[00:00:01]
[Call to Order & Introductions ]
ONE O'CLOCK.I AM CALLING THIS MEETING DAUGHTER, COUNCIL MEMBER, JIMMY FLANNIGAN, CHAIR OF THE CAM BOARD.
UH, SO GLAD TO SEE EVERYBODY SO GLAD I WAS ABLE TO MAKE THE MEETING TODAY.
WE WERE COUNCIL WAS SCHEDULED TO DO AS WE OFTEN DO.
WE SCHEDULE THREE DAYS FOR BUDGET.
UM, AND WE, WE DID IT INTO, WE COULD HAVE DONE IT IN ONE, BUT, YOU KNOW, TALK, TALK, TALK.
UM, I THINK WE CAN SKIP INTRODUCTIONS BECAUSE PRETTY MUCH OUR WHOLE AGENDA IS JUST GOING AROUND THE ROOM.
SO WE'LL JUST LET THAT HAPPEN IN THE COURSE OF THE MEETING.
UH, CARLOS, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS COMMUNICATION TODAY? NO CITIZENS COMMUNICATION.
[Consider approval of Minutes for June 12, 2010 CAN Board meeting. (Action Item) ]
REBELS EMAIL THAT HAVE THE MINUTES FROM THE PRIOR MEETING FROM THE JUNE MEETING.UH, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.
STILL MOVED, MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER OF ATTIRE.
IS THERE A SECOND, SECOND, SECOND BY, UH, PATRICIA HAYES.
ANY COMMENTS? ANY CHANGES THEN WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE MINUTES ARE CONSIDERED APPROVED.
[Community Council Update ]
LIKE TO GIVE US A COMMUNITY COUNCIL UPDATE? YES.VERY NICE TO SEE EVERYBODY HERE TODAY.
SAFE AND WELL, I HAVE TRUST, I DON'T HAVE A MUCH OF A REPORT FOR THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
THE LEADERSHIP GAVE THE MEMBERS OF BREAK FOR JULY, BUT THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, WE ACTUALLY DID MEET TO DISCUSS THE FINAL REPORT WHICH WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND, UM, THEN IN AUGUST WE HAVE INVITED TWO ORGANIZATIONS TO JOIN US, THE FAMILY INDEPENDENCE INITIATIVE TO PROVIDE A WHERE ARE WE NOW AND WHAT THEIR CRYSTAL BALL IS TELLING THEM.
THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE ASPEN INSTITUTE.
UH, RUBEN CUT, TWO OF THE CRT GROUP THAT HAS PRESENTED TO US.
I BELIEVE LAST TIME WE MET, HE'LL JUST DISCUSS INNOVATIVE RESPONSES FROM THE DESIGN PROCESS APPROACH.
UM, AND THIS MEETING WILL BE ON MONDAY, JULY 17TH AT 6:00 PM VIA ZOOM, OF COURSE, AND WITH THE HELP OF RMR JOHNNY ANN, WHO IS OUR FEARLESS ADVOCATE AND WHO WORKED SO HARD FOR CAN, UH, AND THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL, NANCY GALLIUM, OUR VICE CHAIR, HUNTER, ELLINGER OUR PAST CHAIR.
AND I WE'RE WORKING TO BUILD A FRAMEWORK FOR FUTURE LEARNING AND TO PR TO PRESENT TO THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FOR THEIR INPUT OF THE APPROACH TO TOPICS FOR 2021.
AND OUR, UH, HAS CREATED A FRAMEWORK FOR OUR CONSIDERATION.
WE ALSO NEED TO ASK ALL OF YOU TO THINK ABOUT COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND FOR YOUR DISTRICTS OR ORGANIZATIONS.
AND WE'LL BE MAILING TO YOU PROBABLY WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, NOMINATION FORMS WITH THE CRITERIA BASED ON OUR CURRENT MEMBERSHIP, BECAUSE WHAT WE LOOK FOR IS TIED TO WHAT WE HAVE.
AND SO WE NEED TO SEE WHERE WE ARE, AND THEN WE'LL BE SENDING YOU THE FORM, INCLUDING THE CRITERIA FOR THE SLOTS WE NEED TO FILL.
AND WE HOPE YOU'LL NOMINATE, UM, INDIVIDUALS TO JOIN US.
UM, NANCY HUNTER, DO YOU ALL HAVE ANY ADDITIONS OR COMMENTS AND THEY'RE NOT HERE AND NANCY'S HERE, I BELIEVE.
DOES IT LOOK LIKE ITSELF? THAT'S MY REPORT FOR TODAY.
YEAH, THAT WAS A GOOD SUMMARY NORM.
[Executive Director’s Report: Updates on Information & Engagement Efforts ]
YOUR REPORT.AND I'M GOING TO SHARE A QUICK POWER POINT AND, UM, SOME GOOD STUFF TO REPORT.
SO, UM, LET ME SEE WHAT THE BEST WAY TO DO IT IS.
I'M GONNA GO HERE FIRST AND THEN I'LL GO TO MY POWERPOINT.
SO, UH, STARTING WITH, UH, SOME HEARTWARMING IMAGE THERE.
UM, I USED IT LAST TIME, BUT I FIGURED, HEY, I'LL KEEP IT AS NICE.
IT MAKES ME, UH, PUTS A SMILE ON MY FACE.
SO, UM, BUT I WANTED TO REPORT ON A COUPLE OF THINGS, UH, THAT ARE, UM, THAT WE'VE LAUNCHED RIGHT.
PRETTY MUCH SINCE, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS PRETTY MUCH THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE THE PANDEMIC AND MID-MARCH UM, AND SO I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS.
YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED A LOT, YOU KNOW, SINCE, UH, UM, IN KAREN GENERALLY HAS ALWAYS KIND OF HAD THIS, UH, FOCUS ON IMPROVING
[00:05:01]
COMMUNICATIONS.RIGHT? CAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION, A LOT OF GOOD DATA, BUT YOU KNOW, IF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT, THEN, YOU KNOW, IT CAN'T BE USED.
IF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE DATA AND THAT WE HAVE, UH, INFORMATION RIGHT.
SO, UM, SO LAST YEAR, YOU KNOW, WE LAUNCHED A KIND OF EQUITY BLOG.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN USING THAT AS A WAY OF, UM, HIGHLIGHTING ISSUES, RIGHT.
OF CONCERN, DEALING WITH EQUITY.
UM, AND SINCE THE PANDEMIC, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE WRITTEN SOME BLOG POSTS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IMPACTS ON THE ASIAN COMMUNITY, ON THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, ON THE LATINO COMMUNITY, ON IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES.
UM, YOU KNOW, JOLENE HAS DONE A SERIES OF BLOGS AROUND MENTAL HEALTH, RIGHT.
AND IT, THAT CONNECTION TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO THE CURRENT HEALTH CRISIS AND ECONOMIC CRISIS.
SO, UM, SO IN A WAY, AND IT'S A WAY FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THE DATA, RIGHT.
THAT WE HAVE THAT, THAT POINTS TO INEQUITIES.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, THE BLOG IS MEANT TO BE, YOU KNOW, AN INFORMATION TOOL, BUT ALSO A TOOL THAT HELPS PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHO'S DOING WHAT GREAT AROUND THESE ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, UM, AND THE PODCAST IS SOMETHING WE, WE, UH, LAUNCHED IN JUNE AND I'LL SHOW YOU KIND OF WHAT THESE LOOK LIKE ON THE WEBSITE AND JUST A SECOND, BUT I WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, WE'RE ON PODCAST NUMBER 13, AND I'M UP TO ABOUT 52 SUBSCRIBERS.
UM, BUT, UH, THE PODCAST IS JUST BASICALLY AN, AN AUDIO OR VERBAL COMMUNITY CALENDARS.
SO IF YOU WANT TO START THE WEEK ON MONDAY WITH WHAT'S GOING ON THIS WEEK, THAT MAYBE I DON'T KNOW ABOUT, OR THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST.
AND THAT'S REALLY A, IT'S A WAY FOR US TO HIGHLIGHT ACTIVITIES AFTER WE PUBLISH CAN USE.
CAUSE WHEN WE PUBLISH CAN USE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH AND ALMOST THE SECOND WE PUBLISH IT, YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING THAT MONTH, THAT YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE INCLUDED IN, CAN USE.
SO THIS IS A WAY FOR US TO HAVE MORE OF AN ONGOING COMMUNICATION OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN A SECOND.
AND THEN THIS WEEK IN A VERY EXCITED, YOU KNOW, IF I'VE MENTIONED TO YOU THAT WE HAVE A WORK GROUP ON COORDINATING AND COLLABORATING AROUND RACE EQUITY, YOU KNOW, KIND OF HOW DO WE ALIGN OUR EFFORTS AND LEVERAGE RESOURCES? SO WE DID OFFICIALLY ON TUESDAY LAUNCHED THE, AND WE NAMED THE COLLECTIVE CAUSE IT HAD A VERY KIND OF UNUSUAL AND UNWIELDY NAME.
SO WE BASED IN, THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY QUITE A FEW CANNED PARTNERS AT THAT MEETING.
UH, BUT WE CHRISTIAN DID THE CENTRAL TEXAS COLLECTIVE FOR RACIAL EQUITY BECAUSE WE KNOW THIS IS AN ISSUE, NOT JUST FOR AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY.
SO WE DID WANT TO MAKE SURE IT WAS KIND OF BROUGHT IN UP SO THAT, YOU KNOW, IF OTHER COUNTIES, UM, ONE OR TWO, UM, PARTICIPATE RIGHT IN THAT, IN THE COLLECTIVE, THAT THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND, UM, CAN WE DO HAVE, UM, WE HAD ABOUT 20 GROUPS THAT SIGNED ON AS SORT OF CHARTER MEMBERS AND I'LL SHOW YOU A LIST OF THAT.
UM, BUT I THINK THE, THE IDEA IS, YOU KNOW, OF ALL THE FOLKS OUT THERE WHO ARE DOING RACE EQUITY WORK, YOU KNOW, THEN IF WE CAN HAVE A FORUM TO, UM, TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON AND MAKE SURE WE'RE NOT DUPLICATING EFFORTS AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PARTNERING WHERE WE CAN PARTNER, UH, MAKE SURE WE IDENTIFY GAPS IN TERMS OF WHAT RACE EQUITY ISSUES AREN'T BEING ADDRESSED.
SO THAT'S KIND OF THE SPIRIT IN WHICH THAT HAPPENED.
AND I THANK EVERYONE WHO GOT US TO THAT POINT.
THE, THE PLANNING TEAM WAS MYSELF AND, UM, ASHTON CUMBERBATCH.
UM, I MEAN A HYGIENE FROM AUSTIN HEALTH COMMONS AND CAUSE DK PRINTS, YOU KNOW, FROM THE, FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE.
SO, AND LET ME SEE WHAT I GOT HERE.
SO, SO HERE IS AGAIN, JUST WHEN YOU HAVE ABOUT 2030 PEOPLE AND YOU'RE TRYING TO NAME SOMETHING AND COME UP WITH A PURPOSE STATEMENT, THEN IT TAKES A LITTLE WHILE.
