAME DAY, THE MSDF AND EVER SINCE THEN, AS I SAID, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, JUST EXPAND THAT NETWORK OF SUPPORT, UM, THINGS THAT WE LEARNED, UH, IN THE FIRST YEAR THAT, UH, WHEN WE LAUNCHED THESE IS, UM, FROM THREE AND 80 FAMILIES, WE SAW HOW 25% SORRY THAT FROM ALL THOSE FAMILIES, THEY GOT INCREASED BY 25% OF THEIR INCOME, HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO INCREASE LIQUID ASSETS, OR THEY WERE ABLE TO DECREASE LIABILITIES.
AND THEN THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THIS WAS TO ALSO BE ABLE TO DO THIS PROOF OF CONCEPT IN SAN ANTONIO, EL PASO, DALLAS, AND OTHER CITIES ACROSS TEXAS NEXT.
SO THEN, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE GET ALL THE TIME IS HOW DO YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE DOING THE RIGHT THING WITH THEIR MONEY? UH, AND WHY DON'T WE SAY WHAT'S THE RIGHT THING, BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT, FOR, YOU MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT THING FOR SOMEONE ELSE MIGHT BE THE RIGHT THING.
SO STARTING WITH THAT BELIEF, WHAT WE SEE IS THAT PEOPLE USUALLY PUT THE MONEY IN LONG-TERM INVESTMENT.
THEY PUT IT INTO BUSINESSES, EXPANDING BUSINESSES, THEIR KIDS' EDUCATION, OR SIMPLY JUST TAKING THEIR KIDS ON VACATION BECAUSE OF THEY WANT, THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES TO THEIR KIDS.
SO JUST TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE COVID-19 RESPONSE THAT WE HAD, UM, SO ACROSS THE COUNTRY, WE WERE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE $130 MILLION.
UM, THAT'S HOW MUCH WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE IN THE LAST NINE MONTHS.
UM, 90, 97% OF THE FUNDS, UM, WENT STRAIGHT TO FAMILIES.
WE DID PARTNER WITH PHILANTHROPY AND GOVERNMENT, AND THAT INCLUDES MULTIPLE CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
IN TEXAS, SPECIFICALLY, WE DISTRIBUTED $26 MILLION.
AND THEN IN CENTRAL TEXAS, WE DISTRIBUTED 16 MILLION MILLERS.
UM, NOW WAS DIRECT CASH TRANSFERS.
UH, SO ACTUALLY GIVING PEOPLE MONEY, UH, IN AN UNRESTRICTED WAY WHILE LEARNING FROM THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE WERE DOING IN THEIR COMMUNITIES NEXT, UM, FROM THAT COVID RESPONSE THAT WE HAD, THAT WAS A ONE TIME CASH PAYMENT.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION, UH, THE MAIN DIFFERENCE ON HOW WE WERE DOING AT THIS TIME, UH, AS, AS A ONE-TIME CASH PAYMENT IS THAT PEOPLE WERE USING THE MONEY FOR IMMEDIATE NEEDS.
WHEREAS WHEN WE TYPICALLY INVEST IN THE LONG-TERM, WE SEE HOW PEOPLE ARE PUTTING THE MONEY INTO, YOU KNOW, LIKE A DOWN PAYMENT OR SOMETHING THAT CAN TAKE A LONGTERM OUTCOMES.
SO IN THIS CASE, UH, WE WERE LEARNING THAT WE'RE JUST USING IT TO PAY RENT.
[01:05:01]
YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO BE HOMELESS.SO A LOT OF THEM, THEY WERE, THEY WERE USING THE MONEY FOR THAT, UH, YOUR BASIC NEEDS.
AND THEN THE POPULATIONS, UM, THAT, THAT SOME OF THESE RELIEF, UH, WAS PRIMARILY, UH, VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE, BEEN ABLE TO JUST PAY, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE DOWN PAYMENTS, UH, TO BE ABLE TO BE IN A DIFFERENT APARTMENT, OR JUST BEEN ABLE TO STAY IN A HOTEL, UH, IMMIGRANTS, AND YOU, WE THINK YOUR COMMUNITY AS SENIORS AND OTHERS.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE LEARNED THROUGH THROUGH THAT EFFORT IS THAT LONG-TERM STABILITY REQUIRES LONG-TERM INVESTMENT, THAT THOSE $2,000.
SO WE PROVIDED TO PEOPLE, IT'S NOT GOING TO MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY, THAT IF WE REALLY WANT SOMEONE TO BE STABLE, WE NEED TO CONTINUE INVESTING IN PEOPLE IN THE LONG-TERM.
AT THE SAME TIME, WE SAW HOW THE PEOPLE AND WE WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH, UM, THAT PREVENTED THEM FROM GETTING INTO A WORST CRISIS AT THE SAME TIME.
UM, MOST OF THE FUNDS WERE SPENT LOCALLY, AND THEN THEY WENT BACK INTO THEIR COMMUNITY.
SO WE, SO HOW SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE GOTTEN $2,000 AND HOW THEN THEY WERE ABLE TO BUY GROCERIES FOR THEIR NEIGHBORS OR HOW THEY WERE ABLE TO BRING BACK THE MONEY TO THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES.
AND THEN IN THE LAST THING THAT WE LEARNED FROM THAT IS THAT MOST PEOPLE RELY ON THEIR OWN SOCIAL NETWORKS AS A SAFETY NET.
UM, I THINK IT IS REALLY INTERESTING AS WE THINK THAT THE, THERE IS A SAFETY NET AS A CITY WE HAVE.
UM, BUT THE REALITY AND JUST COMMON SENSE IS THAT PEOPLE RELY ON THEIR COMMUNITY TOO, WHEN THEY, WHEN THEY NEED HELP, WHEN THEY NEED ANY TYPE OF SUPPORT.
SO THAT LED TO, UM, THAT LED TO US TO THEN HAVE A, UH, LEARNING THAT WE HAVE AND KNOWING THAT, YOU KNOW, $2,000 IS NOT GONNA MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY.
UH, WHERE DO WE NOT, UM, PILOT FOR THE NEXT 12 MONTHS WHERE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE GETTING $1,000 A MONTH IN DIFFERENT NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE CITY.
BUT THINGS THAT WE WANT TO LEARN IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STRING BASED APPROACH AND HOUSING STABILITY STATION.
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY IN THAT, IN THAT SAME THING, HOUSING, STABILITY MISSION, AND WHAT, WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THIS APPROACH? AND THAT'S WHERE GENERATING THESE DATA IN POLICY, MAKING DECISION MAKING, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE POLICIES AND PRACTICES THAT PERHAPS THE CITY CAN, UM, THEN THINK ABOUT IT? AND CAN WE IMAGINE BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE PROVIDING, I THINK THAT'S IT, UM, THAT'S DIFFERENT.
AND BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE COMMISSIONERS, I WANT TO, UH, CHECK IN ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.
IF, IF YOU CALLED IN FOR A CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, I GUESS IT WOULD BE EITHER TIFFANY OR OLIVIA, AND YOU'RE STILL ON THE PHONE, IF YOU COULD MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE ON MUTE, UH, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
AND THEN ALSO, I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER DELGADO IS CALLED IN AND MAYBE MUTED.
UH, AND IF WE CAN UNMUTE HER, I BELIEVE THE LAST FOUR DIGITS FOR HER ARE SIX ZERO ONE ZERO.
UH, WE CAN GET A CONFIRMATION THAT SHE'S UNMUTED, UM, BEFORE MOVING ON, CHECK, CHECK.
UH, IT'S GOOD TO HEAR YOU COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON TO Q AND A HERE AND
UM, I THINK WHAT I WANTED TO DO IS TAKE A QUICK MOMENT AND, UM, AND JUST THINK, UH, THINK, UH, TIFFANY, OLIVIA SHAKA AND YVONNA PERSONALLY, AND I THINK SHAKA, YOU TALKED ABOUT HELPING THE HELPERS AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK I SAVE TO SAY ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION AND AT LEAST ON BEHALF OF MYSELF, AND WHAT'S BEEN A TIME TIME FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS IN AUSTIN.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE WAYS THAT YOU SHOW UP FOR PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN VERY DIRECT WAYS IN WAYS THAT PROBABLY, UM, PUT YOU OUT AND, AND, AND, UH, AND, AND, UM, AND I, I JUST WANT TO START TO ACKNOWLEDGE EVERYONE ON A PERSONAL LEVEL AND SAY, THANK YOU, YOU KNOW, HAVING, HAVING HAD THE PRIVILEGE IN THE PAST THAT WORKING WITH IVANA IVANA AND, UH, SHAKA, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE OF INTEGRITY AND, UH, PEOPLE THAT DO A WHOLE LOT OF SHOWING UP AND INCLUDING COMING TO A CDC MEETING TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S AWARENESS ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND I THINK IT W WHAT'S EXCITING IS THIS FEELS LIKE A VERY, UH, UH, INNOVATIVE
[01:10:01]
AND ACTION PACKED MEETING.I THINK FOR THE CDC, UM, YOU KNOW, JOINING THIS, UH, COMMISSION, I THINK THAT A LOT OF TIME WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY OF, YOU KNOW, VERY, UH, MONITORED AND SCRUTINIZED PUBLIC PROCESS DOLLARS.
AND AT BEST, SOMETIMES WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO REFORM THOSE PROCESSES.
BUT WHAT I'M GRATEFUL FOR IS PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE ENGAGED IN, IN SOME T AND SOMETIMES CRISIS, UH, RESPONSIVENESS OR INTEREST RESPONSIVE MUTUAL AID TYPE MODELS, AND THINKING ABOUT INNOVATION.
SO I'M REALLY, I'M REALLY EXCITED TO THINK ABOUT I KIND KINDA, MY HOPE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH THIS, UH, WITH THIS CRITIQUE, THAT'S VERY, UM, UH, LEVEL HEADED THAT LIKE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE HAS OF SORT OF THE SOCIAL, UH, SOCIAL SERVICES, UH, IN, UH, COMPLEX.
YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT I'M EXCITED TO HEAR IS LIKE HOW, HOW EVERYONE CAN KIND OF BE IN THEIR LANE BETTER, YOU KNOW, LIKE, AND WHAT CAN, WHAT CAN GOVERNMENT LEARN FROM INNOVATION INNOVATORS? LIKE Y'ALL SO, UM, YEAH, RE I ACTUAL QUESTIONS HERE.
SO, UH, IVANA, I WAS CURIOUS, UM, YOU, YOU, YOU SHARED CATEGORIES FOR STIPENDS, AND I THOUGHT THAT WAS VERY INTRIGUING WHEN YOU ISSUE A DIRECT CASH TRANSFER, DO YOU ALL SAY HERE ARE CATEGORIES OF STIPENDS, OR DO YOU COLLECT THE INFORMATION AFTERWARD ON WHAT THEY DID? OKAY.
FIRST THINGS, UM, ON RHETTO FOR RECOGNIZING THE WORK AND TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION.
SO AT THE BEGINNING WE SAY, WE TRUST YOU, TEACH US WHAT YOU'RE DOING, BECAUSE WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO ABLATE THE LEARNING.
AND THEN AFTER THAT, WE ARE ABLE TO COME UP WITH CATEGORIES.
AND THEN MY, MY SECOND QUESTION IS I'M REALLY CURIOUS TO HEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE IS TRYING TO FILL THE GAP OF THE LIMITATIONS OR THE MINDSET OF SOCIAL SERVICES.
WHAT, UH, FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE HAS TO SAY ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED THE SBA, UM, IN SOME WAYS, UM, I THINK, UH, WHATEVER FIGURE, UH, SORRY.
UH, I KNOW THE CDFIS AND, UM, AND, UM, NOT BANKS, BUT CREDIT UNIONS HAVE STEPPED UP IN A LOT OF WAYS.
I'M VERY CURIOUS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY ARE, I THINK MORE PROGRESSIVE THAN THE TYPICAL BANKS, BUT THEY'RE THEY'RE TERMS FOR LENDING, SMALL BUSINESS, EVEN CDFIS ARE STILL PRETTY TRADITIONAL.
I'M VERY CURIOUS TO HEAR ABOUT FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVES KIND OF RECOMMENDS AND REFORMS ON THE LENDING SIDE FOR PEOPLE THAT WANT TO START BUSINESSES OR GET SMALL BUSINESS LOANS, YOU KNOW, AND I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION.
I THINK FOR US, THE MAIN THEME THAT WE'VE BEEN PUSHING FOR IS THAT THE, FOR SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN A LOW INCOME COMMUNITY, YES, THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE A HIGH DEBT, NOT BY CHOICE JUST BY DESIGN.
HOWEVER, THE WAY THAT THE SYSTEM TREATS THAT IS THAT THEY THINK THE FIRST THING THAT THEY THINK IS PEOPLE NEED FINANCIAL LITERACY, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO MANAGE THEIR MONEY.
THEY NEED TO LEARN HOW TO DECREASE THAT AND ALL OF THOSE ASSUMPTIONS.
SO I THINK FOR OFFICE PUTTING THAT INTO PERSPECTIVE, IF YOU REALLY TRUST PEOPLE, JUST LEND THEM THE MONEY.
WE DON'T HAVE THOSE HOPES FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE WEALTHY, WHY ARE WE PUTTING THOSE HOOPS FOR LOW INCOME COMMUNITIES? SO I THINK THAT, THAT'S THE MAIN THING THAT WE WANT TO OBLIQUE IS JUST A YES, YOU SHOULDN'T BE PUTTING SO MANY HOOPS FOR SOMEONE TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS CAPITAL.
UH, COMMISSIONER MEHAN, UM, FOR THAT QUESTION, AND JUST A REMINDER TO ALL OF US, UH, THESE PRESENTATIONS WERE RESULT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, A, FROM THIS COMMISSION TO LOOK AT OTHER WAYS, UH, AND A SUGGESTION FROM, UH, ONE OF STAFF AT AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT WAYS THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO INVEST IN A MORE RAPID, UH, COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE, UM, AS OPPOSED TO OTHER PROGRAMS THAT AT THE MOMENT, AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT WE'RE BEING, YOU KNOW, SORT OF QUESTIONED FOR EFFICACY AND AS MUCH AS BEING ABLE TO DEPLOY FUNDS, UH, AND RESOURCES QUICKLY.
UH, SO YEAH, JUST A REMINDER, ALL OF US, AND ALSO THERE'S A PENDING WORK GROUP.
UH, YOU KNOW, THAT'S STILL ALIVE ON THIS.
AND SO I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO SORT OF THINK ABOUT THAT.
WE'LL GET TO THAT LATER IN THE AGENDA AND, AND, YOU KNOW, CHAT ABOUT THAT WHEN IT COMES UP.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THIS IS COMMISSIONER SLOAN.
CAN I ASK YOU A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS? I'LL GO AFTER.
[01:15:01]
HARD TO HEAR THE ONLINE FOLKS.UM, SO I THINK THAT I WOULD HAVE FEWER QUESTIONS IF WE, IF THIS WAS LIKE AN INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION, BUT NOW THAT I UNDERSTAND, AND PLEASE, ERICA, CLARIFY, IF I AM MISUNDERSTANDING THAT THERE IS LIKE THE POTENTIAL FOR US TO BE CONTACT, UM, WITH THE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE, UH, REGARDING DISTRIBUTIONS OF FUNDS FOR THE WEATHER EMERGENCY.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT IS CORRECT.
THAT'S WHAT WE ARE PURSUING RIGHT NOW.
THEN I THINK I PROBABLY HAVE MORE QUESTIONS THAN I WOULD OTHERWISE I JUST WANT FROM THE NONPROFIT WORLD.
UM, AND SO JUST WANTED TO DIVE IN A LITTLE BIT AT FIRST.
UM, I THINK WHAT WOULD BE THE MOST HELPFUL IF ON IT, WOULD IT BE OKAY FOR YOU TO SHARE YOUR SLIDES? SO WITH US, COULD WE HAVE THAT ACCESSIBLE FOR A LATER REFERENCE? UM, YES, I THINK, UH, JESSE ALREADY HAS IT, SO YEAH, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACCESS THAT.
UM, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE IT IN MY HANDS, BUT I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING ABLE TO DIVE INTO IT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
COULD WE, UM, SOPHIE, WOULD YOU MIND FLIPPING THROUGH THIS SLIDE? SO WITH ME, UH, FOR A MOMENT HERE, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND THEM SOME LIKE FOCUS AREAS A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
IS THAT POSSIBLE TO BRING IT BACK UP? HERE YOU GO.
I HAVE A LAG TIME HERE, SO I WILL TELL YOU IT'S FIVE AND THEN HOPEFULLY MY COMPUTER WILL CATCH UP WITH WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
I'M CALLING IN AND ALSO WATCHING THE APX AND LIVE, UH, CHANNEL.
UM, SO I'M LOOKING FOR THAT SLIDE THAT HAS THE TOTAL DOLLARS INVESTED, LIKE THE BIG NUMBER Y UM, THE REALLY IMPRESSIVE ONE.
UM, THE TOTAL, THE TOTAL DOLLARS IN LISTED, UM, UM, DURING COPIES RESPONSE OR, UM, IF IT'S PRIOR TO THE COVID RESPONSE ONE, BUT IT IS THE TOTAL DOLLARS INVESTED ONE IT'S LIKE THE LARGEST, UM, MENTIONED, OOH, JAVAN HAS JUST SENT ME MAYBE A LINK TO THE SLIDE SHOW.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER OTERO.
WHAT I'M SEEING IS MAYBE I WAS MISUNDERSTANDING WHAT WAS BEING SAID THAT $400 BILLION SPENT ANNUALLY ON FIGHTING THE WAR ON POVERTY IS THE ESTIMATE BY THE FAMILY, UM, INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE OF ALL EFFORTS TO END TO FIGHT THE WAR ON POVERTY.
IS THAT WHAT THAT SLIDE IS SAYING? THAT'S RIGHT.
SO WE, AS A SOCIETY ACROSS THE COUNTRY BETWEEN PHILANTHROPY AND GOVERNMENT, WE HAVE SPENT $400 BILLION, AND THIS IS FROM LAST YEAR.
SO THIS PROBABLY HAS ALREADY INCREASED, UM, FIGHTING THE WAR ON POVERTY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
MY NEXT QUESTION IS ABOUT THE SLIDE THAT HAS, UM, USERS BROKEN DOWN INTO MEMBERS AND PARTNERS.
UM, AND SO, UH, SOME OF THE LANGUAGE HERE, I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT IN REGARDS TO THE FOLKS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT, WHO NEED ASSISTANCE RIGHT NOW IN A SYSTEM, THOSE CONTRACTS, AS WELL AS LIKE CURIOSITY.
SO, UM, LANGUAGE, UH, LIKE HARDWORKING, UM, DOES THAT IMPLY THAT FOLKS TO ENGAGE IN THIS PROGRAM, THAT IT NEEDS TO HAVE WORK, UH, THAT THEY ARE ENGAGED IN RIGHT NOW? DO THEY NEED TO HAVE A JOB TO, UM, BE ABLE TO BE PARTICIPANTS? NO.
I WOULD SAY THE HARDWORKING COMES MORE FROM LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, AN ASSUMPTION THAT WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE WORKING HARD, NOT NECESSARILY BECAUSE THEY NEED TO BE ACTIVELY WORKING GREAT.
AND THEN THE NEXT LINE IS 50 TO 150% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE.
DOES THAT MEAN THAT, UM, UH, I, I DOES NOT NORMALLY ENGAGE IN THE ZERO TO 50% OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY LINE DEMOGRAPHICS.
YEAH, NO, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO THE 50 TO 150% IS AN AVERAGE OF WHAT WE SEE, UM, IN THE PLATFORM THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT SOMEONE WHO'S ABOVE OR BELOW, UM, GOOD AT BEING THERE.
IT'S MORE SO THAT WE THAT'S TYPICALLY THE POPULATION THAT WE SEE THE MOST NOW, SOMEONE WHO IS IN AN ACTIVE CRISIS, WHO MIGHT BE BELOW, UM, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THAT PERSON MIGHT NEED OTHER TYPES OF SERVICES.
UM, HOWEVER, I WOULD SAY OUR APPROACH IS REALLY GOOD
[01:20:01]
WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO PREVENT SOMEONE FROM, UH, FROM FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS OR WHO IS ABOUT TO GET BACK INTO A CRISIS MODE.SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT THAT LINE IS REFERRING TO IS JUST THE EVER TWO PEOPLE THAT WE SEE IN THE PLATFORM.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE, UM, BASED ON THE LEADER SIDE, THAT THEY'RE NOT INACTIVE CRISIS IS LIKE YOUR NORMAL MODE OF OPERATION, BUT MAYBE DURING COVID TIMES MORE PARTICIPATION IN, UH, IN CASES OF ACTIVE CRISIS.
WOULD THAT BE A FAIR ASSESSMENT? YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK FOR COVID, UM, A LOT OF THE FAMILIES, A LOT OF THEM WERE IN A CRISIS PRIOR TO THESE, BUT I THINK A LOT OF THEM WERE NOT EVEN A CRISIS AND PROBABLY, UH, COLBY HIT US, EVEN SOMEONE WHO WASN'T IN A CRISIS REALLY HARD JUST BY THE NATURE OF IT AND HOW LONG IT HAS LASTED.
SO I THINK, UM, THAT'S WHERE THE DIFFERENCE COMES FROM.
I'M REALLY TRYING TO LIKE, BRING THIS LENS OF, OF HOW THIS PARTNERSHIP AND THIS CONTRACT MIGHT BE GOING FORWARD AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE IT'S EXPEDITED AND THEN, UM, AS EFFECTIVE AS POSSIBLE.
AND JUST ONE THING TO MAKE VERY, THAT CRISIS IS, IS, UM, SOMETHING TO BE APPROACHED, UH, AND THAT Y'ALL ARE, ARE, UM, ACTIVELY WORKING WITHIN EVEN IF NOT AT NORMAL TIMES.
UM, AND THEN MY OTHER QUESTION IS ON WHAT SPEED, THE COVID RELATED SLIDES, WHICH ARE LATER ON.
UM, SO THE QUESTION I HAD WAS, UM, OKAY, I SEE THAT THE $16 MILLION, SORRY.
SO MUCH THAT THIS IS JUST NOT HAVING THE SLIDE.
SO IN FRONT OF ME, AND SO COMMISSIONER SARAH SOME SUPPORT, SO THE $16 MILLION IN DISTRIBUTION IS THE TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED FOR, FOR THE CENTRAL TEXAS AREA.
UM, YEAH, I GUESS MY ONLY REMAINING QUESTION IS, UM, IS THERE A PLACE WHERE WE CAN, UM, FOR THE NON COVID DOLLARS, UM, FIND HOW, UH, THE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE HAS INVESTED IN FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS, UM, LIKE WHAT THAT BREAKDOWN OF DOLLARS IS OUTSIDE OF LIKE THE COVID BREAKDOWN THAT YOU'VE GIVEN RIGHT HERE.
IS THERE AN EASY THREE-COURSE THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH US? YEAH.
UM, SO, AND I CAN JUST GIVE YOU SOME NUMBERS RIGHT NOW, LIKE, UH, PRIOR TO COVID WE INVESTED ABOUT $2.5 MILLION IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN NOW, I MEAN, IT'S STILL GOING TO BE, BUT REALLY LIKE LOOKING INTO A LONGTERM INVESTMENT OR, UM, INVESTING AN ADDITIONAL $2 MILLION, UH, FOR 12 MONTHS.
UM, AND THIS IS PROBABLY, UH, I'M 80, SO PRIVATE FUNDING.
I, UM, WOULD YOU MIND IF I GET YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION FROM STAFF? CAUSE I WOULD LOVE TO UNDERSTAND JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DEPTH.
LIKE I SAID, PART IS A NONPROFIT WORLD AND I JUST LOVE THINKING THROUGH THESE IDEAS WITH SOSA.
WOULD THAT BE OKAY WITH YOU IF I CIRCLE BACK AROUND? YEAH, THAT WILL LOVE THAT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER SLOAN.
UM, AND UH, I BELIEVE, UH, COMMISSIONER LOUIE, UH, HAD A QUESTION OR A COMMENT AS WELL.
HEY, UH, SO I HAVE A COMMENT, UH, THIS IS NOT DIRECTED TOWARDS IVANA AT ALL, BUT WHAT IS THAT? IS THAT DONE? OKAY.
UM, I HAVE A NEGATIVE DRUG REACTION WHEN I SEE THE NAME MICHAEL DELL, UH, GROWING UP IN AUSTIN.
I, UH, THE LAST FEW MEETINGS, THERE'VE BEEN A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS ABOUT PHILANTHROPY AND IT'S, IT FEELS LIKE THE CONVERSATION NEEDS TO GO FURTHER THAN THAT.
THE REASON WHY WE'RE RELYING ON BILLY MAYORS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING IN POVERTY IS BECAUSE BILLIONAIRES ARE STEALING WEALTH FROM THOSE PEOPLE LIVING IN POVERTY.
SO WE'RE RELYING ON PEOPLE WHO CREATED THIS PROBLEM TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM.
AND IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO CHASE OUR TAIL.
UM, I THINK IT'S GREAT THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN RECEIVING OR WILL RECEIVE COVID PAYMENTS.
I THINK IT WAS WONDERFUL, WHATEVER ANYONE IN NEED GETS HELP IMMEDIATELY.
BUT IT WAS FRUSTRATING THAT THAT'S WHERE THE CONVERSATION IS STOPPING.
LIKE THESE PEOPLE NEED RENT, ALL RIGHT.
[01:25:01]
THE IT'S LIKE, OKAY, WELL THEY'RE GOING TO KEEP NEEDING REGULARLY.THEY MIGHT WANT TO OWN A HOME.
SO MAYBE THEY NEED TO EARN MORE MONEY AND MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE ALL THE TIME.
AND WE SHOULDN'T BE RELYING ON BILLIONAIRES TO FEEL KIND ENOUGH TO GET A TAX WRITE OFF, OFF OUR BACKS, RIGHT.
MICHAEL DELL IS WORTH 40 BILLION.
MICHAEL DELL HAS BEEN DONATED LAPTOPS TO EVERY SCHOOL I WENT TO AND HE'S AUSTIN, BUT LIKE THE ROOF WAS STILL LEAKING.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST MY, MY 2 CENTS ABOUT THIS.
I'M VERY GRATEFUL THAT PEOPLE IN AUSTIN AND CENTRAL TEXAS AND NATIONALLY ARE GETTING HELP, BUT WE NEED TO START DEMANDING THAT THESE BILLIONAIRES ACTUALLY JUST PAY THEIR TAXES.
SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO KNOCK ON THEIR DOOR FOR A CHECK EVERY OTHER MONTH, A HUNDRED PERCENT.
AND ONE OF THE, IN THE SYSTEM SAINTS THEORY THAT WE HAVE THAT WE HAVE FOR GOVERNMENT AND SPECIFICALLY FOR PHILANTHROPY IS WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION, HOPING THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME CHANGE.
AND AT THE SAME TIME WORKING WITH GOVERNMENT, BECAUSE A LOT OF IT IS ALSO GOVERNMENT BENEFITING FROM PHILANTHROPY.
SO I THINK THAT, THAT THING, THAT THEORY OF CHANGE THAT WE HAVE, HOWEVER, WE JUST CAN DO THIS WORK ALONE.
AND THAT'S WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP.
RIGHT? LIKE IF WE PROVIDE YOU WITH THIS INFORMATION, WHAT IS IT THE NEXT STEP IS, HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO BE ABLE TO, TO DO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING? BASICALLY.
UH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER LOUIE.
UH, I THINK THE, UM, I THINK THE, UH, LOGICAL NOTION, UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE ILLOGICAL CIRCLES THAT YOU'RE CALLING OUT, UM, I THINK THOSE NOTIONS ARE NOT LOST, UH, ON MANY OF US, UH, YOU KNOW, IN THIS COMMISSION.
UH, AND CERTAINLY, UH, NOT ON IVANA WHO, WHO SPOKE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THEIR SORT OF THEIR CHANGED MODEL AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU ALL FOR ADDRESSING THAT, UH, COMMISSIONER.
UM, HE HAS HIS HAND UP AND I JUST ALSO WANT TO JUST DOUBLE CHECK TO SEE WHO WE HAVE ON THE PHONE IF, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER DELGADO AND COMMISSIONER SLOAN ARE ON THE PHONE.
DO YOU HAVE ANY, UM, WITH MY, WITH MY HAND UP READY TO TALK? OKAY.
IS IT, IS IT RELATED TO THIS FII UM, IT'S JUST RELATED TO EVERYTHING.
I MEAN, I'VE, I'VE LITERALLY BEEN TRYING TO GET ON TO THE SITE SINCE FIVE 30.
SO WHEN THE BIG DIGITAL DIVIDE, SO I HAVE A LOT TO SAY, BUT WHENEVER Y'ALL WANT TO CALL ON ME, I'M READY TO SPEAK.
COMMISSIONER DELGADO, IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THAT'S TOPICAL FOR FII.
I WANT TO, I WANT TO BE SENSITIVE TO YOU ON THIS TIME, UH, HERE.
AND, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE COMMISSIONER MAY HE HAD, DOES I CAN, WE CAN TAKE THAT QUESTION AND THEN, UH, CERTAINLY GIVE YOU THE FLOOR RIGHT AFTER THAT.
OR IF YOU HAVE A FII RELATED QUESTION YOU CAN KIND OF OKAY.
SO I THINK I'LL TRY TO BE AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE.
I WAS EXCITED TO LEARN ABOUT THE, UM, THE SORT OF FOCUSED NEIGHBORHOODS, UH, THAT FII IS GOING TO WORK WITH.
I WAS WONDERING IF, UM, IVANA, YOU WERE, ONE OF YOUR COLLEAGUES COULD COME BACK AND LET US KNOW HOW THAT, HOW THAT DEVELOPS AND WHAT INFORMATION IS FOUND OUT, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THOSE ARE, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS OF FOCUS FOR, UH, THE COMMISSION AT LARGE AND, AND SOME COMMISSIONERS IN PARTICULAR.
UM, I WANTED TO THINK COMMISSIONERS SLOAN, I THOUGHT YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND ANALYZING THE SLIDES WAS HELPFUL.
AND I THINK, UM, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO LEARN HOW, UH, CAUSE I THINK HOW FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE IS, UH, BEING STRATEGIC OR MAYBE HOW THEY, UH, HOW THEY THINK THE MODEL WILL STILL BE SUCCESSFUL IN DEPLOYING SOME OF THE DISTRIBUTION FUNDS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, GIVEN THAT, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL KIND OF INVEST AT PEOPLE TO PREVENT THEM FROM SLIPPING INTO CRISIS WHEN IT SEEMS LIKE SOME OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF THESE FUNDS WILL BE EXPLICITLY FOR PEOPLE IN CRISIS.
SO I'M REALLY CURIOUS HOW THAT STRETCHES YOUR MODEL FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, OR HOW THAT WILL, HOW THAT, HOW THAT WILL BE HANDLED.
AND I JUST THINK COMMISSIONERS LOAN GOOD ON YOU FOR, UH, FOR THAT, UH, CATCHING THAT.
AND THEN THE FINAL THING IS IF THERE'S ANY STUDIES OR RECOMMENDATIONS OUT THERE, AS FAR AS
SO I'LL ANSWER THE FIRST ONE AND THE THIRD ONE, UM, FIRST.
[01:30:01]
PROJECT, WE'RE GOING TO BE GENERATING QUARTERLY REPORTS, UH, WITH WHAT WE'RE LEARNING.SO HAPPY TO SEND THAT TO THE COMMISSION, AS YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LEARNING AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AS YOU'RE DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS AND OTHER THINGS YOU CAN ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THAT DATA, UM, INFORM THOSE, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN ON THE CRISIS, I THINK BECAUSE OF COVID, UM, I MEAN, PROBABLY MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT IN A CRISIS ARE IN A CRISIS RIGHT NOW.
SO I THINK THAT DOESN'T REALLY NECESSARILY STRETCHES OR MODEL.
UM, I THINK THAT GOES IN ALIGNMENT.
UM, STILL, ALSO WE DON'T, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT AT THE MOMENT.
I THINK THAT TYPICALLY, UM, WHAT WE HAVE SEEN BEFORE IS, UH, FOR LONG-TERM INVESTMENT, BUT FOR NOW WE, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING ON THAT.
UH, YOU WANNA, UH, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER MAY, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AROUND, UH, THE PRESENTATION FROM FII OR 45? WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU SHARING YOUR TIME WITH US THIS EVENING AND ACCOMMODATING THE MULTIPLE RESCHEDULES, YVONNE, UH, UM, AND NOT TO MENTION, UH, WE APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING, UH, TAKE CARE OF OUR SHARED COMMUNITY.
UH, I, UH, COMMISSIONER DELGADO, UH, UH, I'M SORRY, YOU, YOU, I KNOW THAT YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO GET INTO THE MEETING.
UH, CAN YOU, UH, YOU CAN, UH, WE CAN HEAR YOU NOW.
WELL, BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE BUSINESS, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST CLARIFY A COUPLE OF THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, I MISSED THE WHOLE PART OF THE FIRST MEETING DUE TO DIGITAL DIVIDE, A GAP BETWEEN THOSE ABLE TO BENEFIT FROM THE DIGITAL AGE AND THOSE WHO ARE NOT, AND I'M THE NOT OKAY.
SO I JUST WANT TO PUT THIS ON THE RECORD TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
UM, IT'S TOOKEN ME, UH, SINCE FIVE 30 TO GET INTO THIS MEETING.
AND I GOT INTO A MEETING NOW AS AN ATTENDEE WHERE YOU CAN'T SEE ME AND NOW I'M HAVING TO CALL IN THROUGH A PHONE.
AND SO I HAVE TWO LAPTOPS UP NOT ABLE TO GET INTO THIS MEETING TODAY, THIS EVENING, WHICH WAS A VERY IMPORTANT MEETING FOR ME BECAUSE OF THE EMERGENCY THAT'S HAPPENED IN MY DEMOGRAPHIC AREA, SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN OH TWO.
I MISSED IT SINCE COMMUNICATION AND MY CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE HERE THAT CAME TO TALK.
SO I MISS THEIR HOPE, THEIR WHOLE SPEECHES.
AND SO I'M NOT REALLY HAPPY WITH THE DIGITAL DIVIDE THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE FOR THE UNEDUCATED TO THE END, THE POOR AND THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW HOW TO ACCESS AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE BLOCKING PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF AS A COMMISSIONER TO BE ON THIS MEETING AT THE TIME THAT I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AT.
SO I JUST WANNA LET THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE AND THE COORDINATORS KNOW, THANK YOU, JESSE.
AND THANK YOU, LISA, FOR TRYING YOUR BEST TO GET ME INTO THIS MEETING THIS EVENING.
SO I'VE MISSED A WHOLE PART OF THE EVENING, AND I DON'T KNOW IF I'M EVEN ABLE TO TALK.
AND SO, UH, REGARDING MY CITIZENS COMMUNICATIONS CONSTITUENTS THAT ARE HERE TODAY, WHICH IS OLIVIA AND TIFFANY, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THEY'RE STILL ON THE LINE, VERY SORRY.
AND, UH, WE HEAR YOU, UM, I CAN SIDEBAR WITH YOU LATER, UM, AND ALSO, UH, TALK THIS OVER WITH STAFF, THANK YOU FOR, UM, BEING PERSISTENT AND JOINING US.
UM, AND ALSO FOR, UH, REALLY BEING GRACIOUS ABOUT, UH, UM, HAVING IVANA FINISH HER PRESENTATION.
I HOPE THAT IF, UH, AND OR OLIVIA ARE STILL ON THE LINE AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH US WHEN WE, UH, GO TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER, UH, UH, OR, UM, WHICH WILL BE THE OLD BUSINESS.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE UP TO THE SECOND AGENDA ITEM, UH, OR TWO AGENDA ITEM, NUMBER TWO TO SWAP BACK.
BUT I'M SEEING THAT, UH, I DON'T KNOW IF I'M LOOKING AT A SHARED PILE, BUT IT MAY BE CROSSED OUT.
UM, SO I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE BACK TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER TWO, IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU AND EVERYBODY, I'M JUST NOT QUITE SURE HOW LONG MY CONSTITUENTS ARE GOING TO STAY ON THE LINE.
SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE 20, 21 WINTER STORM EMERGENCY ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING RIGHT NOW IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UH, I DO FEEL LIKE, UH, THE SPEAKERS, UH, WERE BOTH ABLE TO VERY, VERY COMPREHENSIVELY SHARE THOUGHTS AND CONCERNS AND, AND ALL THE TEACHERS WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE.
MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT YOU ALSO WERE ABLE TO ENGAGE,
[01:35:01]
UH, WITH THEM TOO, BEFORE THE MEETING, IS THAT, IS THAT RIGHT? AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.I THINK ALL OF US DO COMMISSIONERS I'M, I'M THE COMMISSIONER THAT WENT OUT TO THE SITE AND CALLED FOR A CALL OF ACTION.
AND SO THESE WOMEN ALONG WITH, UH, RESIDENTS OF THE MOUNTAIN CARMEL AND, UM, OTHER PEOPLE LIKE CHRISTINA MAHAD, UM, SHELF HAS WHY OTHER PEOPLE HAD JOINED IN, INTO THIS EFFORTS.
AND I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THIS, AND THIS IS WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW IS THAT PEOPLE TRY TO SIGN UP TO SPEAK YESTERDAY AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT THERE WAS A DEADLINE AT 12 O'CLOCK.
AND IF PEOPLE WERE NOT SIGNED UP, THEY COULD NOT SPEAK IN TODAY'S MEETING.
AND I WASN'T EVEN AWARE OF THAT.
AND SO, UM, MY, MY CONVERSATION TODAY IS ABOUT A HUD COMPLEX THAT HAS NO GAS, AND THAT'S JUST ONE OF MANY IN OUR DISTRICT HERE AND IT ENTERS ZIP CODE AND THAT'S MY AREA.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHEN WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS.
IT COULDN'T BE PUT ON THE AGENDA BECAUSE, UM, AGAIN, WE WERE OUT THERE WITH OUR BOOTS ON PROVIDING AID, UH, HOT MEALS FOR THESE FAMILIES WATER FOR THE FAMILIES.
AND I WANTED TO SPEAK ON MOUNT CARMEL TODAY, AND THAT'S WHY THEY'RE HERE TODAY, UH, FOR US TO COME UP WITH SOME TYPE OF CONVERSATION DISCUSSION AND, UH, SEE HOW WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST THEM AND ALL THESE RESIDENTS THAT ARE OUT THERE WITH NO GAS AND SOME DON'T HAVE ANY WATER AS WELL.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
UM, THAT'S GOING TO BE AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR.
UH, THAT'S THE ISSUE THAT CAME TO SPEAK ON.
AND SO OUR TIME TO SPEAK ON THAT IS WHEN WE GET TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR AND THE CITIZENS TIME TO SPEAK ON THAT WITH, DURING CITIZEN COMMUNICATION.
UH, CAN WE HAVE TIFFANY AND OLIVIA STILL ON THE LINE CAN EITHER OF Y'ALL COME CONFIRM.
THIS IS SUSAN LICENSEE ANNOUNCER.
THANK YOU FOR HANGING IN THERE WITH THIS, TIFFANY.
TIFFANY, IS THAT OKAY? WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HANG THROUGH IF WE CONTINUED THROUGH OUR AGENDA? OKAY.
BECAUSE I WOULD DEFINITELY LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I'M NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY ORGANIZATIONS.
SO I'M DEFINITELY GOING TO BE HERE FOR THAT.
UH, WELL, WELL THEN THANK YOU.
YOU'D BE ABLE TO STAY WITH US IF WE WENT THROUGH THE AGENDA AS PLANNED.
UM, I DEFINITELY WILL SAY, UM, I, IT TOOK ME TWO OR THREE DAYS TO FIGURE OUT WHICH COMMITTEE AND I ALSO WANTED TO, UM, BACK WHAT TIFFANY SAID, I'M NOT ASSOCIATED WITH ANY ORG OR FUNDRAISING OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT.
SO I THINK IT'S, OUR VOICES REALLY NEED TO BE HEARD RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO YEAH, I'M WILLING TO SING ON QUITE.
SO WHENEVER THE AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR CAME UP, WE COULD, WE COULD TALK ABOUT IT.
UM, AND, UH, WE WILL EAT AT ITEM NUMBER TWO, A AND B AIRY ON NORMALLY THROUGHOUT THE ORDER OF THE, OF THE AGENDA, WHICH WOULD BE THREE C AND THEN MOVING ON TO OPENS THIS, WHICH IS FOUR.
[2A. Briefing and discussion on the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) (Angel Zambrano, Manager, Neighborhood Services Unit, Austin Public Health)]
UH, IF WE COULD MOVE TO AGENDA, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO, THE COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT CSBG, UH, UH, THE BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION, UH, ON THE CSBG WITHAND I HERE FROM AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT, I'LL BE VERY BRIEF.
WE JUST MET TWO WEEKS AGO, SO NOT A LOT OF CHANGES HERE ON A REGULAR MONTHLY REPORT.
SO WE'RE ABOUT TO CLOSE OUT OR FISCAL YEAR 20 BUDGET AND BEGIN EXPANDING OUR FISCAL YEAR OR CALENDAR YEAR 21 BUDGET.
THAT'S BASICALLY PATIENT NUMBER ONE, OUR CSBG GRANT FUNDS, UM, DELIVER SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME TEXAS AND ALL TWITTER, 54 COUNTIES FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE CALLERS ON THE LINE.
THIS GRANT PROVIDES FUNDING FOR THE DELIVERY OF BASIC NEEDS, CASE MANAGEMENT, PRODUCTIVE HEALTH, AND EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT SERVICES AT ALL OF OUR SIX NEIGHBORS SERVICES, NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, AND OUR THREE OUTREACH SITES.
NEXT PAGE, I'LL JUST FOCUS HERE ON WHAT WE'RE DOING MOST RIGHT NOW, UM, WHICH IS, UH, HELPING FOLKS WITH RENTAL AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE.
SO WITH THE CARES ACT, WE HAVE, UH, HELP, UH, 385, UH, FOLKS AVOID A VICTIM BY PAYING THEIR PAST DUE RENT.
AND WE CONTINUED TO DO THAT FROM ALL NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS AND VIRTUALLY WE DO FOOD DISTRIBUTIONS AS WELL, AND THAT IS THROUGH OUR CURBSIDE, UH, FOOD PANTRY SERVICES ON THIS PAGE.
I'LL FOCUS JUST ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.
CAUSE THE TIME TO CDC NOMINATION SELECTION, THE ELECTIONS ARE COMING UP THIS SPRING.
I AM HOPING TO HAVE ALL OF THOSE SCHEDULED AND I'M JUST BASICALLY READY TO GO NEXT WEEK.
UH, FOR APRIL, THERE WILL BE TWO AT THE END OF MARCH, THAT WILL BE THE ONE POPULACE AND,
[01:40:01]
UM, COLONY PARK.SO ONCE I HAVE THAT, I WILL SEND YOU GUYS AN EMAIL.
SO YOU GUYS KNOW ABOUT THE MEETINGS AND THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WILL FACILITATE THESE ELECTIONS.
UM, GO TO NUMBER FOUR, A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
WE HAVE, SORRY, STAY ON THE SAME PAGE ITEM.
NUMBER FOUR, COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
WE HAVE ALL OF THE NICHOLS AND ASSOCIATES TAKEN HIRE TO CONDUCT OUR, OUR CNA FOR THIS ROUND.
SO THEY WILL BE HERE TO HERE TO GIVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THAT PROCESS.
NUMBER FIVE CARE SACS CSBG FUNDING.
I SAW TO DATE THIS REPORT WENT TO JANUARY.
WE HELD A HEART AND IN THE HOUSEHOLDS AND PROCESSED ALMOST $275,000 IN RENT ASSISTANCE.
UH, WE ALSO DO SOME UTILITY ASSISTANCE THROUGH OUR INNER COST AND ENERGY PLUS ONE COLLABORATION.
CAN WE DO BETTER ALL OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS AND VIRTUALLY, AND I'LL JUST LEAVE TO A SUCCESS STORY FOR YOU TO READ ON YOUR OWN TIME, UM, HAS TO DO WITH OUR SEVERE WINTER STORM RESPONSE AND A ROLE THAT YOU PLAYED IN THAT, UH, IN THAT RESPONSE AND DID A LOT OF WORK AT THE PALMER EVENTS CENTER THROUGH THE SOCIAL SERVICES BRANCH.
UM, WE CONTINUE TO STAY OPEN AND HELP PEOPLE WITH RENT AND UTILITIES THROUGHOUT.
AND, UM, WE'RE VERY, VERY HAPPY AND VERY PROUD OF THE STAFF FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THEY DID WHEN THEY THEMSELVES ARE ALSO EXPERIENCING BUSTED PIPES, UH, SCHOOL CLOSURES AND THE INABILITY TO GET FOOD OR HOW WATER THEY FLOAT RESPONDED TO HELP OTHERS WHO WERE IN MOURNING.
AND THEY WERE SO HAVING SAID THAT I'LL CLOSE IT.
IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS I CAN ANSWER THEM.
IF NOT, WE CAN MOVE ON TO KELLY.
NICHOLSON IS PRESENT ON THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, THE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR HILL COMMENTS? UH, I HAVE, UH, ONE AND THAT IS THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE SEEING KIND OF ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER IT COMES TO COVID, UH, RELIEF, WHETHER IT COMES TO VACCINATIONS OR ATTAINING A REGISTRATION, OR SIMPLY THE VACCINATION, WHETHER IT COMES TO THE, UH, HUMANITARIAN WINTER CRISIS OR REALLY ALL OF THESE ARE HUMANITARIAN CRISES.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES APPARENTLY SEEMS TO BE, UH, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU GET, HOW DO YOU GET A WHOLE I'M ANGLOPHONE LOUD ENOUGH TO GET SOMEONE TO HELP? HOW DO YOU, HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW COME SOME PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN? AND SOME PEOPLE AREN'T.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FEEL COMFORTABLE JUST SAYING ANECDOTALLY, UM, IS THAT IT BECOMES A NAVIGATION ISSUE.
UH, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE GETTING BACK TO NATIONS ARE THE ONES WHO KNOW HOW TO USE A COMPLEX TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, CLICK, REFRESH, REFRESH, USE MULTIPLE EMAIL ADDRESSES, FIGURE IT OUT, UNDERSTANDING CRYPTIC, UH, LANGUAGE, UH, AROUND, UH, YOU KNOW, AROUND USERNAMES AND PASSWORDS OR WHAT HAVE YOU, UH, YOU KNOW, AND THOSE ARE THE FOLKS WHO ENDED UP GETTING THE VACCINATIONS, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE INTENDED TO TARGET.