SO, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE CAME UP WITH FOR THE PURPOSE, UM, THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE COLLECTED IT WAS TO FACILITATE THE COORDINATION, COLLABORATION AND LEVERAGING OF IDEAS, STRATEGIES, APPROACHES, AND RESOURCES TO MANIFEST A COLLECTIVELY IDENTIFIED VISION FOR ERADICATING INSTITUTIONAL RACISM AND PURSUING RACIAL EQUITY, RACIAL HEALING, AND TRANSFORMATION IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
SO, UM, A LOT OF WORDSMITHING THAT WENT INTO THAT, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GOT IT ADOPTED AND, AND JUST KIND OF, UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF KIND OF WHO'S AT THE TABLE WHO WAS AT THE TABLE, AND THIS ISN'T NECESSARILY A LIST OF ALL THE GROUPS INVOLVED.
IT'S THE LIST OF GROUPS WHO AGREED TO BE CHARTER MEMBERS, RIGHT? WHO AT LEAST FELT COMFORTABLE ENOUGH WITH THE INFORMATION THAT THEY HAD TO SAY, YEAH, WE WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT.
SO THERE'S PROBABLY ANOTHER 10 OR 12 GROUPS, RIGHT.
WHO HAVE BEEN INVOLVED, BUT WHO AREN'T NECESSARILY CHARTER MEMBERS, YOU CAN BECOME A MEMBER
[00:10:01]
AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE ANY LESS POWER THAN A CHARTER MEMBER, BUT YOU DO HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE.AND SO THIS IS THE GROUP OF FOLKS WE'RE STARTING WITH AND YOU SEE IT'S A PRETTY, UM, IT'S PRETTY GREAT LIST OF FOLKS, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST CAM PARTNERS, THERE'S PROBABLY HALF OF THEM WHO AREN'T CURRENT KEN PARTNERS.
SO WE DO OBVIOUSLY ARE OPEN TO OTHERS, UM, JOINING, AND AS WE GET THE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW YOU CAN JOIN, WE'LL GET THAT OUT TO ALL THE CAMP PARTNERS.
BUT, UM, ONE OF THE INTERESTS RIGHT BEHIND THIS WAS TO, UM, CREATE AN, AN INFRASTRUCTURE OR A STRUCTURE THROUGH WHICH WE COULD ADVANCE SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE MAYOR'S TASK FORCE ON INSTITUTIONAL RACISM.
UM, AND SO THAT IS ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE GOALS.
BURNETT FROM HOUSTON TILLOTSON WOULD ACID WAS ASKED IF HE SHOULD, SHE WOULD SHARE THE COLLECTIVE HAS A GOOD WAY TO HAVE A TRANSITION, RIGHT? FROM TASK FORCE TO THIS NEW GROUP, THAT'S FOCUSED ON THE IMPLEMENTATION SIDE AND NOT JUST THE IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS.
AND THEN WE ALSO, SO THAT WE HAVE A GO TO PERSON AND SOMEONE TO FACILITATE, WE DID SELECT, UH, ZIKA PRINCE TO BE THE INTERIM ED.
AND AGAIN, A LOT, THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED WITH THAT.
IT WAS A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE STARTING AND LAUNCHING SOMETHING, IT'S, UH, IT'S PRETTY CHALLENGING.
SO VERY, VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE RESPONSE OF THIS WEEK ON THAT.
AND BEFORE GOING ON, I'LL JUST SEE IF FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS.
I WANT HER TO SHOW YOU A NEW WEBSITE THAT WE'RE LAUNCHING, BUT BEFORE THAT MAYBE IF FOLKS WANT TO TALK ABOUT THE COLLECT, THE RACE EQUITY COLLECTIVE, WE CAN, WE CAN DO THAT.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
LET ME STOP SHARING SO THAT YOU CAN SEE HANDS.
UM, THESE, THESE TOOLS AREN'T THAT EASY TO USE, BUT YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY MAKE THINGS UP HERE.
YOU JUST GOTTA JUST KIND OF GET THERE.
I'M NOT SEEING ANY HANDS UP, UM, IT'S ROLE.
I, I AM INTERESTED IN AND YOU MAY HAVE SAID IT AND I MISSED IT.
HOW, HOW THIS COLLECTIVE FITS INTO THE OTHER TYPES OF WORK BEING DONE.
WELL, I DO THINK THIS IS A IT'S, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY, UM, IT'S A GOOD THAT OF TRY TO FACILITATE THE WORK RIGHT.
AND MAKE SURE THAT, UM, UM, THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY AREAS FOR PARTNERSHIP AND LEVERAGING AND FOR, UH, COORDINATION.
SO THE, SO PART OF IT IS WE MAY, WE WANT TO ESTABLISH SOME ACTION TEAMS THAT ARE FOCUSED ON IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE TASK FORCE REPORT.
SO WE MIGHT, YOU KNOW, JUST TRY TO IDENTIFY RESOURCES TO FACILITATE THAT WORK HAPPENING.
SO, UM, AROUND SORT OF BEYOND DIVERSITY AND UNDOING RACISM, AND THAT KIND OF STUFF IS, IS TRYING TO MAYBE PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR SCHOLARSHIPS, RIGHT.
TO HAVE KIND OF A DIVERSE POOL OF FOLKS WHO CAN PARTICIPATE IN THESE, IT'S NOT TO PROVIDE NEW OPPORTUNITIES NECESSARILY IT'S TO IDENTIFY WHAT WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE, RIGHT.
THE EFFECT OF THIS, OF THE RACE EQUITY EFFORTS THAT ARE GOING ON.
AND THEN, UH, AND THEN OF COURSE IT'S, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, MORE FOCUSED ON, YOU KNOW, A PROCESS FOR, UM, IDENTIFYING PRIORITIES AND, AND, AND, UH, IN A VEHICLE FOR ADVOCACY, RIGHT THROUGH THE ACTION TEAMS, NOT NECESSARILY THE COLLECTIVE ITSELF, BUT, UH, UH, I THINK THAT'S THE PART OF THE, THE REASON FOR THIS IS YOU HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT FOLKS IN THIS SPACE.
AND SO HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ALL KIND OF WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON VISION AND TOWARDS GOALS THAT, UH, ARE COMPLIMENTARY AND NOT DUPLICATIVE OR CONFLICTING.
UM, AND SO I THINK WE'VE, UM, WE'VE IDENTIFIED HERE THAT WE, THAT THE LARGER GROUP WOULD, WOULD HAVE QUARTERLY MEETINGS, BUT OF COURSE WE'D WANT TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ACTION TEAMS THAT ARE LOOKING MORE AT, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT WE'RE NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE TO BEING ABLE TO DO THAT.
CAUSE WE NEED RESOURCES FOR, YOU KNOW, THE STAFFING AND FOR, UH, FACILITATION AND, UM, AND SOME, YOU KNOW, STRATEGIC SORT OF PLANNING AROUND ISSUES AND FOR THE ORGANIZATION.
UM, BUT, UH, BUT THE IDEA IS, YEAH, JUST MAKE MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN HAVE AT THE TABLE FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING ON RACE EQUITY AND IN DIFFERENT ARENAS AND THAT WE HAVE A WAY OF COMMUNICATING, UM, AND SUPPORTING EACH OTHER RIGHT.
WHEN THERE'S A NEED FOR SUPPORT THAT, UH, PARTICULAR, UM, GROUP OR EFFORT REQUIRES.
I MEAN, I I'M, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE
[00:15:01]
THAT I UNDERSTAND HOW THAT CAUSE A LOT OF THE WAY THIS IS STRUCTURED SEED SIMILAR TO CAN.AND I DON'T WANT TO GET INTO A PLACE WHERE WE'RE STEPPING ON TOES BECAUSE I WOULD HOPE WE WERE ALSO DOING RACIAL EQUITY AND ALL THE WORK THAT WE DO.
SO I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THAT LIKE PUZZLE PIECE, HOW WE FIT TOGETHER WITH, WITH THIS NEW GROUP.
AND THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY A QUESTION TO ANSWER NOW.
AND I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT IT'S, UH, THE COLLECTIVE WILL MAKE SORT OF PRIORITIES OR CHOOSE PRIORITIES, RIGHT.
AND THEN I THINK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY KEN IS AT THE TABLES, YOU KNOW, IN THE SENSE THAT SORT OF I'M, UH, I'M PARTICIPATING IN IT.
I, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT, UH, NOW THAT WE'VE DEFINED A LITTLE MORE OF WHAT THIS IS, WE CAN GET MORE INFORMATION OUT TO, UM, TO THE MEMBERS RIGHT.
AND I SEE RUDY'S TRYING TO, TO, TO SPEAK MAYBE, AND I DUNNO, DR.
SO, UH, RAUL, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST TIME.
THE JEN, I THINK WE TALKED ABOUT IT LAST TIME, BUT I THINK THE GENESIS OF THIS GROUP WAS ONE THAT WE STARTED AT ACC BACK IN 2017 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S WHY IT STARTED, BUT, UH, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S TAKEN ON DIFFERENT FORMS SINCE THEN.
SO MY QUESTION IS THIS, BECAUSE WHEN, UM, AND I HAVEN'T BEEN INVOLVED WITH IT, SO I JUST HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
SO ARE ALL THESE GROUPS THAT ARE LISTED HERE? ARE THEY HOLDING THEMSELVES RESPONSIBLE FOR RACE EQUITY GOALS? I MEAN LIKE, SO IS IT EVERYBODY GETS REFLECTED HERE? UM, IF WE WERE TO LOOK AT THEIR EMISSION, IS STRATEGIC PLAN, WOULD EQUITY BE EMBEDDED IN THERE? BECAUSE I THINK ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD A FEW YEARS AGO WAS EVERYBODY KEPT SAYING, WE NEED FUNDING.
AND SOME OF US WERE SAYING, COULD EVERY ORGANIZATION LOOK WITHIN TO SEE IF THEY ACTUALLY HAD STRATEGIC GOALS FOR EQUITY, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR INCLUSIVENESS AND FOR DIVERSITY.
AND SO I'M JUST KINDA TAKING IN AFTER, LIKE I SAID, I HAVEN'T SEEN THIS IN A MINUTE AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S NOW PART OF THE MAYOR'S TASK FORCE SITUATION.
UM, SO, SO COULD YOU TELL US WHETHER OR NOT EVERYBODY HAS DONE THEIR OWN SELF ASSESSMENT OR THEIR, THEIR EQUITY ASSESSMENT? UM, WELL, THAT'S NOT A REQUIREMENT.
I MEAN, I MEAN, I THINK WE ARE ASKING THAT FOLKS HAVE A RACE EQUITY AS PART OF THE WORK THEY'RE TRYING TO DO.
UH, WE HAVEN'T SET A STANDARD, YOU HAVE TO MEET IN ORDER TO BE A PART OF IT.
THE IDEA IS TO CREATE TOOLS AND IDENTIFY RESOURCES SO THAT FOLKS CAN DO THE WORK.
AND, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, SO I DO, I THINK THERE'S SORT OF THE, HOW DO WE ADDRESS IT? COMMUNITY-WIDE RIGHT.
AND WHAT RESOURCES DO WE NEED FOR THAT? AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE INTERNAL ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE WITH A RACE EQUITY LENS, YOU KNOW, I THINK IS ANOTHER CONVERSATION.
AND WE'VE LOOKED AT IT MORE LIKE THAT FROM CAM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH CAN, YOU KNOW, THE ORGANIZATIONAL POINT OF VIEW.