UH, OF COURSE, UH, THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE, WHO MAY NOT, WHO MAY HAVE ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES, UM, THE FOLKS WHO ARE GETTING, YOU KNOW, THEIR HOT WATER BACK ON ICE, BACK INTO ONES WHO ARE ABLE TO BEST ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES, OR BRING IN THE RESOURCES OR THE ADVOCACY GROUPS, UM, THAT COULD MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
UM, THE FOLKS WHO WILL GET, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE FEMA RELIEF OR FUNDING ARE GOING TO BE THE ONES WHO ARE ABLE TO NAVIGATE THAT TORQUE TORE US PROCESS, UH, THE ONES WHO MAY BE ABLE TO GET, YOU KNOW, OTHER LOCAL STATE AND LOCAL FUNDING, UH, TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES FOR RANT OR FOR LOSS OF USE OR FOR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AGAIN, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO NAVIGATE THOSE PROCESSES.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT NAVIGATION JUST PUTTING A BODY ON IT AND HAVING SOME, HAVING, HAVING FOLKS WHO CAN HELP, WHETHER IT'S LIKE CASE MANAGEMENT OR REALLY JUST CASE MANAGEMENT, LIKE, UH, YOU KNOW, COULD REALLY, REALLY HELP IN MANY WAYS, YOU KNOW, IN THE, UH, DO YOU SEE A CAPACITY WITH A, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE LIMITED STAFF IN SHOUT OUT TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF FOR YOUR RESPONDENTS, AS YOU, AS YOU MENTIONED WHILE YOU ALL WERE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUES THAT THE FOLKS THAT YOU'RE SUPPORTING, UM, DO YOU SEE ANY CAPACITY OR ANY OPENING FOR EXPANSION OF CAPACITY, UH, ON YOUR STAFF? UM, YOU KNOW, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, IF ANYTHING AT NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT IN THIS WAY, UH, I SUPPORT IN NAVIGATING SERVICES THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE PURVIEW OF THE DIRECT SERVICES THAT YOU'RE ALREADY PROVIDING.
AND FORGIVE ME IF YOU'RE ALREADY DOING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, IS THERE A WAY TO MAYBE, YOU KNOW, I GET IT, FORGIVE ME IF WE'RE ALREADY DOING THAT THROUGH THROUGH CASE MANAGEMENT, IS THERE A WAY TO DO THAT, MAYBE IN A MORE
[01:45:01]
STREAMLINED SORT OF POINTED FASHION? AND IF THE QUESTION AGAIN IS MAYBE IRRELEVANT OR MISPLACED, FORGIVE ME AND, YOU KNOW, WE CAN MOVE ON, YOU MAY BE MUTED FOR SPEEDING.UH, THANK YOU, CHAIR THAT, UH, AS I WAS SAYING, THE QUESTION IS NOT IRRELEVANT AT ALL.
UM, BUT WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT WE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES DO INTERNET CAPACITY.
UH, WE HAVE PEOPLE REASSIGNED, YOU KNOW, TO THE CALL CENTER, UH, TAKING THE CALL, SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS FOR THE VACCINE.
WE HAVE FOLKS FOR YOUR SIGN TO PALMER, WHICH PUT US BACK, YOU KNOW, CAUSE THAT SHELTER WAS OPEN FOR SEVERAL WEEKS.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE DOING THE BEST THAT WE CAN CAN.
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO SAY THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH.
WE HAVE REALLY STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY.
UH, WHAT'S KEEPING US GOING AND SERVING AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
IT'S THOSE RELATIONSHIPS PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS.
UM, AND I MENTIONED THIS MONTHS AGO AT ONE OF THESE MEETINGS, THAT'S ALL, THAT'S GOOD AND BAD.
IT'S GOOD THAT THEY KNOW THAT WE EXIST.
IT'S BAD BECAUSE IT SPEAKS TO THE PROBLEM THAT IS SO ENTRENCHED, UH, POVERTY.
UM, IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT PROBLEM WOULDN'T EXIST AND THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR ME.
AND FOR ALL OF US, I'D RATHER NOT HAVE THIS JOB THAN TO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO, TO FACE THESE ISSUES AND BE FRUSTRATED AND, AND COME IN EVERYDAY TRYING TO DO OUR BEST.
SO I WILL SAY WE'RE AT CAPACITY, WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN.
WHAT KIND OF HELPS US STAND OUT IS THAT WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE AND WE ALWAYS DO WARM HANDOFFS.
SO WHEN WE CAN NOT HELP SOMEONE DIRECTLY, WE ARE VERY GOOD AT FINDING THE RESOURCES IN THE COMMUNITY THAT CAN HELP THAT PERSON WITH WHATEVER NEED IT IS THAT WE CANNOT ASSIST WITH.
SO THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE FROM OTHER AGENCIES WHEN PEOPLE CALL AND WE HEAR FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS, YOU KNOW, WE CALL EX AND THEY COULDN'T HELP US AND KIND OF LEFT US OUT IN THE COLD.
WELL, WE REALLY NEVER DO THAT.
WE MAKE SURE THAT WE AIN'T EVEN CALL THAT OTHER AGENCY OURSELVES AND JUST DO A REAL GOOD HAND OFF TO THEM, WHOEVER THAT MAY BE WORK FOR SOLUTIONS, CATHOLIC CHARITIES, UM, UH, URBAN LEAGUE OF ON AND ON.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE A GOOD PREFERENCE IN WITH TWO, ONE, ONE, AND A GOOD RELATIONSHIP.
SO THAT IS A GREAT WAY FOR, FOR ANYONE IN THE CITY, WHETHER THEY'VE USED THIS BEFORE OR NOT TO KNOW ABOUT US.
I'M REALLY CONFIDENT TO SAY THAT WE ARE DOING THE BEST THAT WE CAN AND HELPING AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE WITH THE LIMITED FUNDING THAT WE ALSO RECEIVED.
UM, AND YEAH, AND WE, WE, WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT AND WE SEE IT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S, IT'S HURTING YOUR COMMENTARY AS WELL.
AND SO GIVEN THAT, LIKE, IF I GAVE, IF YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE A MAGIC WAND AND LET'S SAY WE'RE KIND OF A CRAPPY MAGIC WAND, BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY LIMITED ONE THING AND YOUR, YOUR IRRESPECTIVE OF THE CSBG OR THE FUNDING SOURCE, IF YOU JUST GIVEN WHAT YOU'VE SEEN AND WHAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAD A MAGIC WAND THAT WERE PERHAPS LIMITED TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND ONLY THAT CUSTOMER SERVICE PART THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT NAVIGATION, HOW WOULD YOU DO IT? OR WOULD YOU EVEN DO IT IF YOU WERE, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HAVE A STADIUM FULL OF FOLKS WHO ARE DOING THAT, OR WOULD THAT RETURN, YOU KNOW, LIKE I I'M, UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ON THAT? MY ONLY THOUGHT IS THAT A, I WISH WE WERE MORE LIKE THE FII I ON, UH, A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY, A LOT LESS BUREAUCRACY AND THE ABILITY TO HELP PEOPLE QUICKLY SO WE CAN HELP FOLKS, BUT IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT, AND I THINK A WEEK IT MIGHT TAKE TWO WEEKS TO REALLY GET, YOU KNOW, THE PERSONS WITH THE ELIGIBILITY PROCESS, BUT WE GOT THROUGH IT.
UM, SO THAT'S, IF YOU HAD A MAGIC WAND, YOU COULD TURN INTO IT AND IT TURN US INTO AN FII WITHIN THIS STUDY.
NO, I KNOW IT WELL, THANKS FOR ENTERTAINING.
A SILLY QUESTION AND A SILLY HYPOTHETICAL AND, AND, AND MORE THAN ANYTHING.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONTINUED, UH, SERVICE.
NO, THANK YOU FOR ADVOCATING FOR US.
ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BEFORE WE MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ITEM? UH, OKAY.
[2B. Briefing and discussion on the CSBG Community Needs Assessment for the Neighborhood Services Unit (Kelly Nichols, Partner, Woollard Nichols & Associates)]
THEN WE'LL MOVE ON.I'M GONNA WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION ON THE, UH, THE CSBG NEEDS ASSESSMENT, UM, FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES UNIT AND WE HAVE KELLY NICHOLS.
IS THERE ANY, IS THERE ANY, UM, INTROS THAT YOU WANT TO DO HERE, OR YOU WANT ME TO JUST JUMP IN? I JUST WANTED TO SAY, UM, BUT I SAID AT THE LAST MEETING IS THAT THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT IS DONE HERE EVERY THREE YEARS.
IT IS A REQUIREMENT BY THE CSBG ACT THAT STATES AND ASSURANCE THAT THE STATE WILL SECURE FROM EACH ELIGIBLE ENTITY IN THE STATE OF COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN.
THAT INCLUDES A COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY SERVED, WHICH MAY BE COORDINATED WITH COMMUNITY NEEDS, ASSESSMENTS CONDUCTED FOR OTHER PROGRAMS. SO OURS KIND OF A STANDALONE FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES.
AND THIS WILL HELP GUIDE OUR CAP PLAN, WHICH IS DUE TO THE STATE AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER.
[01:50:01]
ACTION PLAN.SO THAT'S WHERE WE SET OUR GOALS IN TERMS OF HELPING PEOPLE AVOID EVICTION IN TERMS OF OUR BASIC NEEDS AND SERVICE DELIVERY THROUGH DISTRIBUTIONS, OUR PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING SERVICES.
IT KIND OF GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHAT THE NEEDS ARE IN THE COMMUNITY AND RANKS THEM ONE TO FIVE.
AND THEN WE FILTER THAT INFORMATION THROUGH THE LENS OF NSU.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO ADDRESS THOSE FIVE NEEDS? UM, AND THEN WE'LL PRESENT TO YOU THE CAP PLAN, UH, SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER.
SO THAT'S KINDA THE BACKGROUND WHY WE DO THIS.
HI, EVERLINE I'M KELLY NICHOLS.
I'M A PRINCIPAL WITH BULLARD NICHOLSON ASSOCIATES, UH, COMMISSIONERS.
UM, SOME OF YOU, I KNOW FROM MY TIME AT, UM, NEIGHBORED HOUSING, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND, UM, AND ALSO, UM, WE HELPED CONDUCT THE CSBG NEEDS ASSESSMENT BACK IN 2015.
UM, SO FOR SOME OF YOU, THIS MAY FEEL LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE REAL BRIEF.
JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU THE, UM, THE OVERVIEW OF, UM, WHAT'S REQUIRED, WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING TO DO.
AND, UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU ALL, BUT, UM, UM, HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON HOW WE MIGHT, UM, BE ABLE TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS, UM, THROUGH THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, SO A COUPLE OF TARGETED QUESTIONS AND THEN HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE ABOUT THIS PROCESS.
SO, AS I MENTIONED, UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE, UH, DONEE HAS, UM, HAS BEEN HIRED TO SUPPORT, UM, THE, UH, I, AS THEY'RE AT CAPACITY AND WITH, UM, THE, UM, THE CHALLENGES THE DEPARTMENT IS DEALING WITH DURING COVID, WE'LL BE, UM, WE'LL BE SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT AND, AND LEADING THIS PROCESS FOR, UM, FOR THE CITY.
SO AS YOU ALL KNOW, APH IS, UM, IS IDENTIFIED AS THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY, WHICH RECEIVES THE CSBG FUNDS.
THOSE ARE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT COME THROUGH, UM, THROUGH THE STATE, THROUGH THCA AND ONTO, UM, ONTO BOSTON PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO FEDERAL REGULATIONS REQUIRE THAT THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT HAPPENS EVERY THREE YEARS.
AND THERE ARE SOME REAL SPECIFICS, UM, THAT ARE SPECIFIC REGULATIONS THAT GUIDE THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT, WHICH I'LL GET INTO IN JUST A SECOND.
AND I THINK MOST OF YOU KNOW, THAT THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IS THE DESIGNATED BOARD, UM, SORT OF GOVERNANCE BOARD, UH, FOR THE CSBG NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
AND SO IT IS A REQUIREMENT TO, UH, UH, PRESENT THE, UH, WHICH IS WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW AND FOR YOU ALL TO ACCEPT THE FINAL COMPLETED ASSESSMENT.
SO WE WILL BE BACK IN MAY TO SHARE OUR FINDINGS WITH YOU.
THEN NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, PROBABLY YOU ALL KNOW THIS AS WELL, BUT CURRENTLY THERE ARE SIX NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS THAT UTILIZE CSBG FUNDING, AND THOSE ARE THE, UM, THOSE ARE THE PURPLE DOTS ON THE MAP.
AND IN ADDITION SERVICES ARE ALSO PROVIDED AT THE TURNER ROBERTS, UH, REC CENTER IN CONNIE PARK IN, UH, DOVE SPRINGS AND AT GILBERT ELEMENTARY.
SO THESE ARE THE STANDARDS THAT THC THCA REQUIRES FOR THE CSBG NEEDS ASSESSMENT, THAT IT HAPPENS EVERY THREE YEARS, THAT, UM, IT INCLUDES, UM, A NUMBER OF DATA RELATED TO POVERTY AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO A NUMBER OF OTHER DEMOGRAPHICS CATEGORIES THAT WE USE BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA, UM, TO, UM, TO SORT OF, UH, LOOK AT THE NEEDS.
UM, AND, UM, AS I, AS I'VE ALREADY MENTIONED THAT, OF COURSE, UM, THE GOVERNING BOARD, WHICH IS THE CDC FORMALLY ACCEPTS THE COMPLETED ASSESSMENT, UM, THAT IT INFORMS THE PLAN, UM, THE COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN ON HOW WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, UM, AND THAT WE LOOK TO WHEN POSSIBLE YOU UTILIZE, UM, CLIENT DATA AS WELL.
SO IN THIS CASE, CLIENT DATA FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, UM, AS A PART OF THAT PROCESS, SO KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF, UM, SOME OF THE SPECIFICS, UH, NEXT SLIDE SIDE FEEDS INTO OUR PROPOSED PLAN FOR HOW TO GET THIS WORK DONE, UM, BY THE END OF MAY.
SO IT CAN, UM, UH, SO IT CAN BE, UM, SENT THE THCA IN JUNE.
SO WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING OUR WORK PLAN, SORT OF MAKING SOME OF THE KEY DECISIONS ABOUT, UM, HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS WORK, UH, WILL THEY MAKE THE QUANTITATIVE DATA RELATIVELY EASY? BECAUSE THERE IS A COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT TOOL THAT, UM, IS, IS SUGGESTED, UM, THE COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCIES
[01:55:01]
UTILIZE, WHICH, UM, WHICH FEEDS FEED SENSES AND, UM, US AND AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY DATA, UM, IN THERE, AND ACTUALLY GENERATES MAPS.SO, SO WE'LL USE THAT TOOL IF WE SEE THAT THAT TOOL IS SORT OF LAGGING IN TERMS OF THE TIME, OR THERE'S A NEED TO PULL IN MORE DATA, WE'LL CERTAINLY DO THAT AS WELL, AND ALSO SUGGEST THAT WE INCLUDE OTHER COMMUNITY DATA.
UM, AND SO, UM, TWO, ONE, ONE WILL BE OUR PRIMARY RESOURCE, UM, BECAUSE SUSAN ONE WE KNOW IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IS SORT OF THE, UM, THE DATA OF RECORD, UM, FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THOSE NEEDS.
AND SO THERE'LL BE ABLE TO HELP US, UM, UH, PROVIDE THAT DATA.
SO IN TERMS OF QUALITATIVE DATA, THERE ARE SEVERAL CATEGORIES OF STAKEHOLDERS THAT, UH, WE NEED TO, UH, WE'RE OBLIGATED TO COLLECT DATA FROM.
SO, UM, ONE OF THOSE IS, UM, SORT OF THAT BROAD CATEGORY OF KEY INFORMANTS, UM, RIGHT.
SO FOLKS WHO REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING AND WHAT THE NEEDS ARE.
AND WE FEEL THAT THE CDC, CDC MEMBERS IN GENERAL, AND PARTICULARLY CDC MEMBERS WHO, UM, HAVE A GEOGRAPHIC DESIGNATION, UM, UH, FOR THE HIGH POVERTY AREAS ARE OUR BEST KEY INFORMANTS, UM, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING AND THEN IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND TO HELP CONNECT US.
SO, SO WE'RE GOING TO START THERE, UM, W W HERE WITH YOU, WITH YOU ALL WITH THE CDC, UM, WE ARE ALSO ASKED TO ENGAGE RESIDENTS THEMSELVES.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, RIGHT? I MEAN, UH, THIS IS, THIS IS NOT EASY UNDER, UNDER REGULAR CIRCUMSTANCES IS REALLY, UM, A LOT TRICKIER RIGHT NOW FOR ALL THE REASONS YOU ALL HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT.
UM, BUT IN ADDITION TO THE FACT THAT WE JUST NEED TO, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE FOLKS, UM, UH, WE'RE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO ENGAGING FOLKS IN PERSON.
AND SO IN TERMS OF RESIDENTS, UM, AS WE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AND WORK WITH JOHN HILL AND HIS TEAM AND PLANNING, UM, WE THINK, UM, WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THAT ELECT THE CDC GEOGRAPHIC MEMBERS, UM, WOULD BE, UH, A GOOD AND RELATIVELY EASY WAY.
WE'RE HOPEFUL THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE UP SAY 10 TO 15 MINUTES TO DO SOME QUICK POLLING, UM, AND DATA COLLECTION DURING SOME OF THE UPCOMING RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION MEETINGS IN MARCH AND APRIL, UM, UH, TO, IN ORDER TO, UM, IN ORDER TO GAIN THIS DATA ON THE GREATEST NEEDS THAT FOLKS ARE FACING RIGHT NOW, WE ALSO DO PLAN TO DO, WE'VE TALKED THROUGH, UM, HOW TO SURVEY THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE CLIENTS, THEMSELVES, FOLKS WHO ARE EXISTING CLIENTS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS, UM, EITHER CASE MANAGEMENT CLIENTS, OR, UM, FOLKS WHO ARE RECEIVING, UM, UH, ASSISTANCE.
AND, UM, THOSE, UH, THOSE FOLKS, WE FEEL RELATIVELY CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO CONTACT ELECTRONICALLY.
THEY'RE USED TO ENGAGING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD CENTERS IN THAT WAY.
UM, SO WE'RE PLANNING TO DO AN ELECTRONIC SURVEY OF THOSE CLIENTS, PROBABLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH, UM, THE CLIENT SATISFACTION SURVEY THAT IS ALREADY PLANNING TO HAPPEN.
AND THEN FINALLY WE NEED TO ENGAGE SERVICE PROVIDERS.
UM, AND THAT'S ANOTHER QUESTION I, I WANT TO THROW TO YOU ALL IS, UM, IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS ON, BECAUSE OF COURSE WE KNOW SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE, ARE, UM, I THINK I SUSPECT EXPERIENCING SOME SURVEY FATIGUE THEMSELVES, UM, RIGHT NOW, GIVEN, UM, GIVEN ALL THE CRISES.
UM, SO I'LL GET BACK TO THAT IN A SECOND, BUT WE'LL WELCOME YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT HOW BEST TO, UM, ENGAGE SERVICE PROVIDERS, UM, SURVEY VERSUS INTERVIEWS.
SO WE'LL TAKE ALL THAT DATA, UM, AND SORT, AND SIFT AND ANALYZE IT, UM, AND PUT IT IN, IN THE FORMAT OF A FINAL REPORT THAT WILL INCLUDE THE, UH, YOU KNOW, CRITICALLY FOR, UM, UH, FOR THE REGULATIONS TO INCLUDE THE KEY FINDINGS ON THE CAUSES AND CONDITIONS OF POVERTY, UM, AND, AND TO RANK THE TOP FIVE COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO THAT WILL ALL GET PACKAGED.
UM, IN THAT FINAL REPORT, IT'S, IT'S A THICK REPORT.
UM, UM, BUT IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION.
UM, AND, AND, AND IT REALLY SHOWS THAT, UM, THAT THE CSBG PROGRAM IS MAKING DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS OF HOW TO, HOW TO INVEST THIS FUNDING.
AND SO ALL OF THAT GETS PACKAGED UP IN, IN MAY, AS I SAID, WE'LL BE BACK TO PRESENT THOSE FINDINGS TO YOU ALL IN MAY.
SO THE REPORT CAN BE THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT CAN BE DELIVERED TO TDCJ BY THE JUNE 1ST DEADLINE.
UH, THESE ARE, THESE ARE OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS OF COURSE, THAT YOU ALL HAVE, BUT, UM, SPECIFICALLY, UM, WITH LOVE, UM, TELL US THOUGHTS ON WHETHER THIS CONCEPT OF, UM, ASKING FOR 10 TO 15 MINUTES TO DO SOME INTERACTIVE POLLING AT THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS MEETINGS IN MARCH AND APRIL MAKES SENSE, UM,
[02:00:01]
THOUGHTS ON HOW, UM, HOW WE CAN, UM, HOW WE CAN MOVE FORWARD, UM, TO DO THAT.SO LOVE Y'ALL'S THOUGHTS ON THAT, BUT ALSO LOVE IF FOLKS HAVE ANY THOUGHTS ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS OF, UM, SENDING AN ELECTRONIC SURVEY TO SERVICE PROVIDERS VERSUS DOING, UM, JUST PICKING UP THE PHONE AND DOING, UM, INTERVIEWS OF FOLKS WE'RE KIND OF WEIGHING, UM, THAT'S REALLY ONE OF THE LAST DECISIONS, UM, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE WEIGHING IN TERMS OF OUR METHODOLOGY FOR THE QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT.
SO WITH THAT HAPPY TO, UM, UH, WE'D LOVE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ANY OF THAT AND HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, KELLY FOR, UM, SHARING AROUND THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, UH, OR ANY RESPONSES PARTICULARLY TO THE QUESTION POSED TO US? CAN I SHARE A DOCAUTO? I DO.
UM, WHEN I, WHEN I
WE'RE WE'RE GETTING LIKE A SERIOUS DOUBLE ECHO.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, ANYONE ELSE I'M GOING TO SHARE THIS, THE AB TECH, IF, UH, FOR ANYONE WHO HAS MORE THAN ONE SOURCE, PLEASE MUTE, LIKE JUST ONLY HAVE ONE OPEN IT CAUSES FEEDBACK.
CAN YOU HEAR ME QUICK QUESTION WAS JUST, UM, THE, I HEARD HER SAY THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE, WHO ARE, WHO IS THAT.
AND THEN ALSO, UM, THAT GIVES US THREE TO FOUR MONTHS TO GET ALL THIS TAKEN CARE OF BY JUNE.
SO HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THAT DURING THE PANDEMIC? I DIDN'T REALLY HEAR ABOUT HOW THE OUTREACH EFFORTS ARE GOING TO BE, UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE HAVE A DIGITAL DIVIDE, UM, AND, AND I HEARD ABOUT SURVEYING AND INTERVIEWING AND ALL THAT.
UM, WHEN ARE THOSE DETAILS GOING TO COME OUT FOR THIS NEED ASSESSMENT, COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
UM, THAT WAS VERY MUCH HAS BEEN ON MY MIND SINCE, UM, SINCE I SAW THIS OPPORTUNITY, RIGHT.
AND WE WERE, UM, THINKING ABOUT IT IS HOW ARE WE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY ENGAGING WITH FOLKS, BUT ALSO IN A SAFE WAY RIGHT NOW.
UM, SO THOSE, UM, SO OUR PROPOSAL IS THAT MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS, THOSE ARE THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ELECT AGAIN, THE GEOGRAPHIC.
UM, BUT DO YOU HAVE GRAPHICALLY REPRESENTED CBC MEMBERS? SO FROM, UM, COLONY PARK AND ROSEWOOD, ANY SAWSON AND NORTH ALISON AND SOUTH AUSTIN, RIGHT.
UM, I KNOW I'M LEAVING SOME OUT THERE, BUT THAT FOR EACH OF THOSE GEOGRAPHIC AREAS, THERE IS A RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATION, UM, EITHER A NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION OR OTHER ORGANIZATION THAT ELECTS.
UM, AND SO TH THEY ARE HAVING VIRTUAL MEETINGS.
UM, WE KNOW IT'S NOT PERFECT, JUST LIKE YOU TALKED ABOUT, UM, NOW, UM, UM, BUT THAT, UM, THOSE FOLKS HAVE A TRACK RECORD OF BEING, TO BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE FOLKS IN EITHER, UM, YOUR VIA COMPUTER OR VIA PHONE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE.
AND SO THAT'S WHERE WE WOULD LOOK TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO, UM, SO THOSE ORGANIZATIONS WHO, WHO ARE, WHO HAVE, UM, WHO ARE ENGAGING THEIR RESIDENTS, RIGHT.
THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD RESIDENTS RIGHT NOW, UM, AS, AS A MECHANISM, UM, AS A SAFE MECHANISM, UM, FOR, FOR HEARING ABOUT THE NEEDS OF RESIDENTS.
UM, I DO WANT TO JUST, UM, PUT OUT THERE ON THE RECORD THAT IN EAST AUSTIN, UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, OUR ROSEWOOD AND BLOCK PLAN, UM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SCENE HAS BEEN VACANT FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS NOW.
AND, UM, AGAIN, I KNOW THAT ELECTIONS ARE COMING UP FOR ALL OF THE SEATS THAT ARE GOING TO BE UP EAST AUSTIN AND ROSEWOOD AND BLACKLINE BEING ONE OF THOSE TWO.
UM, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IN EAST AUSTIN, WHICH HAS AN ECS OR TAVIS CONTACT TEAM THAT HAS BEEN SELECTED, UM, TO HOST THESE TYPE OF, UM, COMMUNITY, UM, ENGAGEMENT, UH, ELECTIONS, AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, IT ONLY COVERS A CERTAIN PORTION OF MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE HOLLY NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE WHOLE ENTIRE EAST AUSTIN COMMUNITY, UM, IS AWARE OF THIS ASSESSMENT.
UM, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO WORK WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, AS WELL AS YOU KELLY, UM, ESPECIALLY IN MY DEMOGRAPHIC AREA, WHICH IS SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN OH TWO IS THE AREA I REPRESENT BECAUSE,
[02:05:01]
UM, WE HAVE A CHAIR VACANCY, WHICH IS PREDOMINANTLY THE BLACK COMMUNITY THAT'S CURRENTLY BEING GENTRIFIED.AND BECAUSE THE MESSAGING COMMUNITY HAS ALREADY BEEN GENTRIFIED, WE HAVE LACK OF REPRESENTATION HERE AND OUTREACH.
I NEED TO MAKE SURE AS I'M THE PRESIDENT OF MY ASSOCIATION, AS WELL AS, AS CHAIR FOR EAST AUSTIN DEMOGRAPHIC AREA SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN OH TWO, UM, IS DOING THE OUTREACH WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND ANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE ALREADY SELECTED FROM MY AREA.
SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE THAT VERY CLEAR BECAUSE THIS NEED ASSESSMENT IS VERY DEAR TO MY HEART BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THE DYSPORT, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE ECONOMICALLY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND SO I NEED TO MAKE SURE IT GETS DONE CORRECTLY, UM, AND THAT NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND.
I APPRECIATE THAT SO MUCH COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
AND I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY THE KIND OF, THAT'S EXACTLY THE REASON THAT WE, UM, THINK THE CDC MEMBERS, PARTICULARLY THOSE REPRESENTING GEOGRAPHIC AREAS ARE, UM, ARE, ARE KEY INFORMANTS AND, AND ARE THE FIRST STEP IN THE PROCESS FOR US TO TALK TO SO THAT WE MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING IT RIGHT.
WE HAVE A QUESTION OR COMMENT FROM COMMISSIONER HERE.
THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, KELLY.
UM, SO I THINK, UM, SO SIMILAR MAYBE TO WHAT COMMISSIONER DELGADO HAS MENTIONED.
SO THE BODY THAT, UH, ASKED ME TO COME ONTO THE CDC IS THE SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT TEAM AND, UM, THEIR, THEIR CHARGES, YOU KNOW, SEEING THROUGH THE, UH, THE NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN, UM, PROBABLY LIKE A FEW OTHER CONTACT TEAMS. A LOT OF THE PRIMARY ACTIVITY HAS BEEN REDUCED TO, AND I MEAN THIS A NO, UH, INSULTING WAY, BUT A LOT OF THE FOCUS OF THOSE MEETINGS IS ON, UH, UH, REVIEWING CODE REVISIONS.
UM, SO I, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, OR, OR, UH, BASICALLY TRYING TO HOLD THE LINE THAT THE DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE COMING INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD ARE, UM, ARE CONSIDERING COMMUNITY NEEDS.
SO I SAY ALL THAT, BECAUSE IN MY CASE, I WOULD HOPE THAT WE WOULD NOT RESTRICT THE, UM, THE INTERACTIVE POLLING CHEST TO SOUTHEAST CONTACT TEAM.
THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER ACTIVE BODIES, SUCH AS DOES SPRINGS PROUD THE, THE SPRINGS RECREATION, UH, COUNT, UH, UH, ADVISORY TASK FORCE.
UM, I ALSO THINK THAT, UM, THERE, I WOULD WONDER, I WAS THINKING THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, SPEAKING AT LEAST FOR MY COMMUNITY, THERE'S A, DO YOU GET, ATX LIKE THERE'S FOLKS THAT REALLY STEPPED UP DURING THE CRISIS THAT PROBABLY GOT A REALLY INTIMATE GLIMPSE INTO PEOPLE'S NEEDS IN THEIR LIVES, UH, IN RESPONDING TO THE, UM, TO THE, UH, WINTER STORM CRISIS.
SO I WOULD HOPE THAT I WONDER HOW MUCH WIGGLE ROOM THAT IS THERE, AND MAYBE MORE IMPORTANTLY, I'D OFFER MYSELF TO SORT OF CONNECT TO OTHER OTHER ACTORS, NOT JUST THE SOUTHEAST NEIGHBORHOOD CONTACT TEAM, UM, AND TO ENGAGE IN THESE QUESTIONS.
AND JUST TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I THINK THAT PROBABLY THEY'RE CALLING, I WOULD ERR, ON THE SIDE OF CALLING SERVICE PROVIDERS, UM, I FEEL LIKE SURVEYS WILL GET VERY MUCH LOST IN THE SAUCE IS PEOPLE ARE IN RESPONSE MODE.
AND YEAH, I W I WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE INTEGRITY OF THE SURVEY, IF THAT IF CALLS WEREN'T ALSO EMPLOYED AND NOT JUST, UM, UM, UH, DIGITAL SURVEYS, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO THE SERVICE PROVIDERS.
UM, AND THE LAST THING I WANTED TO, UH, THE QUESTION I HAVE IS WITH THE CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATION AND, AND, AND, AND SOME OF THE SHIFTS ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL, IT IS THERE.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS, UH, IN YOUR STEAD, BUT ARE WE IN A POSITION TO ASK FOR MORE AND BETTER, UM, MAYBE AS COMPARED TO THE LAST ADMINISTRATION WHEN IT COMES TO, TO THESE DOLLARS, UH, WHEN IT, WHEN IT COMES TO SORT OF PUTTING OUR ASSESSMENT FORTH, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER MAFIA.
UM, I'M GOING TO, I THINK THAT LAST QUESTION IS HIGHER THAN MY PAY GRADE, SO I'M GOING TO HAVE TO PITCH THAT TO UNHEALTH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY AGAIN, UM, YOU'RE, I THINK HAVING AN INITIAL CONVERSATION WITH YOU AS A KEY INFORMANT TO, UM, HELP US UNDERSTAND LANDSCAPE AND, AND, AND, AND FINALIZE OUR APPROACH, UM, IN TERMS OF ENGAGING RESIDENTS WILL BE REALLY IMPORTANT.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VOLUNTEERING.
YES, I GUESS I'M, BUT I KNOW HERE, UH, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
UM, QUESTION THERE, COMMISSIONER MAY HERE, UH, THE ONLY WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT WE THERE'S, YOU KNOW, 200 AND ODD CAS ACROSS TEXAS, AND THEY'RE ALL REQUIRED TO DO THIS.
SO OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENT FROM APH WILL GET SENT UP AND SUBMITTED IN SEPTEMBER, AND THEY WILL TAKE ALL OF THOSE COMMUNITY NEEDS ASSESSMENTS ACROSS TEXAS, AND SOMEHOW THEIR LEVEL INTEGRATED INTO ONE REPORT
[02:10:01]
TO ADVOCATE FOR MORE FUNDING AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.SO THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT WORKS.
SO WE'RE IMPORTANT CAUSE WE'RE THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND, KIND OF GIVING A VOICE TO THE FOLKS THAT YOU REPRESENT RANKING THESE NEEDS, AND THEN KIND OF MOVING IT ON UP TO THE NEXT LEVEL, WHICH IS THIS TDH CA SO THAT'S HOW IT WORKS IN TERMS OF THE FUNDING PIECE.
UM, I'M EXCITED BECAUSE I THINK ALL OF YOU ARE VERY PASSIONATE AND I THINK ALL OF YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE, UM, YOUR OWN VOICE TO THESE SERVICES, KEY INFORMANTS, BUT YOU'LL ALSO BE ABLE TO, TO HELP US FIND OTHER FOLKS OUT THERE, WHETHER IT'S THE COMMUNITY OR OTHER AGENCIES, UH, WE AREN'T UNDER A LIMITED TIMEFRAME.
SO WE CAN'T INTERVIEW EVERYBODY AS MUCH AS WE WOULD LOVE TO DO THAT.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE VERY SORT OF, KIND OF RAZOR SHARP FOCUSED ON WHO THE INTERVIEW IS ARE, UH, AND THAT'S WHERE YOU GUYS COME IN BECAUSE YOU GUYS HAVE THE PULSE OF THE CITY AND YOU CAN LET US KNOW, LIKE YOU JUST MENTIONED A COUPLE OF OTHER AGENCIES IN THE SOUTH, UM, PALM SPRINGS AREA.
SO I WOULDN'T BE DEFINITELY REACHING OUT TO ALL OF YOU VERY, VERY SOON.
UH, KELLY WILL TO BE ABLE TO SET SOME OF THOSE UP.
UH, AND YEAH, IT'S NOT JUST THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE ORGANIZATIONS.
UM, DEACON AS COMMISSIONER DELGADO'S CONCERNS AS WELL.
I MEAN, I, I SEE THIS SHE'S VERY, UH, VISIBLE IN HER COMMUNITY AND THAT AWESOME, YOU KNOW, CAUSE THEN SHE CAN ALSO KIND OF GUIDE US, YOU KNOW, TO CERTAIN GROUPS AND WE CAN INTERVIEW PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE CONTACT TEAM AS WELL, SO WE CAN COUNT, BUT AGAIN, IT'S VERY LIMITED TIMEFRAME SO WE CAN INTERVIEW EVERYBODY.
UH, ALSO KELLY, UH, AND THE OTHER BOAT IN, UH, SORRY, UH, COMMISSIONER, MAY IA AND, UH, COMMISSIONER DELGADO FOR, UH, NOT ONLY THESE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW MAKING SURE HOW WE CAN BEST SORT OF ACTIVATE AROUND THIS, BUT ALSO YOUR OWN ACTIVATION FROM THE SAME.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS AROUND THE, UH, THE, THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT? OKAY, WELL, WE APPRECIATE, UH, THE PRESENTATION AND, UH, WE'LL CERTAINLY BE MARINATING, UH, ON HOW WE CAN HELP.
UH, AND IF, UH, I ENCOURAGE ALL OF US, UH, AS WE HAVE ANY IDEAS OF ANYTHING, I MIGHT BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE SPECIFICALLY QUALITATIVELY, UH, TO THE SURVEY THAT WE REACH OUT, UH, TO STAFF TO CONNECT US, UH, TO KELLY OR TO HIGHTAIL TO SEE HOW WE CAN, WE CAN CONTRIBUTE THAT INFORMATION, UM, YOU KNOW, FURTHER DO THEN LIKE MOVE TO, UH, ITEM
[3C. Briefing on 2021 Winter Storm Emergency Home Repair Program (Letitia Brown, Community Development Manager, Housing and Planning Department)]
THREE C UNDER NEW BUSINESS, A BRIEFING ON, UH, THE WINTER STORM EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, UM, WITH, UH, LATISHA BROWN, UH, WHO IS THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT HOUSING AND PLANNING DEVELOPMENT.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
UM, LATISHA, YOU MAY BE MUTED.
WAIT, WAIT, I HEARD YOU FOR A SECOND AND THEN IT WENT OFF.
SO THERE, THIS IS THE AB TECH IS NOW ON.
YOU DID WITH HER GREEN MIC AND SHE IS THE PRESENTER.
SO I AM GOING TO, UH, MANDY, WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF WHILE I AM IDENTIFYING THE PRESENTATION TO SHARE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR? MANDY DEMAYO WAS ON THE LINE.
I AM THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT.
I'M STILL HAVING A HARD TIME SAYING THAT I'M NOT USED TO IT JUST YET.
CAN YOU GUYS SEE THE PRESENTATION? I'M SORRY.
LATITIA, CAN YOU HEAR ME? SORRY.
I'M HAVING SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES HERE, MANDY TO MALE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR.
UM, AND I WAS GOING TO DO A BRIEF INTRO WALLA TISHA PULLED UP THE PRESENTATION, BUT SHE'S FASTER THAN I AM.
AND SO SHE'S GOT THE PRESENTATION PULLED UP.
UM, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THE EMERGENCY HOMEWORK PROGRAM.
IT HAS BEEN FASCINATING TO LISTEN IN, TO BE, UM, PUBLIC COMMENTARY AND THE DISCUSSION PRIOR TO THE SUMMER, WHICH CENTERED AROUND THE FEBRUARY WINTER STORM URI, UM, AND LATITIA IS GOING TO GO INTO THE DETAILS OF THE PROGRAM.
BUT I DO THINK, UM, THIS WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT MOMENT FOR OUR DEPARTMENT IS ABLE TO RESPOND QUICKLY, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY NEEDS, UH, AROUND EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR.
AND WE WERE WELL-POSITIONED TO DO THAT SINCE WE WILL HAVE A VARIETY OF HOMEWORK OR PROGRAMS THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE, WE'RE ABLE TO VERY QUICKLY MODIFY THOSE PROGRAMS IN
[02:15:01]
ORDER TO MEET THE NEEDS, YOU KNOW, RESPONSIVE FASHION.UM, LETICIA IS OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AND, UH, SHE KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT HOME REPAIR.
UM, I AM GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO HER BECAUSE SHE OVERSEES ALL OF OUR HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS, INCLUDING THIS MOVE, SO.
IT WAS, UH, IT WAS A PLEASURE, UM, WORKING WITH OTHER STAFF IN THE DEPARTMENT IN ORDER TO CREATE THIS EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM.
I WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT HAD TO RELOCATE FOR A WEEK BECAUSE I DIDN'T HAVE GAS, WATER OR LIGHTS.
SO I GET IT, UH, THE NEW EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM.
UM, I HEARD PEOPLE TALK ABOUT CHALLENGES WITH SOFTWARE, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID WITH OUR NEW EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, WE IMPLEMENTED A SHORT FORM.
IT STARKLY, WE USE LONG APPLICATION FORMS AND EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTATION.
SO THIS TIME AROUND, WE GOT DOWN TO THE BARE, UH, JUST THE BARE MEAT OF WHAT DO WE REALLY NEED, UH, IN ORDER TO SAY THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE QUALIFIED FOR THE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.
SO WE HAVE THE NEW PROGRAM, WE HAVE A NEW INTAKE FORM, AND WE HAVE A NEW PROCESS.
WE ARE USING OUR CURRENT SERVICE PROVIDERS, WHICH IS THE SEVEN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT UNDER THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUNDED PROGRAM, THIS PROGRAM WOULD PAY UP TO $10,000 FOR LOW TO MODERATE INCOME HOMEOWNERS WHO WERE IMPACTED BY THE STORM.
SO THE CITY WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INTAKE.
AND THEN ON A ROTATING BASIS, WE WON'T TAKE THE PROJECTS OUT TO THE SEVEN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO GO APP AND ASSESS THE DAMAGE.
AND THEN THEY COME BACK AND ASK AND INFORM THE CITY AND TELL US, THIS IS HOW MUCH THEY NEED UP TO THE $10,000 WHO'S ELIGIBLE.
PEOPLE NEED TO LIVE IN THE AUSTIN FOR PURPOSE CITY LIMITS.
YOU GUYS ARE USED TO THIS INCOME RANGE, 80% MEDIAN FAMILY INCOME OR BELOW SHOULD BE THEIR HOUSEHOLD INCOME.
AND NOT MORE AS FOR FAMILY OF FOUR, YOU CAN'T EXCEED $75,100 IN A YEAR.
DAMAGES HAVE TO BE A RESULT OF THAT FEBRUARY, 2021, WHERE HER STORM STORM URI HOUSEHOLDS THAT ARE RECEIVING INSURANCE BENEFITS ARE THEMA ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR SAME REPAIRS.
WE WILL NOT FUND REPAIRS THAT ARE ALREADY FUNDED BY FEMA OR INSURANCE, THE ALGEBRA REPAIRS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS, HPAC UNITS, MOLD REMEDIATION, PLUMBING FIXTURES FOR ROOF SEWER LINES, WHILE IMPLORE REMOVAL, WATERLINES, AND WATER DAMAGE SHEET ROCK.
UM, AND WE'RE, WE'VE EVEN HEARD FROM NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT SOME FOLKS APPLIANCES HAVE BEEN IMPACTED, UH, BY THE STORM.
SO WE ARE, UH, WE WROTE THAT ENTIRE GUIDELINES IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE THAT.
I KIND OF SAID THAT BEFORE, BECAUSE I WAS JUST THAT EXCITED ABOUT IT.
WE HAVE A SHORT FORM IT'S IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.
WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR 15 QUESTION FORM TO THE CITY ELECTRONICALLY, THE CITY HAS FIVE DAYS TO GET BACK WITH YOU TO SAY, YOU'RE ELIGIBLE, YOU'RE DENIED.
AND IF YOU'RE ELIGIBLE, WE WILL REFER YOU OUT TO A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.
UM, CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES VARY.
IT DEPENDS ON THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, UH, WHAT THE REPAIRS ARE.
WE CAN USE THESE BIG FUNDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER HOME REPAIR PROGRAMS. SO WE CAN ADDRESS, UH, WE CAN APPROACH REPAIRS AT A HOLISTIC, UM, FROM A HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE.
SO WE DO HAVE A LANDING PAGE AND THE PAGE IS AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV/HOME REPAIRS.
THAT IS WHERE ANY NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, ANY SERVICE PROVIDER THAT'S WORKING WITH THIS CLIENT CAN GO ONLINE AND ASSIST THE CLIENT WITH COMPLETING THE SHORT FORM APPLICATION.
SO WE'RE GETTING ASSISTANCE FROM THE COMMUNITY.
[02:20:01]
A FAMILY MEMBER CAN HELP THEM IF THEY CALL IN BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO IT.A CITY STAFFER CAN ENTER THE INFORMATION AS WE'RE ASKING THEM THE QUESTIONS.
AGAIN, IT'S ONLY 15 QUESTIONS DRASTICALLY REDUCED FROM OUR NORMAL, UH, APPLICATION PROCESS.
THIS IS A VIEW OF OUR REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, AND THIS IS JUST WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, IT'S NOT INTIMIDATING, VERY SUBTLE COLORS.
ARE YOU A HOMEOWNER, UM, THAT YOU LIVE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF AUSTIN IS THE PROPERTY IN YOUR NAME? AND WE ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF CHECKPOINTS WHERE WE CHECK THE CITY'S.
UH, UM, I THINK IT'S JACK IS SYSTEM IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THAT THEY ARE IN THE FULL PURPOSE CITY LIMITS OF AUSTIN.
SO THIS IS THE LOOK THAT OUR REQUEST FOR INFORMATION FORM HAS.
COULD WE, UH, I'M, I'M, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT.
UH, ARE WE ABLE TO SCROLL DOWN A BIT ON THAT BY CHANCE? OR IS THAT JUST THE TOP? UH, ARE WE SEEING THE QUESTIONS THERE OR WHAT THE FORM LOOKS LIKE? OKAY.
I DON'T HAVE, I DON'T HAVE THE QUESTIONS ON HAND.
I JUST, I JUST WANT, I DIDN'T WANT TO GET A LOOK AT IT WHEN, WHEN I, YEAH, YEAH.
I WAS HEARING YOU GUYS SAYING IT'S LIKE NOT INTIMIDATING.
AND I WAS, I WAS LOOKING FOR THE FORM, BUT NEVERMIND, SORRY.
THIS IS A SCREENSHOT ACTUALLY OF KIND OF WHERE YOU GO INTO THE LANDING PAGE.
BUT IF YOU GO TO AUSTIN, TEXAS, UM, SLASH HOME REPAIRS THAT LETICIA MENTIONED, YOU CAN CLICK ON IT AND PLAY AROUND WITH THE FORM.
SO, UH, THAT'S THE VISION OF THE FORUM.
WE LAUNCHED THE PROGRAM MARCH 1ST AND ARE READY.
YOU CAN SEE THAT YOU CAN SEE THE FORM.
SOME OF IT, THAT'S JUST THE LOOK.
UM, I'M GOING TO MY NEXT PAGE.
SOMEBODY HAS INTERFERED WITH MY PRESENTATION.
I'M SO SORRY FOR INTERRUPTING WITH THAT QUESTION.
I SCREWED UP EVERYTHING STARTING TO GET TO MY NEXT SAID LATITIA OVER TO THE HOME REPAIR.
AND YOU GOTTA GO BACK TO THAT.
SO THEN THESE ARE SOME NUMBERS.
WE JUST LAUNCHED THIS PROGRAM MARCH 1ST AND WE'VE ALREADY HAD 153 PEOPLE TO APPLY.
IF YOU SEVEN HAVE BEEN APPROVED AGAIN, WE'RE WORKING WITH THAT FIVE DAY.
WE ARE WORKING AT KINKS AS WE'RE GOING.
SO WE ARE, UH, TRANSFERRING THOSE APPLICATIONS AS SOON AS WE CAN TO THE SEVEN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
AND THEN WE'VE HAD 23 THAT WERE DENIED, BUT, UH, ONE WEEK, 153, THAT'S A LOT OF APPLICATIONS.
AND THEN HERE'S SOME OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE.
THIS IS THE APPLICATION POOL OF FOLKS THAT HAVE APPLIED.
AND THESE ARE THE DEMOGRAPHICS THAT WE HAVE THUS FAR AS TO BASED TO THE APPLICATIONS.
AND THEN WE HAVE A LITTLE MORE DETAIL BY ZIP CODES.
I'M SURE SOME OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WANT TO SEE, UH, THAT I HEARD, UH, UH, COUNCIL OR COMMISSIONER.
I HEARD COMMISSIONER DELGADO MENTIONED SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN OH TWO.
SO WE'VE GOT 35 APPLICATIONS IN THAT AREA.
WHAT I MEAN IS THAT WE ALWAYS SEND A GO TO THE APPLICATION TO COMPLETE THAT PROCESS.
FIRST, IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES, EMAIL US.
AND THEN IF FOR SOME REASON YOU DON'T HAVE AN EMAIL CALL THREE ONE, ONE OR 5.297, FOUR 3,100.
UH, FOR THIS PRESENTATION, LATISHA, UH, I WANTED TO CHECK WITH OUR FOLKS, UH, COMMISSIONERS ON THE PHONE.
DO Y'ALL HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I HAVE A QUESTION.
HE'S THE HOME REPAIR COALITION.
THE FIRST ONE IS, IS THE HOME REPAIR COALITION INVOLVED IN DETERMINING
[02:25:03]
ADRIAN WAS THE WORK OR TWO ARE NEEDED.MEET WITH THE HUB PER COALITION.
WE WORK WITH, UM, I KEEPING UP TO DATE WITH WHAT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND OTHER CODE, UH, DEPARTMENTS HAVE HAVE WE, WE HAVE A COORDINATED COMMUNICATION, UM, BETWEEN US, BUT THEY DID THE HOME REPAIR COALITION.
WE HAVE SEVEN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS.