BUT I THINK THAT SEEMS TO HAVE MORE OF A, WHAT ARE THE COMMUNITY WIDE RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS THAT WE NEED TO DO MORE ADVOCACY AROUND RACE EQUITY AND THE CHANGE THAT NEEDS TO BE OKAY.
CAUSE I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD BE A REQUIREMENT, BUT THE GROUP HAS NO CREDIBILITY.
IF IT HASN'T DONE, IT'S INTERNAL, LIKE EACH PARTNER, AND I'M NOT SAYING PEOPLE SHOULD BE LEFT OUT OR IT SHOULD BE SOME KIND OF CRITERIA, BUT, UM, WE STRUGGLE WITH CREDIBILITY IN THE COMMUNITY IF THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE DOING THEIR OWN INTERNAL WORK.
SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THE TENDENCY IS TO LOOK OUT AND SAY, WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY NEED? AND I GUESS RACE EQUITY WORK HAS TO BE DONE FROM THE INSIDE OUT, IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE SUSTAINABLE.
SO THAT THAT'S JUST, UH, JUST, THIS MIGHT TAKE ON, YOU KNOW, AS WE, AS THIS, WE START THIS WORK, WE NEED TO WORK FROM THE INSIDE OUT OF, SO THAT WE DO HAVE THE CREDIBILITY.
AND IF PEOPLE DO THEIR OWN ASSESSMENTS, THEY MAY FIND THEY'VE GOT TOOLS TO SHARE.
UM, AND IT MAY NOT BE AS RESOURCE DEPENDENT, UM, AS A NEW, YOU KNOW, AS A NEW COLLECTIVE.
SO THAT'S JUST, THOSE ARE JUST MY INITIAL THOUGHTS, BUT YOU AND I CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT LATER, SO THANK YOU.
I LIKE THE WAY THAT YOU LAID THAT OUT.
IT DOES KIND OF STRIKE ME SIMILAR TO CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD ON THIS GROUP ABOUT HOW, HOW CAN MIGHT BE AN ACTOR OF ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, CAUSE I, I GUESS I WAS FEELING A SIMILAR THING THAT YOU WERE SAYING, IT'S LIKE, OKAY, HERE'S ANOTHER GROUP THAT'S COME TOGETHER, BUT
[00:20:01]
WE DO THIS A LOT.WE DO A LOT OF THESE LIKE GROUPS ARE COMING TOGETHER.
SO LIKE WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? UM, YEAH, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE DIFFERENCE, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN KEN AND THIS EFFORT IS WE ARE TRYING TO BRING IN THE GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE WORKING ON RACE EQUITY SO THAT YOU HAVE THE INSTITUTIONS AND THE GRASSROOTS FOLKS, UM, THAT ARE MORE ACTIVE SORT OF ON THE ADVOCACY SIDE, UM, AND THE COMMUNITY KIND OF THE COMMUNITY DRIVEN PART OF IT.
AND, UM, AND TOGETHER TO COME UP WITH IDEAS FOR SUPPORTING, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN.
AND, UM, I THINK THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE, YOU KNOW, INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY.
UM, AND I DO THINK THAT, UH, DEFINITELY I THINK, UH, A ROLE THAT CAN, CAN PLAY IS TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR CANNED PARTNERS, RIGHT? TO GO THROUGH A RACE EQUITY SORT OF PLUS PROCESS ON AN ORGANIZATIONAL BASIS.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL DIFFERENT MODELS FOR DOING THAT.
AND WE CAN START LOOKING AT THAT AS WELL.
THAT'S A GOOD DISTINCTION ROLE BETWEEN THIS GROUP AND US.
I THINK OUR ONE OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR CAN FOR ALL THE BOARD MEMBERS AND ALL THE PARTICIPATING GROUPS IS TO THINK CERTAINLY FOR THOSE OF US THAT REPRESENT GRANTING ORGANIZATIONS, OBVIOUSLY THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, BUT ALSO ST.
DAVID'S AND OTHERS ARE WE BAKING IN THAT TYPE OF EQUITY ANALYSIS INTO OUR CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.
AND IF WE ARE, IS IT SUFFICIENT? AND IS IF IT'S, YOU KNOW, CAUSE CERTAINLY THE CITY I CAN IMAGINE WITH NO, LIKE I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING IN FRONT OF ME THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, BUT IT WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME IF THE CITY DID THAT 10 YEARS AGO AND 10 YEARS LATER, MAYBE WE HAVE A BETTER WAY OF DOING IT.
AND SO IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT YES OR NO, IT'S THE QUALITY OF THAT, THAT REQUIREMENT.
SO THAT THAT'S SOME GOOD WORK TOO.
AND I THINK, UM, AGAIN, OBVIOUSLY ANOTHER, UM, ADVANTAGE TO RIGHT HAVING THIS IS, DO WE HAVE OTHER PARTNERS THAT I WORK CLOSELY WITH, BUT THAT AREN'T CANNED PARTNERS LIKE MISSION CAPITAL AND LEADERSHIP POSITIVE AND THEN THE AUSTIN AREA, URBAN LEAGUE AND E THREE ALLIANCE, YOU KNOW, I THINK THOSE ARE ALL FOLKS THAT ARE IN THAT EQUITY SPACE THAT AREN'T CANNED PARTNERS.
SO AGAIN, IT GIVES US THAT ABILITY TO, AGAIN, BRING IN THOSE FOLKS WHO EITHER ARE RESEARCHING ON THE ISSUE OR ACTING ON THE ISSUE AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE'RE COORDINATED IN OUR EFFORTS.
RULE YOU WANT TO KEEP GOING? YEAH.
CAUSE I KNOW I WENT WAY OVER, BUT UM, YOU MAY REMEMBER THIS GRAPHIC, THIS IS RED, IT WASN'T TEMPTED, UH, GRAPHIC DESIGN, BUT UH, UM, YOU REMEMBER, YOU MIGHT REMEMBER THAT WE WERE IN ALLIANCE'S WEBSITE.
WELL, WE HAVE A MOCK UP IT'S NOT COMPLETELY DONE, BUT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE, UM, UH, ON THE GROUND AND SORT OF WHAT IT IS WE HOPE TO DO WITH IT, WHICH IS SERVE AS MORE OF AN ENGAGEMENT TOOL.
YOU KNOW, OUR MAIN WEBSITE IS VERY RESEARCH AND INFORMATION HEAVY, RIGHT.
AND IT'S KIND OF VERY DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE.
SO THIS IS GOING TO BE THE, HOW DO WE, UM, PRESENT INFORMATION AND, AND SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW PEOPLE CAN GET HELP AND GET INVOLVED.
SO I'LL TRANSFER OVER TO THAT SITE.
SO YOU MAY, WELL, PROBABLY MOST OF YOU DON'T KNOW.
AM I STILL DOING SOME CAN Y'ALL STILL SEE MY SCREEN OR NOT? NO.
SO WE, WE HAD THIS A WEBSITE THAT WAS PRETTY AT A DAY CALLED WEEKEND ATX AND IT'S, UM, IT WAS MEANT TO BE, TO GIVE PEOPLE IDEAS OF HOW THEY CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE COMMUNITY.
SO THIS, SO PART OF WHAT THIS WAS IS TO, UM, CREATE A TOOL FOR HELPING PEOPLE BE ENGAGED, BUT IN ORDER TO GET ENGAGED, YOU HAVE TO LIKE BE INFORMED, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO HAVE INFORMATION AND, UM, HOW DO WE STRIKE THAT BALANCE OF, UM, PEOPLE BEING INFORMED ENOUGH THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY GET ENGAGED? UM, SO THE, SO YOU GOT THE GET INFORMED TAB AND THIS KIND OF COVERS A LOT OF THE THINGS WE'VE DISCUSSED ABOUT KIND OF PRESENTING SOME INFORMATION, UM, AND GATHERING INFORMATION THAT, UH, WE CAN SHARE WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT SORT OF THE COVID, UM, RESPONSE AND CURRENT SITUATION.
SO WE'VE PUT TOGETHER SOME DATA AROUND THAT THAT GIVES US AN IDEA OF WHAT OUR COMMUNITY IS EXPERIENCING.
UM, SO HE AND WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, UM, OBVIOUSLY IN ENGLISH IN SPANISH AND I'LL TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THAT, BUT, UH, BUT WE BASICALLY CREATED SOME TABS SO THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT WELL, WHAT'S THE SITUATION WITH,
[00:25:01]
YOU KNOW, RELATED TO KOBE DEBTS AND CASES AND HOSPITALIZATIONS, AND YOU ALL ARE PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THAT.SO I WON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON IT, BUT YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A VARIETY OF, OF, OF, UM, INFORMATION AND WE'VE KIND OF DESIGNED IT IN A WAY WHERE IT CAN EASILY, EASILY BE TRANSLATED.
SO WE HOPE TO NOT JUST TRANSLATE IT TO SPANISH, BUT OTHER LANGUAGES AS WELL.
SO FOLKS FROM OTHER, UH, COMMUNITIES IS BECAUSE OF THE LANGUAGES, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE IT.
UH, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TWO, ONE, ONE CALL CATEGORIES.
UM, AND YOU'LL SEE, SO THIS IS A CHART THAT WE CHILDREN'S OPTIMAL HEALTH SENDS US THE DATA THEY GET FROM UNITED WAY.
AND THEN WE KIND OF DO THIS CHART AS A WAY OF SHOWING THE TRENDS WITH REGARD TO COMMUNITY NEEDS.
AND SO YOU SEE THE, THIS IS PROBABLY THROUGH THE END OF JULY THAT WE HAVE REPORTED A YEAR AND YOU SEE THE LIGHT GREEN HERE IS, UM, HOUSING AND THE DARK GREEN IS FOOD ACCESS.
SO YOU SEE KIND OF THAT GENERAL TREND DOWNWARD TREND ON HOUSING, BUT A RECENT UPTAKE RIGHT.
IN FOOD CALLS FOR FOOD ASSISTANCE.
SO, UM, SO THAT'S PART OF THE IDEA BEHIND THIS THERE'S HOW CAN WE PRESENT SOME INFORMATION THAT MIGHT GIVE YOU AN INSIGHT INTO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE COMMUNITY? AND THEN, UM, W BECAUSE UNEMPLOYMENT'S KIND OF IMPLODE IMPORTANT, WE HAVE SORT OF THE, SOME INFORMATION ON AN UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE, AND THEN JUST, WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF INFORMATION ON THE ECONOMIC RELIEF PROGRAMS. WE'VE MAPPED OUT INFORMATION, A COUPLE OF THE CITY'S PROGRAMS. THIS IS A DISTRIBUTION OF AWARDS, SORT OF BY ZIP CODE.
UM, SO IT'S ACTUAL NUMBER OF DOLLARS, RIGHT? THAT WERE INVESTED IN THESE DIFFERENT ZIP CODES.
UM, WE HAVE A MAP THAT SHOWS, WELL, ACTUALLY THIS IS, YEAH, AND THIS IS ACTUAL NUMBER OF AWARDS BY ZIP CODE.
SO THE FIRST ONE WAS THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, AND THIS IS THE NUMBER OF LOANS.
AND THIS IS A MAPPING OF THE RISE PROGRAM BY ZIP CODE.
UH, WE WERE CREATING THE PLATFORMS TO PRESENT THE INFORMATION.