THEY TOO ARE A PART OF THE COALITION, JUST LIKE THE CITY AND CALL DEPARTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES.
WE ARE ALL PART OF THE COALITION.
SO WE HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS AND WE DID DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT AS IT RELATES TO THE SERVICE PROVIDER, YOU HAVE THE SEVEN NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS THAT ADMINISTER THE GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUNDED HOME REPAIR PROGRAM.
THAT'S AUSTIN AREA, URBAN LEAGUE, AMERICAN YOUTH WORK, EASTER SEALS, INTERFAITH MEALS ON WHEELS AND MORE, UM, WHAT'S THE NAME OF TWO OF THOSE IS ANY OF THIS WORK REIMBURSABLE TO THE CITY FROM FEMA THAT I DO THAT I'M NOT AWARE OF, BUT WHAT I WERE USING RECURRENTLY USING, UM, YOU KNOW, GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUNDS, AND WE'RE ANTICIPATING FUNDING FROM AUSTIN, WATER UTILITY AND BANK OF AMERICA.
HOW MUCH FROM BANK OF AMERICA? SO WE HAVE BEEN APPROVED FOR, UM, A $100,000 GRANT FROM BANK OF AMERICA TO DISTRIBUTE THROUGH THE SEVEN NONPROFITS THAT LETICIA MENTIONED.
I'M SORRY, THIS IS MANDY DEMAND, OREGON COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR.
UM, AND WE ARE ALSO WORKING WITH AUSTIN WATER UTILITY ON FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND DOLLARS.
WE HAVE NOT EXPLORED, BUT WE WILL EXPLORE, UM, REIMBURSEMENT FOR FEMA.
UM, THAT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT TODAY WE HAVE.
AND YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU COME UP WITH A SHORTER FORM.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO USE GOING FORWARD OR FOR, UM, NON ULTRA URGENT EMERGENCIES? YOU WILL GO BACK TO THE OLDER FORM.
WE ARE LEARNING A LOT THROUGH THIS EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR, UM, PROGRAM PROCESS THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH.
WE WOULD LIKE TO IMPLEMENT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE USING ON A PERMANENT BASIS.
THE SHORT FORM HAS BEEN WELL RECEIVED BY THE NON-PROFITS AND THE PUBLIC.
UM, AND WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR COMMUNICATIONS FOLKS AND OUR TECHNOLOGY TEAM TO MAKE THIS PERMANENT.
THERE'S NO REASON AT THIS POINT TO GO BACK TO A LONGER, MORE CUMBERSOME PROCESS, MORE THAT INVOLVES A LOT OF EMAILING BACK AND FORTH OR SENDING AN APPLICATION THAT SAYS AS WHAT TISHA SAID, THIS HAS BEEN A LEARNING PROCESS FOR US AS STAFF CARE.
THANK YOU FOR, UH, I'M GLAD THE CITY STAFF WAS ABLE TO STAND UP A PROGRAM SO QUICKLY, AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE LEARNING FROM IT WAYS TO IMPROVE THE PROGRAM.
HEY, THANK YOU, VICE CHAIR, UH, COMMISSIONER, UH, MAKING IT, UM, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION.
THE TEESHA ALSO WANT TO ECHO THE SENTIMENT.
IT'S STANDING UP THIS PROGRAM WITH ALL THE I'M A MOUNTAIN, A GREAT DEAL OF LIABILITY.
WHEN YOU GO TO PEOPLE'S HOMES AND ENGAGE IN REPAIRS, THERE'S A LOT OF COMPLEXITIES TO THINK ABOUT, BUT YOU'RE JUST, JUST HOLDING UP THE CITY'S COMMITMENT TO RACIAL EQUITY.
I WAS CURIOUS IF RACIAL IDENTIFICATION DATA IS BEING COLLECTED WHEN PEOPLE APPLY UNDERSTANDING THAT THAT PROBABLY CANNOT FACTOR INTO SOME OF THE DOLLARS HERE, BUT IS THAT BEING ELECTED AT LEAST FOR GOAL SETTING, WE ARE TRACKING, UH, DEMOGRAPHICS, WHICH INCLUDES RACE.
AND MY S MY FOLLOW UP QUESTION IS I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE, UH, THERE WAS A MOMENT IN YOUR PRESENTATION WHEN YOU SAID THAT THE TIME FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S AN ASSESSMENT THAT OCCURS THEN THE NON-PROFITS, APPARENTLY I'M GUESSING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE NONPROFITS THEM ARE THEMSELVES, ARE THE CONTRACTORS THAT WOULD DO THE REPAIR IF THEY REFER OUT, UM, THEY HAVE A PROCUREMENT PROCESS THAT THEY'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH AND THEY HAVE CONTRACTORS OWN, BUT NOT ON THEIR STAFF, BUT THAT THEY SUBCONTRACT
[02:30:01]
OUT TOO.I THINK ONE THING THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION IS, UM, THAT THERE, THERE WASN'T REALLY, UM, AND THAT THERE'S NOT A HARD TIME COMMITMENT FROM, LET'S SAY A, THE MOMENT I'M APPROVED FOR THE PROGRAM, OR AT LEAST FROM THE DAY AFTER MY ASSESSMENT, IN MY HEAD, IT MAKES SENSE THAT THE NON-PROFITS WOULD BE HELD TO THE SAME STANDARD AS FAR AS THE DEADLINE TO GET THE WORK SCHEDULED.
CAUSE WHAT I WOULD HAVE HATE TO HAPPEN IS THIS GREAT PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, GETTING SORT OF SOLELY BY, YOU KNOW, UH, SOME OF THESE NONPROFITS GOING WAY OVER DEADLINE WHEN SOME OTHER ONES ARE EXECUTING.
SO I'M CURIOUS ABOUT IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THE RIGHT WORD IS ENFORCEABLE, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
I DIDN'T SIT RIGHT WITH ME, BUT I, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE, YOU KNOW, WHY THAT'S THE CASE? OKAY.
SO WE, UM, WE HAVE, UH, THE CITY, WE HAVE A FIVE DAY TURNAROUND FROM THE TIME WE RECEIVED THE SUBMITTED INTAKE APPLICATION TO GET IT TO THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION, THE NOT CAUSATION, THE ASSESSMENT THAT THEY'RE DOING WITH THE PROPERTY IS THE SAME ASSESSMENT THAT THEY DO FOR A GENERAL OBLIGATION BOND FUNDED, UH, PROGRAMS. AND THEN THEY ALSO HAVE DOLLARS THAT THEY CAN LEVERAGE, I THINK IS, IS IT'S SENSITIVE.
AND WE'RE ALL NERVOUS ABOUT HOW RESPONSIVE WE CAN BE WHEN WE, AND WHEN Y WHAT NON-PROFIT, WE ASSIGNED 25 CASES TO TODAY.
SO THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO MORE SUBCONTRACTING APP.
THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK FOR MORE PARTNERS IN ORDER TO DO THE WORK.
YEAH, I GUESS, UM, YEAH, I DON'T KNOW IF, UH, THAT, THAT MY CONCERN IS MAINLY THAT AGAIN, THAT THIS, THIS PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, THE SUCCESS OF IT COULD BE SKEWED BY PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTANDING WHY THAT PROCESS TAKES SO LONG, OR IF THERE'S DISPARITIES IN THE TURNAROUND TIME.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S AN ANSWER TO IT RIGHT NOW.
IT'S JUST, I'M EXPRESSING MY CONCERN.
IT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GOING TO MONITOR.
UM, BECAUSE AS WE'RE WORKING THROUGH, WE'RE WORKING AT THE KINKS INITIAL RESPONSE WE WANTED ONE DAY, THEN WE WANTED A THREE DAY, AND THEN IT ENDED UP FIVE DAYS BECAUSE CTL WAS WORKING WITH US TO WORK OUT THE KINKS, TO GET AUTOMATIC NOTIFICATIONS AND THINGS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND I THINK WE HAVE A HIGHER LEVEL OF RESOURCES THAN THEY DO.
SO I AM A BIT NERVOUS TO SAY, NO, PROBABLY YOU HAVE 30 DAYS, AND I JUST ASSIGNED YOU 25 CASES.
I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE EMERGENCIES.
I UNDERSTAND, AS WE WORK THAT OUT, I'LL DEFINITELY COMMUNICATE WITH MANDY TO MAY ON MY MANAGER SO SHE CAN HAVE THOSE COMMUNICATE SO THAT COMMUNICATION CAN GET TO YOU GUYS.
UH, LAST QUICK, LAST KIND OF POINT, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING THAT, UM, HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION IN THE PAST, AND THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, FROM ELDERS IN MY COMMUNITY AND SOME FOLKS I KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN EAST AUSTIN, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, THIS IS THEIR TESTIMONY, SO I'M KIND OF RELAYING IT, BUT THEY WOULD TALK ABOUT HOW, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WOULD BE SORT OF UNSCRUPULOUS DEVELOPERS OR PEOPLE THAT WANT TO PURCHASE PROPERTIES THAT WOULD CRUISE AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE VADDIO AND LOOK FOR CODE VIOLATIONS.
AND I GOT TO THINK INTO MYSELF, UH, WITH, UH, WITH THIS LEVEL OF EVENT AND DAMAGE ON HOMES, UH, HAS, HAS, UH, UH, HOUSING COMMUNICATED TO CODE, TO SORT OF EXERCISE RESTRAINT.
UM, AND I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW THE CITY FILTERS OUT SORT OF BAD ACTORS OR PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, THAT HAVE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST THAT COULD CALL IN A REPORT ON CODE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY MIGHT HAVE INTERESTS IN, UH, YOU KNOW, PURSUING A PROPERTY.
SO I KNOW THAT SOUNDS KIND OF WILD, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S BEYOND WHAT PEOPLE DO.
AND I GUESS IT'S NOT RELATED TO THIS PROGRAM, BUT I'M CURIOUS ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE RISK OF THAT AFTER SUCH A, UH, AN EVENT THAT HAS DAMAGED SO MANY HOMES.
SO I REALIZED THAT'S NOT A DIRECT QUESTION TO THIS PROGRAM, BUT IT'S SOMETHING I THINK TO CONSIDER.
WE HAVE A CAMPAIGN IS CALLED AUSTIN IS MY HOME.
AND UNDER THAT EFFORT, WE DISCUSSED PREDATORY LENDING AND RED LINING THINGS OF THAT NATURE, ALONG WITH THE DIFFERENT HOME REPAIR SERVICES THAT WE HAVE.
SO AS WE CREATE PRO PROGRAMS AND WE WANT TO MAKE IT A PART OF THAT CAMPAIGN, AUSTIN IS MY HOME.
THEN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL DO THAT.
BUT WE WERE AWARE THAT SOME OF THE THINGS YOU MENTIONED CAN TAKE PLACE.
SO WE'VE BEEN FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS, WE'VE KIND OF BEEN ON A MISSION, GETTING THE WORD OUT THERE EVEN BEFORE THE WINTER STORM.
YOU RUN A PREDATORY LENDERS, BE AWARE OF GETTING THESE LETTERS IN THE MAIL AND PEOPLE ARE PRESSURING YOU TO GIVE
[02:35:01]
DEEDS OR THINGS, OR WHAT'S NOT UNCOMMON.SO WE'VE HAD SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS ALREADY.
THANK YOU SO MUCH MORE THAN ANYTHING.
ALL MY QUESTIONS COME IN THE CONTEXT OF GRATITUDE FOR YOUR PROGRAM.
MAY YET, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, UH, ABOUT THE, UH, EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR PROGRAM? OKAY.
UH, I, UH, VERY MUCH APPRECIATE, UH, THE PETITION, UH, AND MANDY Y'ALL'S TIME, UH, AND EFFORT, UH, IN STANDING UP THIS PROGRAM AS VICE-CHAIR AND, UH, POPPIN COMMISSIONER MAY HAVE MENTIONED THE BIGGEST SO QUICKLY.
THAT FORM IS A LOT EASIER TO USE AND, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, THAN OTHER THINGS.
AND IF ANYTHING, IT'S COMPARTMENTALIZED IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S CLEAR THAT THERE'S SOME, UH, IT'S A LOT MORE THOUGHT GOING INTO THE USER EXPERIENCE AND THE DESIGN OF IT, UM, SUCH THAT YOU CAN GATHER INFORMATION IN AN UNCOMPLICATED WAY FIRST TO AT LEAST BRING FOLKS INTO THE FOLD AND NOT LOSE FOLKS WAY EARLY IN THE PROCESS.
UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY, CLEARLY THERE'S A LOT OF THOUGHT THAT'S GONE INTO AS, AND A LOT OF, UH, SHARED LEARNING, UH, SO THAT THAT'S APPRECIATED.
UM, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, UH, WHICH I KNOW IS FOUR A, BUT HE SOMEHOW LOST BY AGENDA OFF OF MY SCREEN.
[4A. Review, discussion, and possible action on recommendation regarding basic needs and critical utility and other services for residents of Austin's disadvantaged communities in light of the crisis brought on by winter storm Uri (Chair Motwani)]
AS A REVIEW DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON RECOMMENDATION REGARDING BASIC NEEDS AND CRITICAL UTILITY AND OTHER SERVICES FOR RESIDENTS OF AUSTEN'S DISCIPLINE IN LIGHT OF THE CRISIS BROUGHT ON BY WINTER STORM URI.AND JUST A, YOU KNOW, JUST TO NOTE, THAT'S FOLLOWED BY FOUR B, WHICH IS A REVIEW DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION RECOMMENDATION REGARDING CITY VACCINATION, LARGELY WITHIN SORT OF THE SAME CONTEXT.
UM, ONE, UH, MAYBE MORE PRESSING THAN THE OTHER ONE IS CERTAINLY HIGHER THAN THE OTHER IN AS MUCH AS ITS ORDER ON THE AGENDA TODAY.
UM, AND WE'LL BEGIN WITH THAT ONE WITH THAT BEING SAID, I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, OUR, UH, TWO SPEAKERS, UH, WHO LIKELY HAVE HUNG WITH US, UH, THROUGH THE MEETING UP UNTIL NOW, AND THANK EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.
UH, AND I'LL LET Y'ALL KNOW THAT Y'ALL MIGHT WANT TO HAVE YOUR HANDS READY ON THE, YOUR FINGERS READY ON THE UNMUTE BUTTONS IN CASE, UH, WE ASK Y'ALL FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, ANY THOUGHTS OR SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS, UM, THIS AGENDA ITEM, UH, IS, WAS BROUGHT UP LARGELY, UH, TO, YEAH, IT'S COMMISSIONING DAKOTA.
I'VE BEEN, TRYING TO BE LIKE ALL THE WAY WHEN THE TEACHER BROWN WAS ASKING FOR FEEDBACK AND I'M STILL AMAZED.
THERE'S NO WAY YOU ALL CAN SEE ME.
AND I'M JUST LIKE TEXTING JESSE, TEXTING LISA TEXTING CHAIR THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE.
SO BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, CAN I GET MY TCO BACK ON SO I CAN TALK ABOUT THE HOME REPAIR, CAUSE THAT WAS AN AGENDA ITEM THAT I REQUESTED TO BE PUT ON THIS AGENDA TODAY.
A QUESTION ABOUT GOD, THAT YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
AND TO BE CLEAR, I'M REALLY SORRY.
I DIDN'T SEE YOUR TEXT MESSAGES.
I DON'T, IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A LITTLE TOUGH TO MONITOR MY MOBILE PHONE IS WHEREAS, UH, YOU KNOW, I'M DOING MY BEST TO PLAY, PAY ATTENTION TO OUR MEETING AND ALSO RUN IT.
UH, I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IT'S, IT'S CERTAINLY DISTURBING THAT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING AT THE LEVEL YOU LIKE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT YOU ARE, UH, THE ONE WHO MADE SURE THAT, UH, THIS, UH, AGENDA ITEM GOT ONTO OUR AGENDA.
SO, YOU KNOW, JUST, JUST KNOW THAT I APOLOGIZE.
I'M CERTAINLY NOT INTENDING TO MISS A TEXT MESSAGE FROM YOU.
UH, AND, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE, UH, LATISHA STILL HERE WITH US.
UH, AND, UH, GIVEN THAT WE HAVEN'T BEGUN THE FOLLOWING AGENDA ITEM, UH, I, UH, WE COULD SAY, UH, UH, ON THEIR, ON THE PREVIOUS AGENDA ITEM, DC BROWN COMMISSIONER DELGADO, I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND CLARIFICATION THAT MY RESIDENTS HAVE BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION, AS WELL AS WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING THIS ITEM, GET PUSHED THROUGH CITY COUNCIL.
AND WE HADN'T BEEN WAITING FOR THIS APPLICATION PROCESS TO GO LIVE ON MARCH THE FIRST, WHICH NOW WE'RE NINE DAYS INTO APPLICATION PROCESS.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS BEEN DISTURBING
[02:40:01]
AS WELL CONCERNED IS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLINE FILLING OUT THESE QUALIFICATION FORMS AS WELL AS APPLICATIONS.I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MY CONSTITUENTS ARE ABLE TO FILL OUT PAPER APPLICATIONS.
LIKE IT STATED IN THE PROCESS APPLICATION THAT THEY COULD PRINT OUT THIS APPLICATION AND THEY CAN BE ABLE TO FILL THE APPLICATION OUT FOR ONLINE APPLICANTS.
WE DON'T WANT TO BE THE ONLINE APPLICANTS WERE THE APPLICANTS OFFLINE.
SO WHERE WHERE'S OUR SPACE FOR THAT NUMBER ONE, HOW IS THAT BEING OUTREACH TO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS THAT THERE IS THIS EMERGENCY FUNDING, NOT JUST BY IT BEING PUT ON THE NEWS BECAUSE IT'S PUBLIC NOTIFICATION, BUT HOW IS THIS BEING REACHED TO OUR LOW INCOME AND OUR ELDERLY AND I WORKING ESSENTIAL FAMILIES THAT ARE MISSING THIS NOTICE AND MISSING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GET ONLINE, TO DO THAT.
I HAVE 17 APPLICATIONS THAT OUR RESIDENTS HAVE FILLED OUT THAT ARE, THAT ARE E LITERATE AND NOT ABLE TO DO THIS WORK ONLINE AND REFUSE TO GIVE UP THEIR IDENTITY AND ALL THIS INFORMATION ONLINE.
DO YOU, DOES YOUR OFFICE HAVE, Y'ALL CREATED THAT PROCESS FOR OUR ELDERS, OUR DISABLED AND OUR WORKING CLASS COMMUNITIES THAT REFUSE TO DO YOUR ONLINE SINCE YOU ALL MADE THAT PROTOCOL LATISHA, WE DO NOT HAVE A HARD COPY APPLICATION THAT WE ARE DISTRIBUTING TO CITIZENS.
WHAT WE HAVE OFFERED UP IS THAT WE, THE CITY, OUR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, OUR PARTNERS THROUGH THE COALITION, WE ARE AVAILABLE TO ASSIST THEM WITH COMPLETING AN APPLICATION ONLINE IN IT'S 15 QUESTIONS.
IF WE HAD SOMEONE TO SAY, BUT TEESHA, I'M NOT GOING FOR IT.
I'M NOT PUTTING ANYTHING ONLINE.
I WOULD GLADLY HAVE SOMEONE PRINTED AND THEY FEEL COMPLETED THAT WAY.
AND THEN WE GET IT ONLINE OURSELVES.
THIS, THIS FORM OF 15 QUESTIONS, UH, DOES NOT HAVE ANY PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION LIKE DATES OF BIRTH, SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.
WE'RE, WE'RE COLLECTING THINGS LIKE FINDING THEM, CORRECT.
THAT IS, IS THAT TO QUALIFY THE RECIPIENT.
SO QUALIFY THE RECIPIENT IS THE SHORT FORM 15 QUESTIONS, CORRECT? THAT WE HAVE, THE APPLICATION WAS EMAILED TO ME.
AND SO THE APPLICATIONS THAT OUR RESIDENTS NEED TO FILL OUT THE ONES THAT ARE NOT ONLINE, THAT DON'T HAVE OUTREACH FROM ANY CD THAT DON'T HAVE FAMILY TO HELP THEM THAT ARE ILLITERATE, THAT ARE DISABLED.
I HAVE 60 OF THOSE 16 OF THOSE APPLICATIONS ON MY DESK RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN DOING THE OUTREACH FOR NACD, BECAUSE NACD DOES NOT HAVE AN OUTREACH COMPONENT TO REACH OUR RESIDENTS.
AM I CORRECT? WE HAVE A DIVISION THAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR MARKETING AND OUTREACH.
WE SAID, WE DO HAVE, I HAVE NOT SEEN THAT MARKETING OUTREACH DONE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
LIKE YOU MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN OUT OF POWER AND WATER AND ALL THAT FOR FOUR DAYS, 80 HOURS.
AFTER THAT, WE HAVE TO, AGAIN, ADVOCATE FOR OURSELVES, PROVIDE OURSELVES AID TO GET US THROUGH THE WEEKEND, OPT TO THE NEXT FOLLOWING WEEK TILL NOW WE'RE STILL SUFFERING, NOT HAVING GAS AND WATER AT SOME OF OUR COMPLEXES.
A LOT OF OUR COMMUNITIES ARE SUFFERING OUT THERE.
WHERE IS THE GAP? WHERE IS THE CONNECTION OF YOUR OUTREACH DIVISION HITTING ON THESE DOORS AND MAKING SURE THAT THESE RESIDENTS THAT ARE LOW INCOME, DISABLED, ILLITERATE, THEY ALLOW, I JUST WANT TO KNOW.
CAUSE I SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE WE'RE AT HERE.
AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THESE 16 APPLICANTS, UM, THAT HAD FILLED OUT PAPER APPLICATIONS THAT THEY'D BE ATTENDED TO, AND THAT THEIR APPLICATIONS BE QUALIFIED BECAUSE I DID HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THE 80% MFI AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE INSURANCE AND PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN GETTING FEMA ASSISTANCE.
THE PEOPLE THAT ARE, THAT DON'T HAVE HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE, THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ACCESS FEMA, BECAUSE FEMA AIN'T OUT HERE WITH THEIR BOOTS ON KNOCKING ON DOORS, HELPING PEOPLE OUT.
INSTEAD EVERYTHING'S DONE ON A DIGITAL PLATFORM THAT I DON'T AGREE WITH.
SO I WANT TO KNOW WHERE'S THE OUTREACH DONE IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE APPLICANTS THAT ARE ALREADY APPLIED.
I WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THEM ARE MEXICAN AND BLACK.
AND I WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THEM ARE MAKING 20,000 ARE ON UNEMPLOYMENT
[02:45:01]
ARE MAKING LESS THAN 50,000 TO BE ABLE TO QUALIFY FOR THAT $10,000 GRANT.I WANT TO KNOW ALL OF THAT AS A COMMISSIONER.
COMMISSIONER, I WORKED WITH YOU BEFORE I WORKED IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
WE PHYSICALLY WOULD HAVE COME OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ON DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. AND I'M JUST SAYING WE'RE IN A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT.
NOW I WILL BE DOING EXACTLY THAT.
IF IT WERE NOT FOR COVID, MY STAFF WOULD BE COMING TO THE HOMES OF THESE PEOPLE.
IF IT WASN'T FOR COVID, YOU CAN BRING THOSE APPLICATIONS TO ME.
AND I WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY GET, WE'VE BEEN DOING THE WORK FOR THE LAST NINE DAYS AND THE COMMUNITY.
SO I HAVE THEM RIGHT HERE AND I'LL BE RIGHT.
I'LL BE GLAD TO BRING THEM IN THE TC.
MY QUESTION IS, IS THAT EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD ACROSS THE CITY, THIS IS A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS, A MILLION DOLLARS AND A LOT OF MONEY TO REPAIR THESE DAMAGES.
AND I'VE HAD AN ISSUE WITH HOME REPAIRS AND APPLICATIONS SITTING ON YOUR DESK AND NOT BEING PROCESSED.