SO THIS IS, UH, THERE ARE OTHER PROGRAMS WE WANT TO DO THIS KIND OF ANALYSIS FOR, BUT, UH, I DID WANT TO SHOW YOU THAT WE'RE MAKING SOME PROGRESS ON SOME OF THIS, UH, UH, DATA THAT WE'RE COLLECTING.
AND THEN THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF DATA WE HAVE ON THREE, ONE, ONE, THIS IS MOSTLY A COVID RELATED COMPLAINTS THAT PEOPLE ARE FILING IN TERMS OF NOT COMPLYING WITH FACE COVERING OR SOCIAL DISTANCING OR OCCUPANCY AT BUSINESSES, FACE COVERINGS, EVICTIONS.
UM, AND OF COURSE WE HAVE A FEW DASHBOARDS HERE THAT WE LINK TO THE KOBE DASHBOARD, THE EVICTIONS DASHBOARD, AND COMMUNITY CARE TESTING.
IF YOU WANT TO GO KIND OF LOOK AT IT.
OBVIOUSLY THERE'S SOME THINGS WE HAVE TO KIND OF FINISH UP.
UM, SO THAT'S JUST A, THE DATA PART.
UM, WE HAVE THE GET HELP PART, WHICH IS, UM, BASICALLY HELPING PEOPLE NAVIGATE, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY CAN GET ASSISTANCE.
SO CALLING, WHY DO YOU CALL A NINE ONE ONE THREE ONE ONE TWO ONE ONE? UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU GET HELP WITH COVID-19? WE HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON THAT.
HOW DO YOU APPLY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT? AND IN SOME WAYS IT'S PRETTY, YOU KNOW, PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD, RIGHT? THIS IS WHERE YOU GO.
IF YOU WANT TO APPLY FOR AN APPOINTMENT, IF YOU'RE EXPERIENCING ABUSE OR NEGLECT, SO THAT THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN GO, OR YOU CAN CALL, AND IF YOU NEED EMOTIONAL SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN CALL AGAIN, TRYING TO BE RESPONSIVE TO KIND OF THE NEEDS THAT ARE OUT THERE, UM, AND REALLY STREAMLINING IT SO THAT IF WE DO HAVE TO TRANSLATE IT, RIGHT, IT'S VERY CLEAR IN THE TRANSLATION.
AND THEN FINALLY, IF YOU GO UP TO THE GET ENGAGED PART, UM, SO WE ADVERTISE OUR, UM, PODCAST ON THERE AS AN ENGAGEMENT TOOL, YOU KNOW, TO IDENTIFY WAYS TO ACTIVITIES, IF YOU WANT TO DONATE THESE, OR HERE'S SOME IDEAS FOR WHERE TO DONATE.
SO WE DO A ALTOGETHER ATX RIGHT.
IS, UM, ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS WE HIGHLIGHT, IF YOU WANT TO VOLUNTEER, HERE'S THE, CITY'S HAD A WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER, OR IF YOU NEED VOLUNTEERS, RIGHT.
HERE'S THE CITY WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN SIGN UP FOR VOLUNTEERS.
SO, UM, SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A, THERE'S A LOT THERE AND IT'S NOT DONE, BUT I DID WANT TO SHOW YOU SORT OF WHAT IT'S, WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE.
AND IF YOU WANT TO SORT OF DISCUSS, DISCUSS THAT OFFLINE,
[00:30:01]
WE CAN DO THAT AS, UH, BEFORE WE DO AN OFFICIAL LAUNCH, WE ARE TRYING TO DO SOME PRESS ONCE WE ACTUALLY, UM, UM, ONCE WE ACTUALLY LAUNCH, UM, CAUSE THERE'S THE FOLKS WHO ARE WORKING ON THIS THAT ARE, UM, ARE VERY LOOKING AT IT VERY MUCH AS A SPANISH RESOURCE.AND SO THEY WANT TO DO SOME MEDIA WITH PUT THIS BAND OR SOME WORK WITH THE SPANISH MEDIA TO HIGHLIGHT THE AVAILABILITY OF THE INFORMATION.
I DIDN'T EXPECT TO GO THAT LONG, BUT I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, SOME EXCITING THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE HAPPENING AND THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON QUITE A WHILE.
SO IT'S KIND OF GREAT TO SEE THEM GET TO THIS POINT, ANY QUESTIONS FOR ROBEL ON HIS REPORT? MY ONE SUGGESTION, AND IF IT'S, IF IT'S IN THERE AND I MISSED IT, I'M SORRY.
UM, IS JUST A LINK TO THE DASHBOARDS THAT OTHER ENTITIES ARE PRODUCING.
TRAVIS COUNTY IS PUTTING OUT CITY OF AUSTIN IS PUTTING OUT, UM, CITY OF AUSTIN IS, IS LAUNCHED ITS PREVIEW OF, UH, OF THE NINE ONE ONE CALL ANALYSIS.
LIKE THERE'S JUST A LOT OF VERY INTERESTING DATA SETS OUT THERE THAT CAN DOESN'T HAVE TO REPRODUCE, BUT I LOVE THE IDEA OF HAVING THIS WEEKEND ATX AS THE VEHICLE FOR, YOU KNOW, ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS.
THAT'S A, IT'S A PRETTY COOL THING.
WE'RE TRYING TO STREAMLINE IT AND, AND MAKE IT, UM, SO THAT WE CAN ADD VITAL RESOURCES LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT IT BEING TOO OVERWHELMING, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WAS THE IDEA IS HOW DO WE MAKE IT SO THAT IT'S A DIGESTIBLE AND USEFUL AND HOPEFULLY CAN, CAN FACILITATE THE ENGAGEMENT.
OKAY, WELL, I'M NOT SEEING ANY QUESTIONS.
[CAN Partner Updates & Highlights on COVID-19 Impact: Health Arena ]
GO INTO OUR PARTNER UPDATES.UM, IF Y'ALL HOPEFULLY SAW THE AGENDA THAT RAUL SENT OUT.
SO WE'RE JUST GOING TO GO IN ORDER OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE IN THE AGENDA.
UM, UH, IT'S BEEN A HELL OF A WEEK, UH, AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
WE FINALLY GOT THROUGH OUR BUDGET AT LEAST PHASE ONE OF MANY, UM, ALSO PUT PROJECT CONNECT ON THE BALLOT.
SO THERE'S THAT, UM, THERE'S ALSO A TRANSPORTATION BOND, UH, IN ADDITION TO PROJECT CONNECT, THAT'LL BE ON THE BALLOT THAT I DIDN'T VOTE FOR.
TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT OFFLINE.
UM, THE POLICE REFORM STUFF, UH, PREDICTABLY IS BEING REPORTED WAY OUT OF PROPORTION TO WHAT WE ACTUALLY DID, UM, WHICH FOR SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES, I THINK INTENTIONAL TO SPEAK TO THE BIG ASKS THAT WERE BEING MADE OF THE COUNCIL.
UH, BUT FOR SOME OF US WHOSE DISTRICTS ARE NOT THE HOME OF THOSE ADVOCATES, IT'S BEEN A LOT OF EDUCATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, THE HEADLINES SAY THAT WE CUT $150 MILLION FROM THE POLICE BUDGET.
WE ACTUALLY CUT $20 MILLION AND IT WAS ACTUALLY FUTURE SPENDING.
SO IT IS A FAR MORE MODEST CHANGE IN REALITY, BUT FOR $20 MILLION WE ADDED AMBULANCES.
WE ADDED MONEY FOR PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR HOMELESSNESS.
WE'VE ADDED MONEY INTO PUBLIC HEALTH, WE'VE DONE ABORTION ACCESS MONEY.
WE ADDED MONEY FOR PARKS AND TRAILS.
WE ADDED MONEY FOR EQUITY OFFICE.
WE ADDED MONEY, NO EQUITY, UH, CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE.
UM, OH GOSH, THERE'S I SHOULD HAVE PULLED THE LIST UP.
UM, IT, IT REALLY GOES TO SHOW THAT WHEN YOU HAVE THIS ONE GINORMOUS BUREAUCRACY IN YOUR ORGANIZATION, LIKE THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN, AND IS THAT THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF GOOD WORK YOU CAN DO IF YOU START RETHINKING HOW YOU DO THAT.
SO, UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, BUT I THINK PROBABLY I WANT TO MOVE THROUGH AND MAKE SURE EVERY PARTNER HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE UP TO.
AND THEN IF WE WANT TO HAVE TIME AT THE END FOR ANY BIGGER QUESTIONS, THEN, THEN WE CAN DO THAT.
LET'S MOVE ON A CITY OF PFLUGERVILLE WHO WANTS TO GO? I LOVE YOUR BACKGROUND, TREY.
IT'S REALLY NICE THAT I THINK RUDY HAS DUMPED ME.
UM, THANKS FOR YOUR UPDATE, OUR ACCOUNTS NUMBER.
UM, WE'VE HAD SOME WINS IN PFLUGERVILLE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL WEEKS.
UM, WE'VE APPROVED THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, ALLOWING THE FLOW OF FUNDS FOR CARE'S ACT TO FLOW INTO PFLUGERVILLE, AND WE'VE STARTED RECEIVING SOME OF THOSE FUNDS, UM, AND PUTTING THEM TO GOOD USE.
UM, WE'VE AUTHORIZED THE PFLUGERVILLE CARES GRANT PROGRAM WITH OUR FLEETWOOD COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
ALSO USING THOSE CARES LIKE DOLLARS TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS GRANTS AND LOANS, UH, WITH THE, UH, NONPROFIT ASSISTING US BCL THAT WAS REFERRED BY TRAVIS COUNTY.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO ANNOUNCE PROJECT CHARM ON THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FRONT AND UNVEIL IT AS AMAZON OR WORST KEPT SECRET IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
UM, SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
UH, WE AWARDED A CONTRACT TO A FIRM TO START OUR NEW COMPREHENSIVE PLANET DATE.
UM, OUR PREVIOUS PLAN WAS A GOOD 10 YEARS OLD, SO THAT'S AN EXCITING COMMUNITY WIDE PROJECT
[00:35:01]
OVER THE NEXT 12, 15 MONTHS.UM, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRANSIT DEVELOPMENT PLAN IMPLEMENTATION WITH A TRANSIT PILOT USING CAPITAL METRO FOR THAT AND USING THEIR PICKUP SERVICE PILOT FOR THREE AND A HALF SQUARE MILE AREA IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE HOPE TO SEE THAT START AS EARLY AS OCTOBER FOR A YEAR LONG PILOT, UM, UH, AND, UH, SALES TAX COLLECTIONS.
WE'RE HAPPY TO SAY, UM, CITIES RECEIVED THOSE REPORTS YESTERDAY.
UH, WE'RE SEEING CELL SITES COLLECTIONS IN PFLUGERVILLE THAT EXCEED OUR PRE COVID PROJECTIONS.
UM, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF NOT BEING RELIANT ON TOURISM AND LARGE EVENTS, UM, AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE'RE SEEING IS, YOU KNOW, JUST PRETTY MUCH WHAT EVERYBODY HAS SEEN AS THE CASE HAS CONTINUED TO INCREASE AND, UM, UM, JUST TRYING TO MANAGE AND GET BUY IN FROM OUR COMMUNITY ON, ON MASKING AND DISTANCING AND JUST KEEP THOSE BEHAVIORS IN CHECK.