AND WE STILL SEND HERE GETTING, WAITING FOR HOME REPAIRS WHILE PEOPLE ARE DYING IN THEIR HOMES WITH HAVING NO WATER AND PLUMBING ISSUES.
ONE OF THEM IS MY RESIDENT, JOANNE GIL.
SO THIS DAY SHE HAS NO WATER IN THE OH TWO AREA.
SO THAT'S THE APPLICATION I HAVE IN MY HAND RIGHT NOW, MY POINT IS TO NACD IS THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS APPLICATION PROCESS, THAT MY LOW INCOME, MY DISABLED, MY WORKING CLASS, MY PEOPLE THAT ARE ON SSI ON FIXED INCOME HAVE ACCESS TO THIS MONEY.
IF THEY DON'T, THEN I'M NOT GOING TO BE VERY HAPPY BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT SERVING OUR COMMUNITY.
AND THIS IS WHAT NACD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IS SUPPOSED TO DO.
THAT IS OUR MISSION STATEMENT HERE.
I'M NOT SERVING ANY SWIMMING POOLS OR ANY BIG OLD CONDO.
THOSE PEOPLE HAVE, HAVE INSURANCES THAT THEY CAN GO FILE CLAIMS ON OUR PEOPLE.
SO I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT.
SO YOU ALL KNOW THAT WHILE REBECCA GALLO AND ROSIE TRULA ARE A COUNCIL ADVOCATING FOR MORE FUNDING AND ALL OF THIS STUFF, OUR PEOPLE MAKE SURE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE HOUSES ARE BEING REPAIRED.
AND I'M HERE TO MONITOR THAT PRO BONO AND, AND, AND, AND DURING A CRISIS OF THE PANDEMIC, PUTTING MYSELF AT RISK OF GETTING CORONAVIRUS, THANK YOU, UH, LATISHA, UH, FOR, UH, DOING YOUR BEST TO RESPOND AND COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOUR PASSION.
AND I DO HEAR WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM.
AND I, AND I ASKED THAT WE S WE ALL DO OUR BEST, UH, TO MAINTAIN, UH, COOLNESS AND CALMNESS IN RESPECT TO EACH OTHER AS A, I THINK IT'S VERY CLEAR, WE'RE ALL TRYING TO ACHIEVE THE SAME GOALS.
MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO FOCUS ON SOLVENCY HERE.
AND IF THE CHALLENGE IS THAT AN ONLINE FORMAT, PERHAPS, MAYBE INACCESSIBLE, UH, THEN, UH, I WOULD REALLY PREFER THAT WE FOCUS AROUND SOLVING Z.
WHAT ARE THE SUGGESTIONS? UH, AND SO, YOU KNOW, AN IDEA THAT COMES TO MY MIND IS, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO ACTIVATE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S THREE, ONE, ONE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A PHONE CALL AND ASSIST A CUSTOMER OR A CALLER, UH, WITH AT LEAST THAT PREQUALIFICATION, UH, UH, SUCH IN, UH, UH, LETICIA, IS THAT, IS THAT A POSSIBILITY, WOULD YOU ALL BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THREE, ONE, ONE TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ACTIVATED FOR THAT? WE WILL WORK WITH THREE, ONE, ONE, AND OUR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF WE'RE PREPARED TO TAKE IN THOSE APPLICATIONS.
AND WE'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED WITH STAFF THAT THE CHANCES ARE THAT WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE APPLICATIONS AND ENTER THEM OURSELVES.
AND, UH, SO TO BE CLEAR, YOU KNOW, AS WE GO BACK, UH, YOU KNOW, TO OUR, UH, UH, COMMUNITIES AND SHARE THE INFORMATION, UH, WITH D AVENUE WITH THE BEST AVENUE, WOULD YOU SUGGEST BE TO CALL THREE, ONE, ONE AT THIS POINT, OR WOULD WE HAVE ANOTHER, WOULD YOU, WOULD YOU RECOMMEND ANOTHER PHONE NUMBER FOR US TO GET TO STAFF? I THINK LIKE, YOU KNOW, IT MAY BE, IT, UH, IT MAY, MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT OF A STRETCH TO EXPECT STAFF TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE PHONES WITH HIGH SERVICE LEVELS DURING MANY HOURS OF THE DAY.
AND, UH, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, AND WHEN FOLKS, WHEN WE'RE, WHEN WE'RE IN EMERGENCY, AS WE ALL KNOW EXPERIENCES, ESPECIALLY RECENTLY, WE NEED ANSWERS QUICKLY.
AND, AND EVEN IF SOMEONE'S GOING TO CALL US BACK AT A HALF HOUR, IT FEELS LIKE A YEAR.
IF WE DON'T KNOW WHEN IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN, DO YOU, WHAT, UM, AND COULD, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, BOTH YOU LATISHA AS WELL AS ANYBODY ELSE, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, ON CITY STAFF THAT MIGHT HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT AROUND HOW QUICKLY ONE, ONE COULD POTENTIALLY MOBILIZE AROUND THIS, WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO BE ABLE TO GET THAT TO HAPPEN? SO WE CAN GIVE ONE KIND OF CLEAR, CLEAR MESSAGE TO FOLKS.
SHOULD I DO SEE MR. MCGEE HAD, DO YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP, OR, UH, YEAH.
W UH, PLEASE, PLEASE SHARE WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SAY, OR DO YOU PREFER THAT, THAT, UH, UH, LATISHA RESPOND FIRST TO YOUR POLITICS SHOULD RESPOND
[02:50:01]
FIRST? YEAH.IN, IN PREVIOUS YEARS WE HAVE WORKED WITH THREE, ONE, ONE WHERE A PERSON COULD CALL IN FOR THREE, ONE, ONE, THEY WOULD VET THOSE CALLS.
WE WOULD TAKE THOSE EMAILS AND DEVELOP A SPREADSHEET AND MAIL THOSE, UH, LIVE THAT INFORMATION, CORRESPONDENCE OUT TO THEM.
WE'VE HAD THAT TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP WITH THREE, ONE, ONE, AND I DON'T THINK THAT THEY WILL BACK OUT ON US NOW.
SO I'M, I'M WONDERING IF THEY MAY JUST BE ABLE YEAH.
SO THEY COULD USE THIS SPREADSHEET, OR THEY COULD EVEN USE THAT SAME ONLINE FORM.
AND JUST LIKE DO IT ON BEHALF OF SOMEBODY ELSE.
UH, AND SO HOPEFULLY THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE THING.
SO IT'S NOT INCUBATING IN A SPREADSHEET SOMEWHERE, WHICH I DO BELIEVE IS, IS COMMISSIONER DELGADO'S, UH, CONCERN.
AND I, I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO LET THAT, THAT SLOT, THAT CONCERN, UH, SLIDE EITHER, BUT, UH, ANYTHING YOU KNOW, THAT WE COULD DO TO HELP, UH, IN ANY WAY THAT YOU SUGGEST THAT WE FOLLOW UP WITH YOU, UM, YOU KNOW, BE HAPPY TO, AND I PERSONALLY BE HAPPY TO, TO, TO FOLLOW UP, UH, AS WELL, IF, IF THAT, IF THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL, I THINK WE WILL BE REPORTING OUT ON THESE, ON THIS PROGRAM.
WE HAVE, YEAH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE INFORMATION FROM A WEEK AGO.
WE DEFINITELY DON'T WANT TO LEAVE ANYBODY OUT.
I'VE WORKED WITH, UM, MS. DELGADO.
I WILL WORK WITH HER ON OBTAINING THOSE APPLICATIONS AND HOW SHE IN THIS COMMUNITY DON'T HAVE TO SERVE THE PEOPLE FOR WHAT WE GET PAID TO DO AS FAR AS GETTING APPLICATIONS AND GETTING THEM PROCESSED.
THEN THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THAT.
UH, AND ALSO, UH, TO EVERYBODY HERE WHO GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND, UH, TO DO THE THINGS THAT WE'RE NOT PAID TO DO.
AND, UH, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, CITY STAFF, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE PAID TO DO SOME THINGS, DO A WHOLE LOT OF THINGS THAT Y'ALL, AREN'T PAID TO DO TOO.
SO, UH, YOU KNOW, KUDOS TO EVERYONE IN THE ROOM, UH, COMMISSIONER MANIA.
WELL, YEAH, JUST, I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF BRING UP A FEW THINGS JUST BECAUSE I WONDER, I MEAN, I KNOW COMMISSIONER DELGADO CAN SPEAK FOR HERSELF, BUT, UM, MAYBE IN THE MIDST OF A LOT OF THE, UH, TECH, WELL, IT WAS, I KIND OF WANTED TO REITERATE A COUPLE POINTS THAT I HEARD LETICIA MENTIONED.
UM, WELL, THE FIRST ONE IS THAT I THINK THAT COMPARED TO OTHER SORT OF DIRECT RELIEF EFFORTS, WHEN, WHEN, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE WERE, UH, WHEN I WAS BACK AT THE CITY AND WE WERE PUTTING TOGETHER RELIEF FUNDING FOR CULTURAL WORKERS AND BUSINESS, SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND WHATNOT, UH, IT SEEMED LIKE THE PREFERENCE OF THE PEOPLE WHEN THEY HAD THE OPTION WAS TO HAVE SOMEONE, UM, GUIDE THEM THROUGH A PHONE CALL, UH, WHICH IS A PAPER.
NOW I KNOW SOME PEOPLE ARE GOING TO WANT PAPER AND THAT'S THAT.
AND I, AND I DO HOPE THAT THE APPLICATIONS THAT JUST DON'T DO A GOD CAN, UH, HAVE PROCESSED THAT SHE SHE'S COLLECTED.
SO JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE, THAT WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS NOT ONLY IS THE DEPARTMENT ABLE TO TAKE THOSE CALLS, BUT YOUR PARTNERS HAVE BEEN SORT OF PREPARED TO TAKE CALLS IF THEY'RE ROUTED TO THEM.
AND NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THREE, ONE, ONE SOLUTION.
SO I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.
THE SECOND THING WAS, UM, THAT, UH, THE, THAT, THAT, THAT FEMA QUESTION, BUT I HEARD YOU SAY THAT, UH, LATISHA WAS THAT IF YOU HAVE INSURANCE FOR A CERTAIN REPAIR THAT IS ALREADY BEING COVERED BY YOUR PRIVATE INSURANCE OR FEMA, YOU CAN, YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM CLAIMING THAT THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, CORRECT.
CONSIDERED A DUPLICATE SERVICE, AND WE DUPLICATE OUR SERVICES.
AND SO I DO THINK THE ONE, THE ONE POINT WHERE I THINK I RESONATE WITH, UM, WITH COMMISSIONER DELGADO IS ACUTELY THE DISABILITY, THE DISABLED COMMUNITY, BECAUSE THAT IS, UH, OH, I THINK EVERY EDDIE, EVERY CITY EFFORT I'VE SEEN MOUNTED, AND IT'S NOT ENTIRELY THE CITY'S FAULT, IT'S, UH, IT'S, UM, A TIME-INTENSIVE CRITICAL, UH, ELEMENT TO ANY OUTREACH EFFORT.
UM, I MIGHT JUST, UH, UH, PUT IT OUT THERE TO HAVE A DISABILITY FOCUSED PARTNER THAT MIGHT HAVE, UM, THE DATA ON WHERE THESE FOLKS OF THESE HOMEOWNERS LIVE OR, OR PEOPLE THAT HAVE DISABLED, UH, FAMILY MEMBERS IN THEIR HOMES.
I THINK YOU KINDA GOT TO GO THE EXTRA, EXTRA MILE WHEN IT COMES TO THE D THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY AND, AND WHETHER THESE PARTNERS HAVE THAT CAPACITY OR NOT AS UNKNOWN TO ME.
BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY, I THINK THAT YOU CANNOT, THAT THAT SOMETIMES TAKES ANOTHER EXTRA MILE, UH, IN TERMS OF FINDING FOLKS AND SERVING THEM.
AND I'M SURE THAT'S HAPPENING, BUT, YOU KNOW, JUST FOR THE SAKE OF SAYING THOSE ARE TWO OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASK, ARE YOU 62 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, ARE YOU DISABLED? WE'RE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THAT.
AND WE ALWAYS WANT TO KNOW, OH, THE LAST THING I WANTED TO SAY WAS, I DON'T KNOW IF COMMISSIONER DELGADO SAW THAT IT LOOKS LIKE THE VAST MAJORITY OF ACCEPTED APPLICATIONS ARE FROM SEVEN, EIGHT, SEVEN OH TWO AT PRESENT.
[02:55:01]
I SAID THAT, YEAH, THAT WAS MENTIONED IN THE END.I MEAN, TO BE CLEAR, UH, I, YOU KNOW, AND I, I THINK THAT, UH, MR DELGADO'S POINT WAS IRRESPECTIVE OF THAT, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S AN ACCESSIBILITY ISSUE, UM, UH, OF FOLKS, UH, WHO MAY NOT, YOU KNOW, SIMPLY HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, UM, WITH ALL THE, WITH ALL THE TECH LOWS, I WAS HOPING THAT SHE CAUGHT THAT, WHICH I THINK WOULD BE ENCOURAGING FOR HER AREA STILL STANDING.
AND COMMISSIONER, I DID SEE THAT, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, OH TWO HAS BEEN GENTRIFIED, SO WE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT CULTURES HERE, AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PARTICULAR PEOPLE THAT I ADVOCATE FOR, WHICH IS THE LOW INCOME, THE POOR, THE ELDER, THE DISABILITY, THE WORKING CLASS, THAT THOSE ONES ARE NOT LEFT OUT OF THAT BIG NUMBER THAT I SAW IN.
AND SO WE DIDN'T REALLY GET TOO MUCH DATA ON, YOU KNOW, W YOU KNOW, ON RATE, NOR DID WE GET DATA ON, YOU KNOW, MFI.
UM, AND SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT OUR PEOPLE ARE NOT LEFT BEHIND.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER DELGADO, THANK YOU, UH, LATISHA, UH, CHRISTOPHER ROMANIA AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S PARTICIPATED IN THIS CONVERSATION.
UH, AND OF COURSE, UH, UH, UH, PETITION AND MANDY FOR, UH, HANGING THROUGH, UH, UH, UNTIL THE END OF THE MEETING, UH, THROUGH A COUPLE OF, UH RESHUFFLES.
UM, AND, UH, WITH THAT BEING SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT AGENDA ITEM, UH, WHERE, UH, WE'RE HOPING THAT TIFFANY AND OLIVIA MIGHT STILL BE AVAILABLE FOR US.
UH, I WENT THROUGH THE, UH, FOUR M B UH, SORT OF PRICING EARLIER, OR AT LEAST PREFACE RATHER.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, GIVEN, GIVEN THE HOUR TONIGHT, I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW FAR WE'RE GOING TO GET, UH, WITH PRODUCING, I THINK, A PRODUCTIZED RESULT, UH, TO BE ABLE TO, TO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION.
AND THIS IS THE RESULT OF, OF COURSE, UH, YOU KNOW, TODAY'S MEETING RAN LONG, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, THE FACT THAT I, UH, TOLD EVERYONE ON THIS COMMISSION THAT I WOULD HAVE A, HOPEFULLY A DRAFT TO US, UH, UH, BY THE END OF, I THINK LAST WEEK, I, UH, UNFORTUNATELY, UH, EXPERIENCED A, A DOUBLE WHAMMY OF, UH, THE KINDS OF SITUATIONS, UH, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AT THIS MOMENT.
AND I'M STILL KIND OF MANAGING, UH, THOSE THINGS.
UH, AND DIDN'T, UH, WASN'T ABLE TO PRODUCE THAT THOUGH.
I DO HAVE VERY, VERY CLEAN AND DISTILLED AND ORGANIZED NOTES, UH, FROM OUR LAST MEETING AROUND THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND GIVEN THAT, UM, AS WELL AS GIVING WHAT'S LIKELY GOING TO BE SUBSTANTIAL NEW FEEDBACK FROM THE SPEAKERS WHO JOINED US TODAY.
AND, UH, UH, ALSO GIVEN THAT, UH, IT, IT SEEMS THAT I MIGHT SUGGEST ALSO THAT WE, WE LOOK AT A MORE CONCERTED EFFORT AROUND A RECOMMENDATION.
ONCE WE HAVE LANGUAGE TOGETHER TO WORK WITH, PARTICULARLY, UH, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO MIGHT'VE APPOINTED US OR COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH WHOM WE WORK WITH CLOSELY, UH, OR OTHER FOLKS IN POSITIONS, UH, WHO ARE ABLE TO ACTIVATE POLICY, UH, TO DO, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THEM.
AND MAYBE IT GET SPECIFIC LINE ITEM RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE BASED ON A LOT OF THE IDEAS THAT WE'RE BRINGING FOR WITH THAT SAID, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, FOR A, IS PERTAINING TO A WINTER STORM URI AND, UH, WOULD LOVE TO, UH, FIRST, UH, GO OVER SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE SHARED, UH, IN THE LAST MEETING.
AND, UH, THEN OPEN THE FLOOR OF COURSE, TO THE COMMISSIONERS, AS WELL AS MAKE SPACE FOR SPEAKERS, UH, TO SHARE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCERNS.
UM, AND IN AS MUCH, UM, AS, UH, THE, THE WINTER STORM WAS CONCERNED, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SUGGESTIONS, UH, THAT WERE MENTIONED, UH, INCLUDED, UH, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, MUCH CLEARER COMMUNICATION FROM THE CITY, UH, IMPROVEMENT OF THAT PROTOCOL AND, YOU KNOW, SORT OF A MEASURABLE OR DEMONSTRABLE IMPROVEMENT OF THAT PROTOCOL.
ONE EXAMPLE OF THE, UM, UH, OF A COMMUNITY, A COMMUNICATION ISSUE IS JUST THAT BEING TOLD THAT THIS WAS A TEMPORARY OUTAGE, UH, AND THEN LATER BEING COMMUNICATED THAT IT WASN'T THE SAME THING, SORT OF IDENTIFYING WHERE THAT POINT AND COMMUNICATION FAILED, UH, AND WHERE IT COULD HAVE BEEN CORRECTED AND WASN'T CORRECTED AS EARLY AS IT POSSIBLY COULD.
AND HOW DO WE IMPROVE FROM IT? UM, AND SO WORK WITH COMMISSIONS LIKE OURS, UH, ALONG THE SAME LINES TO DEVELOP HARD-CODED, UH, CHANNELS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH COMMUNITY STAKEHOLDERS, UH, AND POTENTIALLY WITH GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS, UH, IN CHURCHES, UH, AS WELL, UH,
[03:00:01]
IN OTHER RECOMMENDATION WAS THAT AS, UH, UM, POLICY STAKEHOLDERS, WE WANT TO BE COMMITTED TO THE EXPEDIENT, THIS PARCEL VIA JUST THE $1 MILLION THAT, UH, WE'VE.SO, UH, I THINK PASSIONATELY DISCUSSED, UH, JUST NOW FOR THE HOME REPAIR PROGRAM, UH, AND KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THAT, WHICH I KNOW THAT MANY COMMISSIONERS A YEAR WE'LL BE DOING AS OF COURSE, MANY RESIDENTS AS WELL.
UH, UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, WE SEEM TO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF, UH, IN THEORY, RESOLVE THAT, UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN SEEKS FUNDS FROM FEMA IN EVERY WAY, FORM AND FASHION, UH, TO SUPPORT PAYING FOR COSTS AND FITTING DAMAGES LOSS OF HOME USE, AND ANY OTHER LOSSES THAT PEOPLE WHO'VE HAD TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES, UH, FOR ANY REASON ASSOCIATED WITH THE STORM HAVE HAD TO EXPERIENCE.
UM, AND, UH, THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN ALSO AGGRESSIVELY SEEK DOLLARS FROM THE RAINY DAY FUND FROM THE STATE, UH, TO SUPPORT, UH, UH, THE RELIEF EFFORT, UH, ADDITIONAL, UH, UH, AND THEN FINALLY THE FINAL, UH, NOTE RECOMMENDATION I HAVE IS INNOCENT, YOU KNOW, A VERY COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT, IF POSSIBLE OF HOW MANY LOW-INCOME PEOPLE HAVE, HAVE BURST PIPES UNIQUELY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO REPLACE THEM, UH, UM, AND WORKING WITH BASE BASED GROUPS AND THE NATIONAL GUARD, IF NECESSARY TO DO SO, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD ALREADY AN ITERATION OF HOW THAT, THAT, THAT MIGHT'VE OCCURRED.
AND THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OUTSIDE OF MY PURVIEW AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW TO ACTIVATE THE NATIONAL GUARD.
I WILL SAY I'M INSPIRED, UH, HAVING HEARD, UH, NOTIONS OF, OF, OF, OF CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS HAVING DONE SO, AND DISAPPOINTED FOR THE REASONS THAT WE'VE HAD TO DO SO.
UH, AND, YOU KNOW, WITH THAT SAID, WE'D LIKE TO OPEN THIS UP, JUST KNOWING THAT A RECOMMENDATION IS GOING TO BEGIN WITH.
WHEREAS, UH, IN ADDITION TO THE INHERENT LIVED EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE THAT MANY RESIDENTS, UH, UH, UH, AND FAMILIES OF COLORS DIFFERENTLY, BLACK RESIDENTS AND FAMILIES IN ADDITION TO LOW INCOME FAMILIES HAVE ABOUT THE SAME, THE MAYOR'S 2017 TASK FORCE ON INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND SYSTEMIC EQUITY MAKES IT CLEAR THAT OUR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS ARE INTRINSICALLY RACIST.
AND WHEREAS ABSENT OUTSIDE FORCE, WE CAN ASSUME THAT BY MEANS OF INERTIA, THIS CONDITION WILL REMAIN THE SAME.
WE, UH, WOULD, YOU KNOW, SORT OF IDENTIFY THE CHALLENGES BROUGHT UP BY THIS WINTER STORM AND THEN WHAT WE WOULD BE RESOLVED TO DO.
AND SO I'D LIKE TO OPEN THE DISCUSSION TO THE COMMISSIONERS, AND IF WE COULD UNMUTE, UH, THE, THE, THE CITIZEN SPEAKERS AND THE CITIZENS SPEAKERS, IF Y'ALL WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, IF YOU COULD JUST CALL ON YOURSELVES TO BE RECOGNIZED, AND WE'LL DO THAT UNLESS I'M VIOLATING, UH, UH, ANY RULES HERE.
AND I'LL LEAVE THAT TO STAFF TO LET ME KNOW, WELL, THE FLOOR IS OPEN.
I MEAN, I HAVE A TON OF COMMENTS.
I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE FOR THREE HOURS NOW, AND, UM, I DON'T WANT TO TAKE UP TOO MUCH TIME BECAUSE I DO HAVE VERY LITTLE PATIENCE, ESPECIALLY LISTENING TO EVERYTHING I JUST HEARD.
UM, I'M DEEPLY HEARTBROKEN BY SOME OF THE, UM, PRESENTATIONS THIS EVENING.
AND FOR ONE, I'M NOT SURE HOW I WAS ABLE TO GET THE NATIONAL GUARD OUT AND THE REST OF YOU WEREN'T OTHER THAN I'M PERSISTENT.
AND THE ONLY REASON I KNOW HOW TO DO THESE THINGS IS BECAUSE I'VE BEEN IN EVERY DYSFUNCTIONAL PROGRAM.
THE CITY HAS, I'VE HAD TO USE THE HOMELESSNESS SERVICES.
I'VE BEEN IN EVERY MARGINALIZED GROUP.
AND IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO MAY PRESENTATIONS THIS EVENING DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, I'VE BEEN AN ADVOCATE HERE UNDERGROUND FOR OVER 20 YEARS.
AND WHAT COMMISSIONER DELGADO SAID ABOUT THE ILLITERACY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THE CITY UNDERSTANDS HOW OF A PROBLEM THAT IS THAT WE HAVE, AND, UM, TO CONTINUE TO PUSH THESE APPS AND THESE OTHER THINGS, WE'RE STILL MISSING THE MARK.
IF THERE ARE, I'VE HEARD ORGS MENTIONED SO MANY TIMES THIS EVENING, AND THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I SAID IN MY CITIZEN COMMUNICATION IS THAT THE ORGS ARE MISSING THE MARK.
AND IF THEY WEREN'T HITTING THE MARK PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF AND TIFFANY WHO ARE REGULAR CITIZENS, WE ALSO DON'T GET PAID.
MS. LATISHA, WE DON'T GET PAID.
AND I WENT DOOR TO DOOR FOR TWO WEEKS.
UH, OLIVIA, OLIVIA, OLIVIA, I'M JUST GONNA, I'M JUST GONNA, UH, BRING UP THAT WE, I WOULD REALLY, REALLY IN THE INTEREST OF ALL OF OUR TIME, WHICH IS VALUABLE.
AND KNOWING THAT YOU'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WAITING TO SPEAK ON THIS AGENDA ITEM, WHICH WAS SCHEDULED TO BE NUMBER FOUR, UH, THAT WE ADDRESS OUR COMMENTS IF YOU COULD, TO THE COMMISSIONERS, OR AT LEAST TO ME IN THE CHAIR AND NOT TO THIS COMPANY.
UM, I UNDERSTAND CHAIR AND THAT'S, I MEAN, I JUST FEEL LIKE FOR
[03:05:01]
THE, EVERYBODY ELSE THAT'S LISTENING, THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALSO HEARD AS CITIZENS, UM, IN TERMS OF OUTREACH.THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I GOT INVOLVED IS BECAUSE OF THE MARK BEING MISSED.
UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE DISCONNECT WITH THE CITY AND THE COMMISSIONERS ARE.
I DO KNOW THAT I WORKED DEEPLY WITH THE FOOD AND POLICY BOARD, UM, ON TRYING TO GET MEALS OUT AND TRYING TO SIT IN EVERY WORKING GROUP MEETING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS GROUP HAS WORKING GROUP MEETINGS, UM, BUT THEY WERE VERY, UH, ADAMANT ABOUT DIRECTLY HELPING AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE I WAS COMING FROM AND UNDERSTANDING WHERE TIFFANY WAS COMING FROM.
AND IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT IS WHEN THE FREEZE HAPPENED.
UH, SO AGAIN, IT, A LOT OF CITIZENS DON'T KNOW THAT THEY EVEN HAVE ACCESS TO WORKING GROUPS OR THESE MEETINGS.
AND AGAIN, I MEAN, WE ALL HAD TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES EVENING, SO I AM HERE TO HELP, BUT I'M ALL IT IS JUST, I JUST NEED THIS ENTIRE COMMISSION TO KNOW HOW VERY PAINFUL IT WAS TO LISTEN TO THE PRESENTATIONS, BECAUSE, UM, I WENT THROUGH THIS WITH CODE NEXT.
UM, AND I WOULD LIKE TO ASK IF, YOU KNOW, WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THIS AGENDA ITEM, AND I MEAN, ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT A RECOMMENDATION OR ONE OF THE POSSIBLE, UH, SUBSETS OF A RECOMMENDATION BE THAT WE ENSURE THAT THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO DIGITAL RESOURCES, UH, THAT THERE BE UNIQUE, UH, AND, AND SORT OF PREDEFINED AVENUES OF OUTREACH, UH, FOR THOSE RESIDENTS? ABSOLUTELY.
AND I THINK WHAT'S WORKED IN THE PAST IS ALSO WE'RE FORGETTING ABOUT THE PUBLIC LIBRARY, UM, AND AISD THAT'S WHAT TYPICALLY WORKS.
UM, I THINK FAITH-BASED IS HIT OR MISS BECAUSE OF THE, UM, IT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, NOT COME ACROSS WITH THE LGBTQ COMMUNITIES.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHY THE CITY STARES THAT WAY, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MISSING A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES, UM, SPECIFICALLY WITH THE LIBRARY, THE PUBLIC LIBRARY WITH CAP METRO CAP, METRO USED TO HAVE ADS IN THE, ON THE INSIDE OF THEIR BUSES.
UM, BUS STOPS, YOU KNOW, AS I DON'T, THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER RESOURCES THAT USED TO WORK IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES THAT WERE VERY CLEAR AND DIRECT AND BYPASS BYPASS, A LOT OF ORGS AND A LOT OF, UM, UNNECESSARY THING.
UH, AND I MEAN, I AGREE LIKE PAPER, I STILL DO PAPER STUFF.
I'M, I DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT TECH.
I STRUGGLE WITH IT AND I'M ONLY 44 OR MAYBE THAT'S WHY, BUT I, I PREFER PAPER AND A LOT OF RESIDENTS DON'T HAVE PRINTERS IN THEIR HOME.
AND THEN THAT'S WHY I SUGGESTED THE LIBRARY, UM, OR AISD.
I MEAN, THERE'S OTHER OPTIONS AND THIS DIGITAL, YOU KNOW, COMMUNICATION AND OUTREACH.
AND WE'VE REALLY GOT TO LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE I THINK THE CITY ALREADY KNOWS THAT THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
WE'VE ALL TALKED ABOUT IT MULTIPLE TIMES.
AND, UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT WHAT WORKED IN THE NINETIES, UM, WE CAN STILL IMPLEMENT THAT WE'RE NEEDED TODAY SUCCESSFULLY.
WELL, IF IN THE EVENT THAT THERE'S A WORKING GROUP SPUN OFF OF THIS, YOU'LL KNOW FOR SURE AND ENGAGED.
UM, AND OUTSIDE OF THAT, WHAT I'M HEARING IS THAT, YOU KNOW, UNIQUELY, WHEN IT COMES TO OUTREACH MECHANISMS OR COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION MECHANISMS, WE REALLY NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE COMMUNITY IS BIFURCATED BY A DIGITAL DIVIDE, MORE THAN WE MAY PERCEIVE, UH, AND, AND, AND DO OUR BEST TO ENSURE THAT THERE ARE, IF YOU WILL, UH, HARD TANGIBLE, AND, UH, JUST FORGIVE MY USAGE OF BREAD AND BUTTER, UM, UH, WAYS TO, UH, TO GET COMMUNICATIONS OUT TO FOLKS AND, AND RECEIVE, UH, SOLICITATIONS AND APPLICATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS.
I APPRECIATE YOUR WORD USE OF BIFURCATED.
UM, BECAUSE I MEAN, IT MIGHT EVEN BE, YOU KNOW, A THREE-WAY DIVIDE BECAUSE THERE'S EVEN MORE MARGINALIZED GROUPS THAT, I MEAN, I'M, I'M GLAD THAT YOU GUYS MENTIONED THE DISABLED COMMUNITY, BECAUSE I SPECIFICALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH DISABLED RESIDENTS AND DEAF RESIDENTS.
AND, UM, AND, AND THAT'S A REAL BIG GAP THAT THE CITY IS MISSING, AND THIS WOULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN, TO INCORPORATE, UM, THOSE COMMUNITY LEADERS AND THOSE COMMUNITY RESIDENTS AS WELL.
UH, WHICH IS WHERE PAPER COPIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
HEB SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THEY DO PROMO FLYERS AND THINGS LIKE THERE'S JUST A LOT OF RESOURCES WHERE WE HAVEN'T DISCUSSED, OR I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYBODY DISCUSS IN TERMS OF LINE ITEM FOR, WELL, WE'LL NOTE IT, AND AT LEAST WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE, OF THE EMERGENCY SITUATION, UH, FIRST, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT, UH, I'VE NOTED, UH, YOUR SUGGESTIONS.
AND THEN SECONDLY, UH, ALSO WANT TO, UH, JUST ON BEHALF OF EVERYBODY INVOLVED, EVERY SINGLE, UH, AND HUMAN BEING INVOLVED, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, REQUEST SOME LENIENT, KNOWING A KNOWING THAT, UH,
[03:10:01]
UH, WHEN IT COMES TO JUST UNIQUELY THE WINTER STORE, UH, IT, IT WAS THE BIGGEST TEST LIKELY THAT I THINK ANY, UH, OF THESE INSTITUTIONS HAVE LIKELY IN RECENT HISTORY, UH, FACED, UH, AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T TAKE LESSONS AND LEARN FROM THEM.AND THEN DEFINITELY THAT'S WHAT THIS PROCESS IS ABOUT.
TIFFANY, DO YOU HAVE ANY, ANY THOUGHTS OR FEEDBACK OR SUGGESTIONS, UH, AS RELATED TO THE WINTER STORM AND, UH, THINGS WE COULD DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESPONSE OR MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES OR TRADITIONALLY MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES COULD BE UPLIFTED, UH, IN A WAY THAT IT WOULD MATCH, UH, COMMUNITIES WHO TYPICALLY DON'T HAVE DEEP CHALLENGES? I DO FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH WHAT OLIVIA SAID, AND I'M ALSO, I'M A UNITED STATES NAVY VETERAN, AND I, WHEN THE GUARD SHOWED UP, I WAS SO EMOTIONAL AND TRIGGERED BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE TO PROVIDE HELP DURING THE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS AND UNPRECEDENTED DISASTER THAT THOSE PEOPLE WERE CANCELING, THAT WE ALL EXPERIENCED, AND THEY ARE UNFORTUNATE AND OUR MOST VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND SAY, HERE THAT SERVICES, FOLLOWING THE STORM, SUCH AS ORGANIZATIONS DON'T HAVE A PLAN, DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON, OR THEY'RE NOT REACHING THE MARCH.
WE, I JUST HAD TO STAY AND LISTEN TO THEM, TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY USE GRANT FUNDING FOR WHERE IT GOES, HOW THEY GIVE IT TO CONTRACTORS AND STUFF.
RIGHT NOW, PEOPLE NEED IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY RELIEF AND ASSISTANCE.
AND IF THERE AREN'T ANY ORGANIZATIONS WHO CAN DO THAT, THEY HAVE TO SIT DOWN.
I THINK THAT THE RECOMMENDATION SHOULD BE THAT THESE ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE GOING TO BE GETTING THEIR HANDS ON THIS FUNDING MOVING FORWARD ARE PROPERLY VETTED.
WE NEED THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ALL ABOVE BOARD, AND THEN THEY HAVE EMPLOYEES AND THE STAFF TO DO THE WORK AND GET THE WORK DONE BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T LIVE LIKE THIS.
AND AS A VETERAN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WHO SERVED IN COMBAT, WHO IS OUT HERE WITH PTSD, I AM TRIGGERED.
I AM LITERALLY LITERALLY SHAKING, JUST LISTENING TO THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION.
SO FOR ME, IF YOU'RE NOT ABOVE BOARD, IF THEY'RE NOT GOING TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY WITH HONOR COURAGE AND COMMITMENT, YOU CANNOT BE INVOLVED.
AND YOU GOT TO HAVE TO REALLY START PAYING ATTENTION TO THAT.
AND I APPRECIATE COMMISSIONER HERE FOR ACTUALLY ASKING THOSE HARD QUESTIONS TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON BECAUSE NO, IT DIDN'T SAY WELL TO ME EITHER.
AND THAT'S JUST COMING FROM ME HAVING THAT EXPERIENCE, ME ALSO HAVING TO DEAL WITH HOMELESSNESS, BUT I HAVE ANOTHER NAVIGATE HOOD BASH AND ALL THESE OTHER SERVICES AND PROGRAMS THAT ARE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED RIGHT NOW.
AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR HAVING ME AND I, UM, I APPRECIATE COMMISSIONER DELGADO, UM, FOR HER PASSION.
AND I JUST APPRECIATE EVERYBODY'S BEING ABLE TO SIT AND HAVE THIS CONVERSATION AND HOLD THIS.
UH, AND I, UH, ALSO, UH, WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, AS WELL AS SHARING SO MANY THOUGHTS IN AN ENVIRONMENT, UM, THAT CAN BE OBVIOUSLY, AS YOU'VE MENTIONED, UNIQUELY STRESSFUL TO YOU AND TRIGGERING, AND, UH, THAT MEANS A LOT THAT YOU WOULD WAIT HOURS JUST TO DO THAT, UH, TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
AND SECONDARILY, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, IN AS MUCH AS I KNOW, UH, I, I DO BELIEVE THAT, UH, AND I'VE SEEN FIRSTHAND.
AND SO I CAN SAY WHEN I, I BELIEVE IT, UH, I WANT TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THIS THE, WHEN, WHEN, WHEN BEDDING ORGANIZATIONS TO DO WORK, YOU KNOW, WE ARE VERY LARGELY SUBJECT TO THE SYSTEM THAT HAS GIVEN TO US, WHICH IS THAT WE HAVE A SYSTEM OF PRIVATE NOT-FOR-PROFITS, UH, THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS IF ANY, YOU KNOW, IT MIGHT BE SIMPLER IF EVERYTHING WERE CENTRALIZED, RIGHT.
UH, SO EVERYONE WOULD KNOW WHERE THE RESOURCES WERE, UH, AND COULD DEPLOY THEM SORT OF AT ONE FELL SWOOP, AS OPPOSED TO BEDDING, UH, OUT OF HUNDREDS OF ORGANIZATIONS PICKING FIVE TO EIGHT, 10, WHO WE THINK MIGHT DO THE WORK MOST EFFICACIOUSLY, AND THEN BEING WILLING TO SORT OF BET, UH, YOU KNOW, THAT MAYBE 70% OF THEM WILL AND 30% OF THEM MIGHT NOT.
AND THAT BEING SAID, THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
AND THAT'S WHAT I DON'T WANT TO LOSE, UH, IS, IS, IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR LEARNING AND LESSONS.
AND HERE, WHEN IT COMES TO THE SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS, NOT NECESSARILY, UH, RISING TO THE BAR, UH, I WANT TO, AGAIN, AND THIS MAY BE BIASED BECAUSE I'VE SPENT 20 YEARS IN PRIVATE, NONPROFIT SOCIAL SERVICES, UH, AND I'M ALSO REALLY EXITED AND, AND, AND SUPER, SUPER STRINGENT AND, UH, STRICT ABOUT SORT OF QUALITY.
UH, AND WITH THAT BEING SAID, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE FRANKLY IS THE CAPACITY IN PRIVATE SOCIAL SERVICE, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AS VERY APPROPRIATELY MENTIONED BY, UH, COMMISSIONER LOUIE EARLIER TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS. AND I THINK A
[03:15:01]
LOT OF WHAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED IS, IS, AND AGAIN, I'M SURMISING, AND THIS IS THE, THIS, THIS, THIS IS JUST A, MAYBE A PERSONAL OPINION IS A RESULT OF A SYSTEM THAT'S NOT EQUIPPED FOR A VERY SEAMLESS, UH, RESPONSE ACROSS DIFFERENT CROSS SECTOR OR GOVERNMENT TO PRIVATE NONPROFIT, TO PUBLIC OF VOLUNTEERS, TO ORGANIZATIONS ARE DONATING BECAUSE THEY FEEL GOOD AND THEY CAN, AND, YOU KNOW, THE DONATION ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE DONATING BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, AND THEY'RE STRETCHING THEMSELVES TO DO SO BECAUSE THEY'RE JUST DOING THE RIGHT THING.AND, AND SO BRIDGING ALL OF THAT, IT'S A HARD THING.
AND THOSE OF US LIKE YOU, AND LIKE OLIVIA AND LIKE COMMISSIONER DELGADO, AND LIKE EVERY COMMISSIONER IN THE ROOM AND CITY STAFF MEMBER IN THE ROOM WHO IS HANGING HERE UNTIL THIS LATE IN THE EVENING IS PART OF THE GLUE THAT FILLS THE GAPS, UH, THERE.
AND WE'RE ALL TRYING TO MAKE IT BETTER.
THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND PUTTING IN THAT TIME AND BEING THERE AT MT.
PHARMA AND PUTTING IN THAT TIME, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD, WE COULD REALLY NEVER MEASURE THE VALUE OF.
SO, SO, SO, SO, UH, UH, THANK YOU AND ONTO COMMISSIONER MIHIR, DO YOU PERMISSION WITH 20? I ACTUALLY NEED TO EXCUSE MYSELF.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'LL BE CORN WHEN I DO.
SO I GOT TO GO THERE FOR MY BABY BOY, AND I JUST WANT TO WISH WELLNESS AND PROTECTION ON EVERYBODY ON THIS CALL, EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY, IT'S THE FORUM.
I, I THINK, UH, I DON'T EXPECT TO TAKE ACTIONS.
I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS OUR CONSTITUENTS THAT STAYED ON THE PHONE FOR THREE HOURS AND HAVING TO GO THROUGH OUR AGENDA.
THANK YOU LADIES SO MUCH, UM, FROM, UH, THE BOARD AND COMMISSIONS HERE TONIGHT, IT'S VERY, VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOUR VOICES WERE HEARD TODAY AND PUT ON THE RECORD BECAUSE AS YOU ALL CONTINUE TO DO THE WORK AND, UH, THE MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE THE LACK OF REPRESENTATION, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW DURING THIS WEATHER STORM AFTERMATH, I, I'M VERY, VERY HONORED THAT I HAVE UNITED WITH YOU ALL, AND THAT WE ARE STILL DOING THE WORK THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO BE DOING.
AND I JUST WANTED TO, UH, ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT ON MOUNTAIN CARMEL.
I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY IF THIS COMPLEX IS STILL UNDER THE HUD, UH, REGULATIONS, AND IF YOU KNOW, ANY OF THE HUD MONIES, ANY OF THE TAX CREDITS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, IF THIS, UM, MOUNTAIN CARMEL APARTMENT COMPLEX IS STILL RECEIVING ANY OF THAT, UM, CREDIT, BECAUSE THE FACT THAT WE HAD TO ADVOCATE FOR THESE RESIDENTS, SO THEY WILL NOT, THEY ARE CONTINUING TO STILL BE LEFT BEHIND TILL TODAY.
UH, AS WE SPEAK, THE GAP IS STILL NOT ON, IT'S BEEN THREE WEEKS THAT THESE RESIDENTS HAVE HAD TO EAT OUT OF THEIR MICROWAVE, EAT OUT OF CLOCK POT.
THEY HAVE NO HOT WATER TO BATHE.
THEY HAVE NO HEAT FOR THEIR HCM, THEIR HEATERS AT NIGHT.
UM, IT'S BECOME A QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUE.
IT'S BECOME A HUGE, UH, UH, INHUMANE AND A VIOLATION.
UM, AND AS THE CITY COUNCIL AND NATASHA MADISON AND THE MAYOR, AND ALL OF THEM ARE NOW AWARE, AND A CODE VIOLATION HAS BEEN PLACED ON THIS COMPLEX, THERE'S A HUNDRED RESIDENTS, UH, AND MORE CAUSE THEIR FAMILIES THAT LIVE THERE, WE STILL DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER.
UM, AND WE STILL DON'T HAVE THE ASSISTANCE OUT HERE.
AND SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO BRING THIS TO THE LIGHT HERE UNDER THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING, OFTEN HOUSING FINANCE, UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS ONE OF MANY COMPLEXES, UH, THAT ARE UNDER THE AFFORDABLE, UM, HOUSING CREDITS.
IF THEY STILL ARE, ARE STILL, UH, TREATING OUR RECIPIENTS AND RESIDENTS THAT RECEIVE SECTION EIGHT AND ONES THAT DON'T RECEIVE SECTION EIGHT.
UH, THESE RESIDENTS ARE BEING ASKED TO PAY FOR THEIR RENT IN FULL AT THIS TIME.
AND SO THIS WAS, UH, I KNOW WE COULDN'T MAKE THIS ON THE AGENDA, UH, JUST TO TALK ABOUT PARTICULAR MOUNTAIN CARMEL, BUT, UH, THE FACT THAT THIS IS A TOPIC IT'S ON THE NEWS, IT'S ON THE RADAR.
CAN I SUGGEST SOMETHING? CAN I SUGGEST THAT, IS THERE A WAY YOU MIGHT FRAME IT IN A WAY THAT WE MIGHT INCLUDE IT, UH, UH, AS A WAY TO EQUITABLY MANAGE RESPONSES, THE RESPONSE TO A CRISIS, UH, LIKE WE EXPERIENCED IN WINTER STORM, YOU ARE YOU, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, ENSURE THAT ANY, UH, UH, HOUSING, UH, UH, COMPLEX, UH, OR, UH, UNITS THAT ARE FUNDED IN ANY WAY FORM OR SUBSIDIZED IN ANY WAY FORM OR FASHION BY EX UH,
[03:20:01]
UH, SORT OF FUNDING POOL BE UNIQUELY, UH, EXAMINED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.UM, YOU KNOW, UH, IN THE AFTERMATH OF EMERGENCIES THAT AFFECTS UTILITY, UH, AND, UH, OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ARE RELATED TO THE HOUSING STRUCTURE.
UM, DOES THAT SOUND LIKE SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE AN APPETITE FOR? WELL, MY RECOMMENDATION TODAY IS NOT, IT'S NOT FOR THE FUTURE, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, AFTERMATH IT'S FOR WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY FACING RIGHT NOW.
COMMISSIONER, I'VE GOT, I WANT TO KEEP US LIMITED TO THE AGENDA ITEM WE'RE ON AND KNOW THAT THIS WAS BROUGHT TO LIGHT FOR YOU REALLY IN THE, IN THE CITIZEN COMMUNICATION, UH, EARLIER.
AND, UM, I'M GOING TO PAUSE COMMISSIONER DELGADO, UH, AND VICE CHAIR POP MIKE, CORRECT.
EITHER ME OR SHOULD HAVE BETTER LIGHT ON THIS.
UH, AND THEN I'LL GIVE IT BACK TO YOU, MR.
I LOCKED UP THE PROPERTY AND I CAN'T FIND, I THOUGHT IT WAS, UH, DID GET A CITY SUBSIDY IN THE PAST, BUT IF IT DID, IT'S BURNED OUT.
UM, I CAN'T FIND IT ON THE CITY'S INVENTORY OF PROPERTIES THAT HAVE RECEIVED THE CITY SUBSIDY, WHICH THROWS IT BACK TO HUD AND THEIR CONTRACTOR.
AND, UM, SOMETIMES THE CONGRESSMEN WILL GET INVOLVED IN ONE OF THESE CASES WHEN IT'S THAT'S FEDERAL MONEY AND THEY THEY'VE GOT A SECTION EIGHT CONTRACT AND THEY SHOULD BE USING IT TO PUT PEOPLE UP SOMEWHERE AND DEFINITELY NOT CHARGING PEOPLE RENT THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING IS, UH, CODE COMPLIANCE.
AND, UH, MS. WASHINGTON DID MENTION IN HER COMMENTS, THE FIRST TIME WE HEARD FROM HER THAT THE CITY HAD PUT SOME KIND OF CODE COMPLIANCE VIOLATION ON IT AND THEN REMOVED IT.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? I THINK WE CAN HEAR YOU BETTER NOW.
UM, UM, BECAUSE OF THE DIRECT ACTION OF US GOING OUT TO SOCIAL MEDIA AND, UH, GETTING THE NEWS INVOLVED AND PUTTING PRESSURE ON THE CITY MANAGER AND MAYOR AND NATASA MADISON COUNCIL MEMBER DISTRICT ONE, UM, THAT EMAIL WAS THEN SENT OUT FOR CODE ENFORCEMENT TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH THEIR VIOLATION.
THE VIOLATION WAS PLACED ON FRIDAY.
I GOT A CONFIRMATION FROM ATLANTA GARRETT'S OFFICE, OUR ADY AND CODE.
UNFORTUNATELY, UH, THE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY REMOVED THE VIOLATION, UM, BECAUSE IT WAS PUBLIC NOTICE.
AND BY LAW, THEY HAVE TO POST THAT AND STAKE THAT OUTSIDE WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN SEE IT WAS REMOVED.