AND THEN AS FAR AS SUPPORT FROM CAMP PARTNERS, IT'S JUST THE, IT'S JUST WHAT THIS FORUM PROVIDES IS, UM, CONTINUED COLLABORATION, COMMUNICATION, DATA SHARING, AND RESOURCE SHARING, UH, PARTICULARLY WHEN THERE ARE NEEDS.
UM, AND WHETHER PEOPLE ARE ASKING IS PUSHING SOME OF THOSE THINGS OUT THAT WHETHER YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IT OR NOT MIGHT BECOME ABUSE AND, UM, I THINK CANCER GOOD CONDUIT FOR THAT.
I WANT TO ADD A COUPLE OF THINGS TO THAT ONE AND IT'S REGARDING TRADE AND EXCELLENT JOB REGARDING OUR WINS ARE SEAN'S IS SUPPORT FROM CANNED PARTNERS.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE SUPPORT FOR CANNED PARTNERS.
UM, LAST WEEK WE SENT A LETTER TO CENTRAL HEALTH.
WHEN I SAY WE I'M REPRESENTATIVE CHERYL COLE, MYSELF, COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN, UM, CUSTOMER NATASHA HARPER, MADISON, AND MAYOR WALLS IN REGARDS TO ISSUES THAT WE'VE SEEN DURING THIS WHOLE PANDEMIC REGARDING DIVERSITY AND DIVERSITY EFFORTS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN CENTRAL HEALTH, UM, OR LACK THEREOF WHEN IT COMES TO SOME OF OUR ARTISTS HIT COMMUNITIES.
UM, THEY'VE GIVEN A RESPONSE WHAT WE MEAN WITH THEM MOVING FORWARD, BUT SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO EMPHASIZE AND IS TRYING TO WORK WITH IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A DIVERSE GROUP OF VOICES, DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE.
AS WE TALK ABOUT BEING A PROGRESSIVE COUNTY PROGRESSIVE AREA, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, HERE IN THE STATE OF TEXAS AND IT TRULY REFLECTS THAT.
AND SOME OF THE DECISIONS THAT WERE MADE, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP IN A STORY REFLECT, UM, HOW DO I PUT IT NICELY, UM, IN INCLUSIVE VIEWPOINT AND IDEAS REGARDING WHAT WAS BEING DONE.
AND THAT ALSO EXTENDS TO SOME OF THE HUB PARTNERSHIPS THAT WERE BEING DONE WITH THAT AS WELL TO CENTRAL HEALTH CREDIT.
I APPRECIATE IT MOVING FORWARD AND TRYING TO HELP WORK ON SOME OF THESE THINGS, BUT THAT'S AN ENDEAVOR.
WE DEFINITELY NEED MORE PARTNERSHIPS.
ANOTHER THING THAT WE DEFINITELY NEED FROM OUR PARTNERSHIPS, AND IT'S SOMETHING JIMMY, I WANT TO GIVE YOU A LOT OF CREDIT FOR, BECAUSE YOU SPOKE UP ABOUT THIS AT OUR CAMPO MEETING AND ABOUT THE NECESSITY AND THE IMPORTANCE TO SAY BLACK LIVES MATTER IS TO TALK ABOUT WHEN ISSUES POP UP.
AND WE SEE THAT PEOPLE ARE TREATING IN A FASHION THROUGH MICROAGGRESSIONS OR OTHERWISE THAT ARE JUST NOT APPROPRIATE.
UM, I, IT WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION OR WHERE THIS LEAK THAT, AND I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY, UM, DR.
STEPHANIE ALI DOES NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO SPEAK UP FOR STUFF.
SHE DOES IT QUITE WELL THAT SHE HAD AN ISSUE THAT OCCURRED.
AND ONE OF HER MEETINGS WHERE SOMEBODY WHICH REALLY, REALLY, UH, AFFECTED US, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST AS ELECTED OFFICIALS, BUT AS HONESTLY AS BLACK PEOPLE REALLY TOOK UMBRAGE WITH SOMETHING THAT WAS SAID TO HER THAT WAS PARTICULARLY, UM, UNNECESSARY AND UGLY.
AND THE HARD PART FOR US IS WE NEED VOICES TO STAND UP WITH US TO SPEAK ABOUT THESE ISSUES, TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE TAKEN CARE OF AND NOT JUST LATER ON, BUT WHEN THEY ACTUALLY OCCUR, WE KNOW THAT'S NOT EASY.
WE KNOW THAT'S HARD, A LOT OF WAYS WITH OUR COMPATRIOTS AND OTHER PEOPLE THAT WE WORK WITH.
BUT IF WE DON'T STAND UP AND TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS, WHEN THEY HAPPEN, THEY'LL CONTINUE TO HAPPEN.
AND THE THINGS THAT WE SEE REGARDING THE SYSTEMIC RACISM MICROAGGRESSIONS OF RIGHT, EITHER AND BIGOTRY THAT WE'VE TRIED TO BREAK IN OUR SOCIETY, IT WILL HAPPEN ALMOST ALL OF US.
TAKE TIME TO STAND UP AND TALK ABOUT THESE THINGS.
HOLLY, I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU HANDLE THE SITUATION YOU GO FROM THERE AS WELL.
TO ME, PERSONALLY, AS A MAN OF FAITH AS A CATHOLIC MAN, UM, IT EVEN HURT WORSE FROM WHERE, WHO I HEARD IT FROM, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, THE GRACE AND BEAUTY THAT GOD HAS POSSESSED ALL OF US AS BEING SONS AND DAUGHTERS IN HIS KINGDOM.
WE EXTEND THAT TO EVERYBODY AND WE HAVE THAT RESPECTFUL OF THAT.
BUT IF I WOULD DO ANYTHING, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR CAR CANADA PARTNERS.
WHEN YOU SEE STUFF, PLEASE SPEAK UP BECAUSE WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP TO DO THAT.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, IF I COULD ADD TWO MORE THINGS TO REAL QUICK ON A TIME, BUT, UH, REALLY YOU MIGHT WANT TO TOUCH ON THE, UH, DIVERSITY COUNCIL OR COMMITTEE THAT EQUITY INCLUSION.
THE COUNCIL IS MOVING TOWARD CREATING, UM, LOOKING AT THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
[00:40:01]
AND THEN, UH, WE LOST A TESTING FACILITY IN OUR COMMUNITY.UH, BUT THEN WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH TDM AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH TO RESTORE THAT TESTING FACILITY AT THE FIELD, UH, OR LOCAL FOOTBALL STADIUM.
AND, UH, SO WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE THOSE PARTNERSHIPS AS WELL.
UH, SHERRY FLEMING, I'M HERE, UM, AS PROXY FOR OUR COUNTY JUDGE SAN FRANCISCO.
SO HAPPY TO SEE EVERYONE TODAY.
UM, WELL CERTAINLY, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY CONTINUES, UM, IN COMMUNITY FONTS WITH, WITH ALL OF YOU AND CERTAINLY OUR PARTNERS AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND WE CERTAINLY, UM, YOU KNOW, CAN'T THANK EVERYONE ENOUGH FOR, FOR THE GREAT PARTNERSHIPS THAT ARE MAGNIFIED AT THE TIME THAT WE ARE IN RESPONSE.
AND SO WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, JUST SOME HIGHLIGHTS, I THINK, UM, I'VE HEARD SOME OF THE PARTNERS ALREADY TALK ABOUT BUDGET.
UH, TRAVIS COUNTY'S BUDGET HEARING IS GOING TO BE THIS COMING TUESDAY.
SO, UM, IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS FOR US RELATIVE TO THE BUDGET, UM, TUESDAY'S YOUR OPPORTUNITY.
UM, AND, AND THERE, THERE ARE A VARIETY OF WAYS THAT YOU CAN COMMUNICATE, OF COURSE, UM, AND EVEN DIRECTLY TO THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, UH, REGARDING OUR BUDGET, BUT THE BUDGET HEARING WILL BE THIS COMING TUESDAY.
UM, TRAVIS COUNTY LAUNCHED, UM, WITH THIS CARE ZACK RESOURCES ON JUNE 29TH RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
UM, AND JUST BRIEFLY, UM, THAT PROGRAM WILL PAY UP TO THREE MONTHS OF, UM, RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR RESIDENTS.
AND THAT PROGRAM WILL RUN RIGHT NOW THROUGH NOVEMBER 30TH.
I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN SOME ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE ON CARE ZACK THIS WEEK, WHICH, YOU KNOW, EVERY WEEK IS NEW GUIDANCE ON THE CARES ACT.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE MAY BE ABLE TO EXTEND THAT OUT JUST A LITTLE BIT, BUT, UM, I THINK THE BEST PART ABOUT THAT IS THAT AS RESIDENTS DO APPLY, UH, THEY MIGHT HAVE TOO MUCH FOR US TO PAY RIGHT NOW, BUT THEIR APPLICATION STAYS IN THE QUEUE.
AND SO IF THEY CONTINUE TO HAVE CHALLENGES, YOU KNOW, IN SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, THEY REALLY JUST HAVE TO GIVE US A CALL AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO PAY THAT THIRD MONTH.
SO THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE TO JUMP ON ALL THREE MONTHS AT A TIME.
SO, UM, AND WE KNOW THAT THE CITY IS GOING TO BE STARTING SOME RENTAL ASSISTANCE AS WELL.
AND SO WE ARE ALREADY WORKING WITH CITY STAFF TO DO THE BEST WE CAN TO BE, UM, COORDINATED AND, AND SHARE INFORMATION WHERE WE CAN.
UM, TRAVIS COUNTY ALSO HAD A, UM, A BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM, UM, THAT, UM, UNFORTUNATELY THE APPLICATION TIME HAS CLOSED.
SO WE ARE NOW IN THE EVALUATION PROCESS.
AND, UM, THAT PROGRAM HAS BEEN INITIALLY FUNDED TO, UM, TO SUPPORT UP TO 225, UH, BUSINESSES AT GRANTS UP TO $40,000.
AND OF COURSE YOU CAN IMAGINE I'M SURE THAT, UM, WE GOT WAY MORE THAN THAT.
AND SO WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS ONCE WE FINISHED THIS FIRST ROUND, UM, THE, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT JUST THREE WEEKS AGO, UM, MADE SOME DECISIONS ABOUT THE REMAINING, UM, CARES AG FUNDS THAT HAD HAD AN ALLOCATED TO RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR, UH, SMALL CITIES IN TRAVIS COUNTY OR, UM, THE BUSINESS PROGRAM.
AND SO, UH, SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS MINE, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ARE WORKING ON PLANS TO GET THOSE DOLLARS OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY AND JUST BE HEARING ABOUT THAT REALLY SOON.
UM, SO I THINK THOSE ARE THE BIG THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON.
WE STILL HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TO GO ON BUDGET.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE FOCUSED ON RIGHT NOW, IN ADDITION TO OUR RESPONSE, BUT, UM, I'LL STOP THERE AND REMINDS YOU THAT YOU LOOK GREAT WHEN YOU'RE WEARING THAT MASK.
THANKS SHERRY CENTRAL HEALTH OR COMMUNITY CARE AND ORKIN HERE, ANYBODY HERE? NOPE.
SO I SEE INGRID MESSAGE THAT SHE FROM SETON THAT SHE HAD TO GO.