I DID GET A CONFIRMATION FROM THE PROPERTY MANAGER ON SUNDAY, UM, THAT THEY DID NOT KNOW, UM, THEY WERE NOT INSTRUCTED AND THEY DID NOT KNOW THAT THEY HAD TO HAVE IT ON SIDE.
SO CODE HAS FILED AND GIVEN THEM A TWO DAY AND RESPONSE WHAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IS THAT THE PROPERTY WAS BOUGHT OUT BY EUREKA.
AND EUREKA HAS, IS A HUGE PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT BOUGHT A LOT OF OUR HUD COMPLEXES ON EAST 12TH STREET.
AND THEY HAVE NEGLECTED TO MAINTAIN THESE COMPLEXES.
THESE ARE HOOD BECAUSE THE RECIPIENTS DO RECEIVE SECTION EIGHT THERE, AND THEY ARE ON SECTION EIGHT VOUCHERS.
UM, SO THIS IS A HUD HUD COMPLEX.
WHAT I DON'T KNOW IS, UM, IF IT IS A HUD, WHAT, HOW MUCH POWER DO WE HAVE TO INTERFERE WITH PUTTING A RESOLUTION TOGETHER AND PUSHING COUNCIL, UH, TO HELP THESE RESIDENTS? BECAUSE, UH, TO MY UNDERSTANDING TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, UNDERSTANDING TO THE RESIDENTS, UNDERSTANDING THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A QUICK FIX.
THESE ISSUES ARE UNDERGROUND, AND NOW THESE RESIDENTS WILL, MAY BE SUFFERING FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS.
SO WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE TALKING ABOUT RELOCATION.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE TALKING ABOUT DISPLACEMENT.
AND SO THERE'S A LOT MORE ISSUES TO COME MOVING FORWARD ON THIS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GOTTO.
UM, WELL FIRST I JUST WANT TO DO A TIME CHECK IT'S 9:00 PM.
UM, AND A LOT OF FOLKS WHO WERE ALONG WITH US ON THIS RIDE, UH, AND PUT THAT OUT THERE.
I JUST NEED THAT MS. BROWN BACK ON CAMERA, AND MAYBE IT HAS A COMMENT.
[03:25:01]
I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE A COMMENT.I AMBLED IN ANOTHER DIVISION OF OUR DEPARTMENT, BUT I'LL MAKE SURE THAT MANDATES THE MIO IN THE EVENT THAT SHE'S NO LONGER ON THE CALL.
I SEE ERICA LEE, SHE'S ALSO A PART OF OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM THAT THAT COULD BE ELEVATED TO THEIR LEVEL.
THAT YOU GENERIC ON THAT NOTE, YOU MEAN IN AS MUCH AS THE PURVIEW OF THIS COMMISSION IS CONCERNED IF WE WERE TO WANT TO, UH, DO ANYTHING IN AS MUCH AS THE HUD, UH, UH, PROPERTY PROPERTY WAS CONCERNED, UM, UH, THAT'S NOT OTHERWISE IN OUR PURVIEW.
UH, IT WAS, ARE THERE ANY AVENUES, UH, FOR US AS THIS COMMISSION OUTSIDE OF LEVERAGING OUR OWN, UH, UH, INDIVIDUAL AND PERHAPS COLLECTIVE BULLY PULPITS, UM, UM, THIS IS ERICA LEAK.
UM, I HAVE CONFIRMED THAT THIS, UH, THIS COMPLEX IS, HAS NOT BEEN FUNDED BY THE CITY.
SO, UM, I CONCUR WITH VICE-CHAIR POP'S ASSESSMENT, THAT IT REALLY IS, IS MORE OF A, UH, HUD ISSUE.
UM, SO THE CITY DOESN'T HAVE MUCH LEVERAGE IN, IN WHAT IT'S DOING.
UM, I, I KIND OF, I THINK I AGREE WITH, WITH THE VICE CHAIR THAT POTENTIALLY CONTACTING, UM, CONTACTING REPRESENTATIVES MIGHT BE MOST USEFUL ACKNOWLEDGED.
AND SO WITH THAT SAID, IF IT WERE TO BE INCORPORATED INTO AN IMPROVEMENT, UH, MECHANISM FOR RESPONSE, AS FAR AS THE AGENDA ITEM WERE TO HAVE BEEN CONCERNED, IT WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD, UH, ENCOURAGE, UH, YOU KNOW, MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES TO AT LEAST INVENTORY OR ALERT, OR VERY, VERY QUICKLY WHEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT, UH, HUD SUBSIDIZED PROPERTIES, UH, AND, UH, JUST KEEP A CLOSER EYE OR UNIQUE EYE, UH, ON THEM, UH, AND, UH, USE WHATEVER LEVERAGE THE CITY MIGHT HAVE TO CONTACT, UH, ELECTED OFFICIALS, UH, UH, FOR WHOSE PURVIEW IT MIGHT BE IN, UM, AND, UH, VICE CHAIR AND PART OF THE POWER THAT THE CITY HAS THAT CAN BE LEVERAGED AS CODE COMPLIANCE, BECAUSE HUD LOOKS AT IT AND SAYS, WELL, THERE'S NO CODE COMPLIANCE VIOLATIONS ON THIS PROPERTY.
SO WE DON'T REALLY HAVE AS MUCH TO GO ON IN SAYING, SOMETHING'S WRONG.
IF SOMETHING'S WRONG, THE CITY, THE CITY WOULD TELL US IT'S, IT'S UPON IT'S UPON US AS THE CITY TO MAKE REAL CLEAR THAT IT'S IN VIOLATION, THAT IT'S IN A HABITABLE ONLY IN HABITABLE.
AND SO, AS I, AS I'M HEARING, THERE IS A, THERE IS A, THERE IS A CODE VIOLATION THAT WAS JUST PHYSICALLY REMOVED, BUT NOT NECESSARILY WITHDRAWN, IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY.
AND SO THAT'S THE IMPACT AS WELL.
AND SO THE CITY HAS DONE WHAT IT CAN DO.
UM, THERE, THERE IS CURRENTLY A CODE VIOLATION.
THEY HAVE TWO DAYS TO RESPOND.
UM, AND SO MY QUESTION TO THE BOARD, UM, OF COMMISSION HERE IS THAT IF WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, CREATE A RESOLUTION OR ANYTHING MOVING FORWARD TODAY, WE CAN PUT THIS ON THE, UM, THE AGENDA ITEM FOR NEXT MONTH BECAUSE THE, YOU KNOW, I, AND I ALSO WANT TO ASK FOR STAFF TO PROVIDE US AN UPDATE OF WHAT HUD PROPERTIES ARE BEING OPERATED HERE IN OUR CITY, BECAUSE I MEAN, AGAIN, WE'RE DEVELOPERS ARE BUYING UP OUR HUD PROPERTIES, OUR PUBLIC HOUSING PROPERTIES AND SECTION EIGHT PROPERTIES ARE, THERE'S A LOT OF ISSUES HAPPENING ON, ON ALL THOSE LEVELS.
AND SO IF I'M NOT SERVING IN THE RIGHT HOUSING COMMISSION BOARD, LIKE I'VE BEEN SERVING HERE SINCE 2016, THEN I NEED TO GO SERVE SOMEWHERE ELSE BECAUSE MY, MY VOICE AND OUR, OUR AD, YOU KNOW, US ADVOCATING FOR OUR PEOPLE IS FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE LITERALLY BEING DONE WRONG AND BEING DISPLACED AND BEING NOT A PART OF, YOU KNOW, PURCHASING HOMES, NOT A PART OF, OF ACCESSING THESE PROGRAMS, AS WELL AS NOT A PART OF, YOU KNOW, UM, FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR THE PEOPLE THAT NEED OUR ASSISTANCE AND TO HOLD CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER, AND OUR TRA OUR, UM, CMES UP THEY'RE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR REPRESENTATION AND HOW THEY'RE MAKING BOATS ON OUR CITY AS OUR WHOLE CITY IS BEING EXPORTATION DUE TO GENTRIFICATION.
AND WE ARE BEING, BEING BOUGHT OUT AND WE ARE BEING DISPLACED.
[03:30:01]
OUT THE HOMELESS ISSUE AND YOU CAN TAKE MONEY FROM MY GO FUND, UH, MY GO FUND, MY GO REPAIRS, MY HOME REPAIRS, YOU TAKE MONEY AND YOU'RE ALL HELPING ON THIS HOMELESS INITIATIVE.WHAT ABOUT THE INITIATIVE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ARE DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH OF WINTER 2021 AND THIS PANDEMIC? AND SO THAT'S WHERE MY VOICE LAYS UPON ARE THE UNFORTUNATE AND THE PEOPLE THAT CANNOT BE A PART OF THESE DISCUSSIONS IN THESE CONVERSATIONS.
SO I, I DEFINITELY WANT TO GET AN UPDATE OF HUD PROPERTIES AND MONIES THAT OUR MONEY, OUR BOND MONEY, OUR TAX DOLLARS, OUR FEDERAL FUNDS ARE GETTING, WE NEED TO, THEY NEED TO BE ACCOUNTABLE OF WHO'S SPENDING THIS MONEY AND WHERE'S THIS MONEY GOING, AND WHO'S ACTUALLY ACCESSING THIS MONEY.
AND ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, THE, AND THE MONEY ACTUALLY PRODUCING, UH, SOME TYPE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, OF, YOU KNOW, ASSISTANCE OUT THERE.
I DON'T SEE, I JUST SEE NUMBERS AND I, I JUST SEE DIAGRAMS WELL, IT'S, IT'S, UH, I, I MEAN, YEAH, I HEAR YOU IN MY PREFERENCE WOULD BE EITHER BE TO HEAR A SUCCINCT, ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATION AT THIS POINT OR SOMETHING THAT'S DEFINITELY LIKE DEFINITELY PART INTO THE AGENDA ITEM, UH, OR, OR LET'S MOVE ON.
AND CLEARLY I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE QUESTION IS WHAT AUTHORITY DOES THIS COMMISSION HAVE, UH, TO SORT OF BRING SOLVENCY, UM, UH, AND IF, IF THAT'S THERE, LET'S IDENTIFY IT AND LET'S ACTIVATE IT, LET'S LET THAT LET'S ACT ON IT.
AND IF NOT, UM, LET'S SPIN OFF IN SIDEBAR AND SET UP A WORKING GROUP TO DO SO, UH, OR EVEN JUST A, A WALKING GROUP TO DO SO, UH, AND, UH, UH, AND, AND, AND, AND SORTED OUT.
UH, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THIS AGENDA ITEM IS THE PLACE FOR, UH, SORT OF D I THINK DELIBERATION.
SO THERE'S NO RESOLUTION TO THIS ITEM, UNLESS YOU'RE SUGGESTING ONE THAT'S THAT'S OKAY.
ONE I WOULD LIKE TO PLACE OR TO RESOLUTION TO, UM, EITHER, I MEAN, HOWEVER TIME IT, IT HAS TO TAKE US, I DON'T WANT TO DEVELOP A WORKING GROUP.
I JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS AND WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY AND PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER AND, AND HEAD TO COUNCIL AND FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S TAKEN SO LONG.
THESE PEOPLE ARE STILL DEALING WITH THE AFTERMATH OF THE WEATHER, UM, WEATHER STORM AGREED.
I, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, HOW WE DO THAT IN WHICH AVENUES WE USE IS, ARE REALLY GOING TO BE SORT OF THE IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF A STRATEGY IN DOING SO.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SAME, IN THE ABSENCE OF A DIRECT, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, SORT OF AGENDA ITEM, THAT'S GOING TO, IT'S GOING TO ADDRESS THIS WITH A, I THINK, AN ACTIONABLE RECOMMENDATION THAT WILL SOLVE FOR IT.
UH, I, YOU KNOW, I REALLY DON'T KNOW, UH, WHERE WE COULD TAKE THIS BOARD ON THIS MATTER AT THIS MOMENT OUTSIDE OF EACH OF US USING THE COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS THAT WE HAVE, WE ARE MANIFOLD OF COURSE, WHICH IS WHY WE'RE ON THIS BOARD TO, UH, CREATE CHANGE.
UH, AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK MANY OF US ARE SETTING GREAT EXAMPLES, UH, IN DOING THAT, YOU UNIQUELY ARE SETTING A BRILLIANT EXAMPLE OF, OF HOW TO DO THAT.
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AND I, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, IF THAT MEANS GOING BACK AND JUST STARTING TO MAKE PHONE CALLS TO THE MOST, UH, POWERFUL OR CONNECTED PEOPLE, WE KNOW THAT CAN MAKE THE ISSUE LARGE AND THAT CAN SHAKE, UH, THAT CAN REPLICATE, UH, OF, OF THE CONGRESS PRINTS OR REPRESENTATIVE, UH, THAT'S NECESSARY.
UM, AND UNLESS ANYBODY, UH, HERE, UH, AND, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER DELGADO, I DON'T, THIS IS NOT TO SINGLE YOU OUT.
IT IS BECAUSE, UH, IT'S THE AGENDA ITEM YOU'RE SPEAKING ON, AND YOU'RE SPEAKING ON IT.
AND IF THERE'S ANYBODY, ANY COMMISSIONER HERE, UM, OR, OR, AND I CERTAINLY SOLICIT INPUT FROM, UH, FROM CITY STAFF, UH, THAT MIGHT HAVE AN IDEA OF, OF HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROCEED WITH RESPECT TO THIS, UM, UH, THEN HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO TAKE ANY ACTION, UM, BE OPEN TO HEARING IT AT THAT POINT, YOU KNOW, IN THE ABSENCE OF ANYTHING THERE, UH, COMMISSIONED TO ABOUT, UH, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, UH, IF YOU GIVE ME A CALL, UH, THAT YOU KNOW, THAT I'M WITH YOU, AND I WILL USE EVERY RESOURCE THAT I PERSONALLY HAVE AVAILABLE, UH, UH, UM, WITHIN REASON, OF COURSE, UH, TO BE ABLE TO HELP AND, AND, AND, AND DO WHAT I CAN TO AT LEAST BRING MORE LIGHT ON THE SITUATION, BECAUSE THIS SEEMS LIKE THE KIND OF SITUATION THAT'S REALLY JUST MISSING A SPOTLIGHT, AND WE NEED TO GO SPOTLIGHT ON IT AND CAN GET THE RIGHT PLAYERS INVOLVED.
AND I REALLY APPLAUD YOU FOR MAKING TO BE FOUND IT, UH, AND REALLY DIGGING IN AND GETTING THE RIGHT, THE RIGHT, UH, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST AND PLAYER.
I APPRECIATE YOU COMING ON BOARD AND YOU BEING BRAVE TO DO THAT.
UM, BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT, UH, OFTEN, UH, WE ARE LOSING A LOT OF OUR RESIDENTS, UM, IT IS HEARTBREAKING, IT'S EMOTIONAL.
AND SO AS I SIT HERE THROUGH THESE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS
[03:35:01]
AND THESE MEETINGS, AND THESE ZOOMS, IT'S BEEN VERY DIFFICULT, UM, BECAUSE WE ARE TRAUMATIZED OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO US, AND WHAT'S CONTINUING TO HAPPEN TO US HERE IN OUR CITY.AND SO I WILL BE ADDRESSING COUNCIL.
I WILL BE MOVING FORWARD AND ADDRESSING HUD AS WELL.
UM, DRAFTING A LETTER AS WELL, AND I WILL NOT BE DOING THAT, UM, THROUGH THE CDC COMMISSION, I'LL BE DOING THAT AS A TAXPAYER, AS A RESIDENT AND AS A COMMUNITY LEADER HERE IN EAST AUSTIN, BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE FEDERAL FUNDINGS OF HUD HUD WILL BE COMING BACK TO CDC AND TO NACD, TO DO THEIR AUDIT AND THEIR, YOU KNOW, ANNUAL EVERY YEAR.
AND BY THAT TIME, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO BE PREPARED AND HAVE ALL THE RESEARCH AND TAGS AND HAVE A GREAT TEAM IN THE COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS HUD AND ADDRESS, UH, ALL OF THE ENTITIES THAT ARE RECEIVING A PORTABLE HOUSING GRANTS, MONIES AND BONDS.
BECAUSE AGAIN, WE ARE THE CONSTITUENTS, WE ARE THE ONES, THE OPPRESSED THAT ARE GETTING NOTHING THAT ARE GETTING ZERO AT THIS MOMENT.
AND SO THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING THANK YOU TO MY BOARD AND COMMISSION COLLEAGUES FOR ALLOWING ME TO EXPRESS, UH, WHAT WE'VE BEEN THROUGH HERE IN EAST AUSTIN AND IN THE EASTERN CRESCENT.
UH, DURING THIS TIME OF WINTER STORM, IT'S BEEN DEVASTATING AND WE'RE STILL WAITING ON FEMA AS WELL AS THE CITY TO CONTINUE TO HELP US.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER DELGADO, I THINK, UH, UM, THAT SORT OF PUTS A GOOD, UH, UH, UH, I THINK, UH, PUNCTUATION OR, UH, I THINK THAT PUNCTUATES THE, PERHAPS THE END OF THIS DISCUSSION AT THIS, UH, UNLESS ANY OTHER, UH, COMMISSIONERS, UH, WOULD LIKE TO CHIME IN, UM, AROUND RECOMMENDED ACTION.
UM, I WANT TO APOLOGIZE AGAIN, UH, NOT HAVING BEEN ABLE TO DRAFT A MORE TANGIBLE A DRAFT FOR EVERYONE TO JUST LOOK AT IT AT THE HOTCAKE AND SAY APPROVE AT XYZ.
UH, JUST, UH, HAD I JUST BUST.
AND THEN I, I CAME TO HOUSTON TO FIND THEM MY PARENTS' HOUSE.
I BUSTED, UH, APPARENTLY WEEKS AGO AND, UH, UH, AND SO VERY MUCH EXPERIENCING A LOT OF THE, THE, THE ISSUES, UM, THAT WE'RE DISCUSSING RIGHT NOW.
UH, AND, AND CERTAINLY, UH, THAT MAKES ONE FAR MORE EMPATHETIC TO IT.
UM, AND, UH, UH, COMMITTED TO FINDING, UH, AN AVENUE FORWARD, UM, WOULD DO, UH, ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS THAT HAVE HUNG THROUGH UP UNTIL THIS MOMENT, HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WE PERHAPS OUT OF PROCEED WITH OUR POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
THESE COULD INCLUDE ENGAGING WITH THE COUNCIL MEMBER, ENGAGING WITH ANY OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS WHO MAY BE ALIGNED WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS OR ANYTHING OF SUPPORT.
UM, WELL, THAT'S, UH, THEN I, UH, WOULD, UH, LIKE, UH, TO, UH, I THINK, I THINK IT'S TIME TO ADJOURN, UH, AND, UH, WE COULD, UH, HAVE SIDEBAR CONVERSATIONS, UH, IN BETWEEN NOW AND THE NEXT MEETING.
I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY HANGING THROUGH SO LATE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE FACT THAT OUR LABS ON CAMPUS IN SUCH CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THIS ONE.
UH, WE, UH, WE'LL COME BACK NEXT TIME, REFRESHED AND STRONGER, UH, COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
I'LL DO WHATEVER I CAN, UH, TO HELP.
UH, AND, UH, I'M SURE ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER ON THIS BOARD WILL DO THE SAME OF WHAT'S YOUR, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU MIGHT LIKE TO SHARE OR ANY GUIDANCE YOU MIGHT LIKE TO OFFER BEFORE WE CLOSE? I APPRECIATE EVERYBODY HANGING IN THERE, LIKE YOU SAY, AND I THINK SOME OF THE, SOME OF THE THINGS WE'VE DISCUSSED AND WE HAD PRETTY GOOD DISCUSSION, OTHER THINGS STILL WRESTLING WITH, I CERTAINLY AGREE WITH YOU CHAIR THAT, UM, THE RESOLUTION THAT WE STARTED AT OUR LAST MEETING EACH TO FORM UP AND, AND SO WE CAN TAKE IT.
AND I THINK WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS IN IT THAT ARE SPECIFIC TO CITY POWERS OF DARKNESS, SPENDING MONEY OR PROCEDURES THAT ARE HAPPENING ALREADY AND CRAFTED A LITTLE MORE, AND THEN SEE IF WE CAN DO SOMETHING WITH IT.
AND I THINK COMMISSIONER DELGADO HAS BROUGHT UP A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE TRIED FOR YEARS OFF AND ON TO GET A HANDLE ON THESE PROPERTIES AND THE WAY HOW TO ADMINISTERS THEM.
I'M JUST SEEING IN HOUSTON, IN GALVESTON, SOME SIMILAR PROPERTIES AND ACTUALLY AN ARTICLE'S GOING TO RUN THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE LATER THIS WEEK ON THIS VERY SUBJECT.
UH, THANK YOU AGAIN, UH, FOR, UH, MAKING
[03:40:01]
SURE THE EMERGENCY HOME REPAIR ITEM GOT ONTO OUR AGENDA.[5. WORKING GROUP REPORTS]
UM, YOU KNOW, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE IS THE WORKING GROUP REPORTS, UH, I'M, UH, SORT OF AT THIS POINT, MOVED TO JUST BANNED THOSE WORKING GROUPS, UH, IN THE ABSENCE OF A RECOMMENDED AND THEN THE ABSENCE OF ANY OTHER WORD, OTHERWISE TO KEEP THEM, UH, WE'VE HEARD FROM FII, WE'VE HEARD FROM GALA, WE'VE HEARD, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, AROUND DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, UH, UH, COMMISSIONER DELGADO.IS THERE, DO YOU SEE A NEED TO KEEP WORKING GROUP FIVE A, UH, UH, ON THE AGENDA NEXT TIME? UM, OH, WE CAN'T, WE CAN'T HEAR COMMISSIONER DELGADO.
I WANT TO MAKE, UH, HOLD ON A SECOND.
UM, AS IS HIS COMMISSIONERS, THEY'VE GOT TO AUDIBLE CHECKING IN CITY, AAV CHAIR, HER NAME IS STILL VISIBLE AND SHE'S ON MUTED, SO I'M NOT SURE IF SHE'S AVAILABLE OR NOT.
UM, AND AS FAR AS WORKING GROUP FIVE B IS CONCERNED.
I THINK IT'S RELATIVELY SAFE TO DISBAND THAT ONE, UNLESS COMMISSIONER DECIBEL, UH, IT SAYS OTHERWISE THEY KNOW THAT YOU'VE PUT IN A LOT OF HARD WORK AND, UH, ALIGNED AS WELL WITH, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND OTHER GROUPS, UH, IN, IN, AND PUTTING TOGETHER THE RESOLUTION THAT, THAT WORK RESULTED IN.
IS THERE, WAS THERE ANY OTHER SORT OF LATENT WORK THAT THAT WORK GROUP WAS DOING IN THE SHORT TERM AND HAPPY TO KEEP IT ON THE AGENDA AS WELL? NO, I APPRECIATE IT.
NO, I THINK THAT'S RIGHT WITHOUT A PAST.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THAT COMMISSIONER DIGITAL AND, UM, WELL LET'S UM, YEAH, SO AT LEAST WE WILL THEN KNOW FOR THE NEXT MEETING.
WE DON'T NEED TO HAVE THOSE WORKING GROUPS ON THE AGENDA.
DOES ANYBODY INTERESTED IN PICKING ON A WORKING GROUP AROUND THE CURRENT RECOMMENDATION WE'RE DISCUSSING? I AM.
UM, AND, UH, SO I, I I'LL, UH, I'M GOING TO GUESS COMMISSIONER, THEY'VE GOT US, UH, AS INTERESTED IN THE SAME.
UH, AND SO, UH, UH, WE'LL, WE'LL, WE'LL AT LEAST WORK ON THAT TOGETHER, UM, IN THE TIME BEING, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE.
THIS MEETING, IS IT DURING, AT NINE 17, AM I DEARLY AND DEEPLY APPRECIATE ALL OF YOUR SERVICE? THANKS.