DOES ANYONE ELSE FROM SETON ASCENSION SCENE? WAIT, WE'LL GO OVER TO SAINT DAVID'S FOUNDATION.
I SEE DAVID, THE EMBEDDED IN HEALTHCARE RIGHT IN GOOD HEALTH REQUIRES GOOD MENTAL HEALTH FEEL.
IMAGINE OUR DASHBOARD TODAY READS THAT WE WANT TO REDUCE FROM ONE AND FOUR REPORTING FIVE OR MORE POOR MENTAL HEALTH DAYS AND THE PREVIOUS MONTH DOWN TO A 15%.
[00:45:01]
AND YET WHEN WE READ HARRIS POLLS, WASHINGTON POST KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION, THAT, UH, WE'RE NOT ONLY EXPERIENCING A RAMP UP OF MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS AND IMPACT AND ISSUES FROM COVID.UM, WE'RE SEEING THOSE LOCALLY, BUT EVEN EXPECTING A LARGER, UH, KIND OF SECOND WAVE, UH, BEHIND THE PANDEMIC ON, UM, MARCH THE 19TH.
AND I'M GONNA SPEAK FAST AND JUST COVER A FEW AREAS AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AT THE END.
BUT, UH, UH, MARCH 16TH, WE WENT TO, UM, UH, PRIORITIZATION OF SAFETY FIRST FOR OUR STAFF AND FOR CONSUMERS ON THAT DAY, WE WERE SERVING 30,000 INDIVIDUALS WITH 950 STAFF IN 45 LOCATIONS.
SO IT WAS A BIG LIFT TO THEN CONSOLIDATE TEMPORARILY SUSPEND.
WE DIDN'T CLOSE ANY SERVICES, BUT WE MOVED TO CHILDREN'S CLINICS.
THE ONE, THREE ADULT CLINICS, THE ONE FOR RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FACILITIES TO TWO, AND THEN, UM, LIKE MOST PLACES IN HEALTHCARE, WE MOVED TO A STRATEGY OF TELEHEALTH TELEPHONES AND TELL US PSYCHIATRY.
AND IN THAT REGARD, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, NOT LOSE ANY SERVICES, BUT WE DELIVERED THEM IN A EXTRAORDINARILY, UH, DIFFERENT, NEW WAYS UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY.
I WOULD SAY OUR ONE BIG WIN WAS THE PUT A FULL COURT PRESS ON A CALL CENTER.
AND WE'RE ON COURSE NOW TO TAKE 117,000 CALLS THIS YEAR THROUGH THE CRISIS CENTER, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CITY.
WE ALSO HAVE EMBEDDED, WE HAVE A FIRST STEP WITH NINE ONE ONE, AND WE TECHNOLOGICALLY WERE ABLE TO WORK, UH, THE, UM, FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS.
UM, UH, I FORGET THE FORMAL TITLE COMMISSION COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION HAS APPROVED A NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT NATIONAL THREE, UM, NUMBER SUICIDE PREVENTION LINE.
AND IF ANYONE FROM CENTRAL TEXAS CALLS THAT LINE AS A RAMPS UP OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, IT WILL ROLL DIRECTLY INTO OUR CALL CENTER.
UM, WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO SECURE FEMA GRANT, UM, SOME CARES ACT MONEY, AND THEN WITH THE STATE ON A EXPANDED DIRECT CRISIS, UH, COUNSELING, UH, ONLINE.
SO THE CALL CENTER HAS BEEN A BIG DEAL, AND WE'RE TRYING TO LINK TO, UM, TALK WITH DAVID SMITH AND TO ONE ONE.
AND THEN, UM, ALSO AGAIN, UH, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO PRESENT TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE WITH THE CITY ON MONDAY AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE CHANGES IN, IN POLICE SIGN.
WELL, THE OTHER THINGS QUICKLY IS THAT, UM, WE DID PRESENT TO THE CHAMBERS, A RETURN TO THE WORKPLACE, ENCOURAGING EMPLOYERS TO RECOGNIZE SIGNS OF MENTAL ILLNESS, STRESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, UH, TO KNOW WHERE THE RESOURCES ARE TO ENCOURAGE EAP PROGRAMS. UH, DON'T PERPETUATE STIGMA, BUT ENGAGE EMPLOYEES AS THEY RETURN TO WORK.
YOU'RE WORKING FROM HOME OR ISOLATED FOLKS ARE REPORTING TWICE THE RATE OF MENTAL HEALTH SYMPTOMS AND EXACERBATED MENTAL, UH, UH, UH, HEALTH CHALLENGES.
SO THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY ESSENTIAL WORKERS OR ARE ON THE JOB IN THEIR WORKPLACE.
UM, OTHERS HAVE MENTIONED THIS, BUT IN JULY, OUR BOARD STOOD UP A RACIAL EQUITY TASK FORCE IMPLEMENTED TWO ACCOUNTABLE TOOLS.
ONE'S CALLED THE CULTURAL LINGUISTIC APPROPRIATE SERVICES OR CLASS STANDARDS.
AND THE OTHER, UM, IS THE, UM, GOVERNMENTAL, THE GAR GOVERNMENTAL, UH, ASSESSMENT FOR RACIAL EQUITY AND, UH, THE BOARD, UH, ANTICIPATE.
SO CREATING ACCOUNTABLE, QUARTERLY REPORTING ON THOSE TOOLS, TALKING FAST, MENTAL HEALTH IS A BIG DEAL.
UM, IN TERMS OF CHALLENGES, SCHOOLS, SCHOOLS, CHILDREN, CHILDREN, AND CHILDREN.
SO REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, UH, ALL OF THE LOSS OF PROTECTIVE FACTORS.
UH, I WON'T GO THROUGH, YOU CAN EITHER KNOW FROM YOUR OWN EXPERIENCES, YOUR OWN FAMILY, UH, YOUR OWN COMMUNITY, UM, SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS WE'VE REALLY MADE SOME TREMENDOUS GAINS.
UH, OTHERS WERE IN DIALOGUE, UH, PRESENTLY.
UM, I THINK THE BIG CHALLENGE IS GOING TO BE REGULATORY.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS LIFTED A NUMBER OF THE, UH, REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS AROUND TELE-HEALTH, UH, USE OF TECHNOLOGY.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO BUILD TODAY ON TELEPHONE CALLS.
[00:50:01]
THAT'S GONNA LAST.UH, THE STATE HAS PROMOTED REGULATORY RELIEF.
I THINK IT'S THROUGH OCTOBER 23RD.
UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT, UH, CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE AROUND THE CORNER.
A BIG DEAL FOR US IN TRAVIS COUNTY IS MEDICAID.
UH, WE'VE HAD AN 1100 IN WAIVER, CENTRAL HEALTH SETON, OR SELVES COMMUNITY CARE, ALL THE HEALTH PARTNERS.
THIS HAS BEEN OVER 150 MILLION A YEAR AND, UH, NEXT FISCAL YEAR, 2022, THAT PROGRAM ENDS.
UM, SO WHAT THE LEGISLATURE WILL DO AROUND EITHER EXPANDING MEDICAID OR ADDRESSING, UH, CURRENT LEVELS OF MEDICAID SERVICE DELIVERY.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I WOULD MENTION IS OUR OWN WORKFORCE, COMPASSION, FATIGUE, TRAUMA CHILDCARE, UH, CHILDREN AT HOME, AND REALLY TRYING TO COMMUNICATE, UH, REGULARLY AND WITH ENCOURAGEMENT FOR SELF CARE AMONGST OUR ESSENTIAL WORKERS IN TERMS OF SUPPORT.
I THINK THE THREE MOST CRITICAL PARTNERS FOR US ARE OUR SPONSORING AND APPOINTING AGENCIES, CENTRAL HEALTH, THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, AND JUST QUICKLY CENTRAL HEALTH, UM, MADE AVAILABLE ADDITIONAL DOLLARS.
WE PURCHASE A NETWORK OF PRIVATE PSYCHIATRIC BEDS FROM FIVE HOSPITALS.
THEY INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF FUNDING TO BE SURE THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE PSYCH BEDS.
UH, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE CITY, UH, NINE ONE, ONE MOBILE CRISIS OUTREACH, ISO ROUSE, PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING TRAINING, AND THE COUNTY, UH, THE SHERIFF HAS JOINED OUR BOARD AND SHE STARTED AN INITIATIVE AROUND RE-ENTRY AND PLANNED A MORE PLANFUL, UH, INDIVIDUALIZED CONTINUITY OF CARE AND TREATMENT UPON LEAVING THE DEL VALLEY JAIL.
I COULD KEEP GOING, BUT IT'S A, IT'S A RAPID TIME IN A PROUD OF OUR STAFF IN A BOARD FOR WHAT THEY'VE TACKLED DURING THIS TIME.
AND I'M REALLY THANKFUL FOR THE PARTNERS.
THE PILLARS OF BRAIN HEALTH INCLUDE EXERCISE, FOOD, NUTRITION, GOOD MEDICAL HEALTH SLEEP, UM, COGNITION IN SOCIAL INTERACTIONS WITH SOCIAL SUPPORTS IN THAT REGARD, ALL THE CANNED PARTNERS ARE CRITICAL TO THE MENTAL HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY AND APPRECIATE ALL, UH, IN WHICH, UH, EACH OF YOU DO.
UM, WHERE THE COUNCIL AND THE SAFETY COMMITTEE THAT I AM THE CHAIR OF THE COUNSEL, UH, WE'RE HAVING OUR MEETING ON MONDAY AND WE'RE DEDICATING ALMOST THE ENTIRE MEETING TO MENTAL HEALTH FIRST RESPONSE.
INTEGRAL PART OF THAT CONVERSATION.
UM, AND IT IS PROBABLY THE BIGGEST AREA OF WORK THAT WE LEFT UNRESOLVED IN THE VOTE THIS WEEK, BECAUSE THERE'S JUST SO MUCH TO FIGURE OUT, BUT WE ARE COMMITTED TO FIGURING IT OUT AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
[CAN Partner Updates & Highlights on COVID-19 Impact: Basic Needs Arena ]
UNITED WAY.THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO AND EVERYBODY, AND I'LL BE QUICK.
UM, I'LL START OFF BY JUST A QUICK UPDATE ON ALTOGETHER ATX WE DID THE SECOND PHASE OF DISTRIBUTION.
UH, WE BASED, UH, WHERE THAT WENT ON, UH, SOME OF THE MORE RECENT SURVEYS AND ON SOME OF OUR TWO, ONE, ONE UP TO DATE DATA.
AND SO THE FOCUS WAS ON DOMESTIC AND, UH, CHILD ABUSE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND CHILD ABUSE, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, UM, UTILITY ASSISTANCE AND THE ELDERLY, UH, THAT MONEY IS IN THE HANDS OF, UH, THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST.
UM, AND WE'RE GRATEFUL TO ALL OF YOU AND EVERYBODY WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE ALTOGETHER ATX FUND.
UM, JIMMY, YOU SAID SOMETHING EARLIER THAT I THOUGHT WAS SO GOOD ABOUT, ABOUT BAKING EQUITY INTO, UM, CON CONTRACT.
WE WORKED WITH THE CRT AND I THINK, I THINK RUBIN IS HERE, UM, ON HOW, UM, BEYOND JUST CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENTS ON REALLY HOW TO BAKE EQUITY INTO, UM, THE SCORING AND THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR, UH, THE RECIPIENTS OF THE FUNDING.
AND I'LL TELL YOU THAT THAT WORK, UM, WAS SO VALUABLE, NOT JUST TO ALTOGETHER ATX, BUT HOW WE'LL MOVE FORWARD AS UNITED WAY IN THE FUTURE.
SO, UM, WE'RE REALLY PLEASED WITH THAT.
UM, AND THEN TWO, ONE, ONE, UM, IT'S BEEN MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES ALREADY.
UH, WE HAVE OUR CALLS SURGE ACCORDING TO THE CASES.
AND SO, UM, W WITH THE SECOND SURGEON CASES AFTER MEMORIAL DAY, WE HAD, WE HAD ANOTHER ROUND OF SURGEON CALLS FOR A WHILE THAT, THAT EQUALS OUT TO ABOUT EIGHT TIMES THE NUMBER OF
[00:55:01]
REGULAR CALLS.UM, IT'S LEVELED OFF AGAIN, UH, AT ABOUT DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF REGULAR CALLS.
UM, BUT I'M SO PROUD OF THAT TEAM AND THOSE THOSE CALL SPECIALISTS, THEY'RE JUST, THEY'RE WORKING TIRELESSLY AND TAKING ALL THESE CALLS.
ONE THING THAT I THINK TO SAY IS THAT RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, UH, AND HOUSING KIND OF LEVELING DOWN, IT ACTUALLY IS SURGING AGAIN, JUST IN THE MOST RECENT DATA THAT WE HAVE, I THINK IS A DIRECT IMPACT FROM THE, UM, THE GOVERNMENT'S CARES ACT FUNDING ENDING FOR PEOPLE TO RECEIVE RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND SO WE'RE SEEING A HUGE SPIKE THERE RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, JUST ALL THE REGULAR WORK WE'RE DOING FIGHTING POVERTY, UM, FOCUSING ON EDUCATION, HEALTH, AND FINANCIAL STABILITY, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE, UM, INVOLVED RIGHT NOW IN ADVOCATING FOR SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE CHILDCARE, UM, BECAUSE WE KNOW, UH, HOW NECESSARY THAT IS NOT JUST FOR FAMILY TO HAVE FINANCIAL STABILITY, BUT ALSO TO, TO GET OUR ECONOMY GOING AGAIN.
SO THAT'S ONE OF THE FOCUSES WE'RE REALLY SEEING RIGHT NOW, JUST IN EDUCATION.
IT'S REALLY GOOD TO SEE EVERYBODY.
I'M PROUD TO BE HERE WITH YOU.
UH, I THINK I SAW, UH, SIMONE FOR
YES, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYONE.
AND PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR JUST KEEPING MY OWN VIDEO PICTURE.
UM, SO FOR, I ACT, I WOULD SAY, UM, WE ARE JUST IN THIS STAGE WHERE IT'S OKAY.
SO WE HAVE BEEN IN THIS TRANSITIONARY STAGE AND THIS, WE FORESEE US CONTINUING IN THIS SPACE STILL WHAT NEXT YEAR? SO IT'S LIKE, HOW DO WE MAKE THIS TRANSITIONARY SPACE, THE CONSISTENT SPACE AND, UM, WHERE IT'S OUR NEW NORM.
UH, AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE IT, DAVID TALKING ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH PIECE, BECAUSE IT, IT HAS BEEN REALLY, UM, WARY ON ALL OF US AND, UM, JUST THIS ASPECT OF, YOU KNOW, JUST BEING IN THIS SPACE AND THIS DISTRESS AND, AND JUST THE COORDINATION.
EVERYTHING TAKES A LOT MORE EFFORT EVEN THOUGH BE AT HOME AND NOT TRAVELING AS MUCH.
IT'S STILL A LOT MORE MENTAL STRESS.
SO, AND OF COURSE WE SEE THIS TOO, YOU KNOW, OURSELVES AS WELL AS WITH THE PEOPLE THAT WE WORK WITH.
SO IT'S THAT CONTINUED, UM, REASSURANCE TO, TO EVERYONE TAKE THE TIME TO BREATHE, TAKE THE TIME TO RELAX, TAKE THE TIME TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.
AND AT THE SAME TIME TOO, I'M SO THANKFUL WITH A LOT OF OUR FUNDERS.
THEY'RE SO FLEXIBLE DURING THIS TIME.
SO STILL TRYING TO MEET GOALS AND ON CONTRACTUAL AGREEMENTS.
AND SO, AND AT THE SAME TIME TO, THEY ARE FLEXIBLE WITH DATES.
AND, UM, SO, SO I'M REALLY THANKFUL FOR THE COMPASSION THAT'S OUT THERE WITH DIFFERENT ENTITIES.
I WOULD SAY, UM, THE RENTAL ISSUE IS STILL A BIG PROBLEM.
WE CONTINUE TO DIS DISTRIBUTE RENT RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS SO MANY FAMILIES WHO HAVE BEEN OUT OF A JOB MOVING IN WITH OTHER FAMILIES.
SO WE HAVE ONE SITUATION WHERE FIVE FAMILIES LIVING IN A HOUSE.
AND, UM, AND, AND, AND THAT'S THE NATURE OF MANY REFUGEES BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE BEEN KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO NOT HAVE NOTHING, AND THEY WANT TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
SO, SO WE HAVE SEEN SITUATIONS LIKE THAT AND, AND HELPING OUT AS MUCH AS WE CAN, BUT IT'S, IT'S CONTINUOUS.
AND, AND, AND JUST BEING ABLE TO, TO SUPPORT FAMILIES WHERE THEY ARE AGAIN, IT'S, UM, IT'S HARD AND IT'S SAD.
AND, AND THE OTHER PIECE TOO, IS AGAIN, THE DIGITAL DIVIDE, AGAIN, AS WE MOVE INTO OUR NEW NORMAL AND CONSISTENCY MEAN, LIKE WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT EVERY PERSON THAT WE WORK WITH REFUGEE FAMILY IN OUR PROGRAM, THROUGH OUR ESL CLASSES, GET CHROMEBOOKS AND GET WIFI AND GET THE TOOLS THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS TO, TO LEARN.
SO, UM, SO YEAH, SO WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT, UM, OF COURSE THINGS ARE GOING TO GET BETTER AND AT THE SAME TIME TO JUST REALLY AWARE, ALL STRUGGLE FOR SO MANY FAMILIES.
AND, UM, YEAH, SO I'M JUST THANKFUL
[01:00:01]
THAT WE HAVE A COMMUNITY LIKE KAN WHO, UM, WAS SO INVESTED IN, IN MAKING SURE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE TAKEN CARE OF.UM, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE CITY, THE COUNTY, SAINT DAVID'S ALTOGETHER.
ATX ALL OF THE FUNDERS THAT HAVE REALLY PULLED TOGETHER TO HELP THE NONPROFITS.
UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF KIND OF THE FUNDING PROCESS, UH, SOME OF THE FUNDERS HAD SOME, UM, CONSTRAINTS THAT WERE DIFFICULT FOR SOME OF THE NONPROFITS, ESPECIALLY ANY NONPROFITS THAT WERE ABLE TO SUSTAIN AND GET BY DURING COVID AND DID NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT LOSSES.
THE DIFFICULTY OF THE NONPROFITS WILL ALSO BE GOING FORWARD.
SO I'M REALLY HAPPY AND GRATEFUL FOR THE FUNDERS WHO HAVE KIND OF LESSENED THEIR FUNDING CONSTRAINTS TO KEEP THAT IN MIND ABOUT WHAT FORWARD LOOKS LIKE.
AND SO I'M JUST REALLY GRATEFUL FOR EVERYBODY DOING THAT.
I'M ALSO REALLY GRATEFUL TO THE CITY AND THE COUNTY IN PARTICULAR, FOR LISTENING TO ONE VOICE, ACCEPTING OUR MANY, UH, DIFFERENT LETTERS THAT WE SEND IN AND OUR PHONE CALLS AND HAVING MEETINGS WITH US, I THINK MORE THAN EVER THE NONPROFIT COMMUNITY, THE ORGANIZATIONS, UM, FEEL SUPPORTED AND LISTENED TO IN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND WE REALLY SEE OURSELVES AS A PARTNER WITH OUR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
I HAVE, I SEE THAT NOW, AND I'M REALLY, REALLY GRATEFUL FOR IT.
I THINK, UM, EVERYBODY HAS SAID EVERYTHING.
I DON'T WANT TO REPEAT ANYTHING ANYBODY SAID, BUT THE WORDS OF DAVID AND SIMONE JUST RESONATE AND I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT THE CLIENT NEEDS AND ALSO WITH THE CLIENT NEEDS AND WITH THE NONPROFIT NEEDS, JUST A PIECE OF INFORMATION BEFORE I STOP TECHNOLOGY.
AND THE EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY THAT EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY WILL CONTINUE, WILL CONTINUE TO BE A CHALLENGE FOR THE NONPROFITS, BECAUSE A LOT OF OUR NONPROFITS ALSO HAVE TO ABIDE BY CONFIDENTIALITY THAT SOME OF THE PLATFORMS THAT ARE OUT THERE DON'T HAVE SO FUNDING FOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, UH, I THINK WILL BE IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD FOR NONPROFITS AND WHO KNOWS, UH, THE POTENTIAL FOR PARTNERSHIPS WITH OUR CORPORATE COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN TO ASSIST NONPROFITS WITH TECHNOLOGY, I THINK IS AN OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE THE MORE EFFICIENT THAT WE CAN BE AS NONPROFITS GOING FORWARD, THE MORE THE DOLLAR STRETCH FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE SERVE EXAM IS A DAVID HERE.
SO MANY DAVID'S, I DON'T SEE DAVID AS CLIA.
UH, SO WE CAN PROBABLY MOVE ON, UH, TO OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOLKS.
DAVID IS GOING TO BE A TEXT OF THE TEENY TO DELETE.
OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT FOLKS.
UH, OH, I SKIPPED OVER CAP METRO.
CHRIS IS HERE BY THE WAY, CHRIS SERAFINI IS HERE.
HOW COULD I SKIP OVER CAT METRO? IT'S A BIG WEEK FOR CAP METRO.
IS IT WHAT'S GOING ON? TELL ME ABOUT, OH, YOU'RE RIGHT.
SO CAN I TALK ABOUT, I DON'T, I DON'T, DON'T WORRY.
I THINK THE NEXT COUNTY ATTORNEY IS GOING TO BE OKAY WITH IT.
I HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHAT I SAY NOW.
UM, SO I'LL JUST START WITH JUST SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL PROVIDING AROUND A LITTLE OVER 40,000 ESSENTIAL TRIPS A DAY.
UM, SO PEOPLE ARE STILL ABLE TO GET WHERE THEY NEED TO GO.
UM, WE DO HAVE A SERVICE CHANGE COMING UP.
I WON'T GO INTO DETAIL ABOUT THAT, BUT YOU CAN FIND THAT INFORMATION OUT AT OUR, UH, WEBSITE, UM, AT CAP METRO.ORG/SLASH AUGUST, 2020.
UM, OUR METRO ACCESS TEAM HAS NOT DELIVERED OVER, UH, 565,000 MILS TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
UM, SO THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO TO THE STORE.
UM, WE ARE STILL REQUIRING MASS BE, UH, WORN ON OUR VEHICLES, BUT IF YOU FORGOT ONE, WE HAVE KIND OF DOING AN HONOR SYSTEM.
WE HAVE SOME PRE WRAPPED MASKS AT THE FRONT OF ALL THE VEHICLES,
[01:05:01]
AND IF FOLKS NEED TO TAKE ONE, THEY'RE THERE FOR THEM.UM, WE'RE ALSO BEEN DOING SOME CARE.
WE WOULD CALL CARE KIT DISTRIBUTIONS AT DIFFERENT STOPS, YOU KNOW, JUST TIPS ON HOW PEOPLE CAN RIDE SAFELY, HAND, SANITIZER MASK, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
UM, WE'VE RECENTLY LAUNCHED A C SAY NOW APP.
SO FOLKS CAN COMFORTABLY REPORT ANY ISSUES THEY'RE HAVING, UM, WHILE RIDING OUR SERVICE.
UM, YOU CAN ALSO FIND THAT AT THE WEBSITE OR THE APP STORE.
UM, AND THEN LASTLY, YOU KNOW, JUST, I THINK SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS GROUP, JUST WANT TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE ABOUT OUR CAT METRO CARES PROGRAM.
IT'S WHERE WE WERE, YOU KNOW, UM, QUALIFYING NONPROFITS CAN WORK WITH US TO UTILIZE OR LEVERAGE OUR, UM, SPACE ON OUR BUSES FOR ADVERTISING.
UM, AND SO IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT, LET ME KNOW.
I'M HAPPY TO CONNECT YOU, BUT THAT IS A RESOURCE FOR OFFERING TO NONPROFITS AT THIS TIME TO, UH, TO HELP THEM WITH ANY MESSAGES THAT THEY NEED TO GET OUT AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
HE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT PROJECT CONNECT.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN SAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN IF YOU NEED INFORMATION, YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE, YOU CAN MAKE FACTUAL STATEMENTS AND IT'S TRUE.
I'M JUST TRYING TO BE, YOU CAN MAKE FACTUAL STATEMENTS.
I CAN SAY A LOT MORE THAN YOU CAN SAY.
UM, UH, THANKFULLY, UH, THE COUNCIL AND BOARD LAST WEEK, UH, PROVED THE THEY'RE COMING TOGETHER IN AN AGREEMENT TO FORWARD A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CORPORATION AND SOME OTHER ITEMS TO, TO, TO FURTHER PROJECT CONNECT.
AND THEN THIS WEEK, UH, COUNCIL TOOK THE FINAL STEP, WHICH WAS GIVING THE VOTERS A CHOICE ON WHAT TO DO NEXT.
WELL, I WILL SAY PR PROJECT CONNECT, VERY, A LOT OF THE STUFF WE'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS ON THAT.
BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ERIC JUST MENTIONED THAT I WANT TO OFFER TO OTHER JURISDICTIONS THAT ARE ON CAN THE JOINT BOARD MEETINGS THAT WE HAD WITH THE FULL COUNCIL AND THE FULL CAP, METRO BOARD WERE REALLY VALUABLE AND ALLOWED US TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ACROSS THE DIOCESE THAT WE DON'T NORMALLY HAVE.
I HOPE THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COUNCIL DOES WITH THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT.
IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE CAN DO WITH THE AISD BOARD OR OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WHO MIGHT WANT TO DO WITH THE ACC BOARD THAT HAVING THAT AMOUNT OF, OF, OF ENGAGEMENT IN A PUBLIC MEETING LIKE THAT I THOUGHT WAS INCREDIBLY VALUABLE.
AND HOPEFULLY SOMETHING THAT WE, WE FIND THE RIGHT TIME AND SPACE AND TOPIC TO DO THAT WITH OTHER JURISDICTIONS.
I'M REALLY GLAD YOU HIGHLIGHTED THAT A COUNCIL MEMBER, WE DID NINE OF THOSE OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS.
I'M SURE YOU KNOW THAT VERY WELL.
UM, AND THEY WERE VERY BENEFICIAL.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO, IT ALLOWED THE SPACE FOR THE POLICYMAKERS TO WORK THINGS OUT OVER THOSE TWO YEARS TO GET US GET US TO THIS POINT AND AS PART OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT OR THE ILS THAT, UM, THAT WERE APPROVED LAST WEEK, UH, TO FORM THAT, THAT GROUP, THE BOARD AND COUNCIL WILL BE MEETING AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR, UM, TO DISCUSS, UH, YOU KNOW, SEND ME THINGS GO WELL, WE'LL BE MEETING ONCE A YEAR TO TALK TO CONTINUE THAT COLLABORATION GOING FORWARD.
SO YEAH, I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT HOW GREAT OUR PARTNERSHIP HAS BEEN WITH THE CITY.
AND I THINK THOSE MEETINGS WERE CRITICAL IN, IN THAT, IN THAT RELATIONSHIP.
[CAN Partner Updates & Highlights on COVID-19 Impact: Education & Economic Development Arena ]
ERIC, CHRIS, SORRY, CHRIS.UH, SO I CUT TO TWO THINGS I WANT TO TALK ABOUT TODAY.
ONE IS ON AUGUST 21ST, WE'RE REOPENING OUR CARES ACTIVE STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND APPLICATION PROCESS.
WE HAVE PUSHED OUT ABOUT HALF OF THE DOLLARS THAT WE RECEIVED FOR THE CARES ACT.
UH, WE'RE REOPENING THE APPLICATION PROCESS FOR FALSE STUDENTS.
UH, WE ARE COMING BACK, UH, NOT IN-PERSON LARGELY.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE ONLINE, UH, IN THE FALL SEMESTER, ALL INSTRUCTION AND ACTIVITIES THAT CAN BE DONE ONLINE WILL BE DONE ONLINE.
WE WILL, UH, HAVE SOME LIMITED IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION AND THAT'S FOR HANDS-ON WORKFORCE PROGRAMS. UH, WE ARE HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH THE COORDINATING BOARD AND THE BOARD OF NURSING ABOUT, UH, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT NURSING COMPLETION AND WHETHER, UH, THE LACK OF CLINICAL SPOTS MEANS THAT WE CAN HAVE NURSING SIMULATION, UH, UH, PROGRAMS TO GET THE NURSES OVER THE FINISH LINE.
UM, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSION ON BOTH SIDES OF THAT ISSUE THAT THAT'S CONTINUING TO BE ONGOING, BUT FOR THE MOST PART INSTRUCTION WILL BE ONLINE.
UH, SECOND THING I WANTED TO SAY IS THAT WE ARE CLOSELY MONITORING THE FEDERAL, UH, NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING THE NEXT ROUND OF STIMULUS.
UH, OUR, OUR, ONE OF OUR POSITIONS IS THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY FUTURE STUDENT EMERGENCY FUNDING, UH, ALLOWS FOR, FOR
[01:10:01]
DACA RECIPIENTS TO BE ABLE TO, UH, ACCESS THE FUNDING.WE RECOGNIZE IN THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP SITUATION, THAT THAT MIGHT BE A TALL ORDER TO GET THAT THROUGH, BUT, UH, THAT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF OUR STRONG POSITIONS ON THE, ON, UH, IN THE FEDERAL NEGOTIATIONS.
UH, THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO SAY WAS THAT, UH, ABOUT A WEEK AND A HALF, TWO WEEKS AGO, THE GOVERNOR RELEASED ABOUT $118 MILLION OF HIS, UH, GOVERNOR'S EMERGENCY EDUCATION RELIEF FUNDS, AND 46 MILLION OF THAT WENT TO FUNDING, UH, SHORT TERM UPSKILLING AND RESKILLING PROGRAMS FOR, UH, FOR QUICK TURN ONLINE WORKFORCE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DISPLACED PEOPLE IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY, UH, ESPECIALLY FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME COLLEGE, BUT NO CREDENTIAL.
AND SO WE ARE WORKING WITH THE COORDINATING BOARD AND OUR WORKFORCE PARTNERS TO TRY TO OPERATIONALIZE HOW, WHEN THIS $46.5 MILLION COMES THROUGH THIS, ISN'T JUST AUSTIN.
UH, HOW WE GET THAT INTO THE HANDS OF, UH, PEOPLE WHO ARE LOOKING TO RESCALE LOOKING TO GET, UH, UH, A, A CREDENTIAL SO THAT THEY CAN GET BACK INTO THE WORKFORCE.
SO THOSE ARE MY LARGE ANNOUNCEMENTS, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
IT'S CHRIS AND IN THE GROUP CHAT, UH, GUSTAVO WAS HERE FOR TAMRA POSTED SOME UPDATES THERE.
UH, I ALMOST FORGOT THAT THAT WAS ALSO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE COUNCIL FUNDED IN OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR AS A RESULT OF THE RE-IMAGINING WORK.
CAUSE WE ADDED MORE MONEY FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
UH, GOODWILL WILL BE FROM GOODWILL.
THEN IT SAID THAT WAS GOODWILL.
HOLLY, LIKE TO TALK ABOUT SCHOOL DISTRICT ASD, UM, I'LL START DR.
HOLLY, IF YOU CAN, IF YOU CAN ADD TO WHAT I'M GOING TO SAY, FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE WELCOMING A NEW SUIT, EVERY WELCOME TO NEW SUPERINTENDENT, DR.
AND WE WERE VERY PLEASED TO HAVE HER ON BOARD.
CRUZ TO TRANSITION INTO HER LEADERSHIP.
UM, CURRENTLY WE ARE, UH, YOU PROBABLY KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE STARTING SCHOOL SEPTEMBER THE EIGHTH, AND WE'LL BE ONLINE UNLESS STUDENTS COME IN, PARENTS COME IN AND SAY, OR INDICATE TO CAMPUSES THAT THEY NEED, UM, HELP.
THEY, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY ACCESS TO DEVICES.
UM, AND THEN WE WOULD PROVIDE SOME LIMITED OPPORTUNITY FOR THEM TO BE ON CAMPUS, TO DO THAT.
WE'VE APPLIED FOR A WAIVER TO EXTEND ON OUR ONLINE LEARNING PAST OCTOBER 4TH.
AND WE'RE STILL WAITING FOR AISD AS HE, AS ME FOR TEA TO RESPOND TO THAT.
UM, I WAS IN A MEETING, A ZOOM MEETING WITH SOME ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS THIS WEEK, AND THEY ARE SAYING THAT THEY ARE REACHING OUT ONE TO ONE.
CALLING FAMILY STAFF ARE CALLING FAMILIES TO CONNECT WITH THEM AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE AWARE WHEN SCHOOL STARTS, THAT THEY ARE AWARE THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO DEVICES AND WHERE THOSE WILL BE DISTRIBUTED.
UM, AND WHAT THE SCHOOL YEAR WILL LOOK LIKE.
THERE IS A DRAFT REOPENING PLAN ON THE, ON THE WEBSITE, UM, CURRENTLY.
AND, UH, RIGHT NOW OUR MAJOR CHALLENGES CENTER AROUND REACHING STUDENTS, MAKING SURE THAT THEY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY SO THAT THEY CAN ACCESS OUR ONLINE COURSES ALSO CONCERNS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH.
AND THE ALREADY BEEN MENTIONED ARE FRONT AND CENTER FOR US AND MAKING SURE THAT OUR FAMILIES AND OUR, OUR STAFF, OUR STAFF IS VERY CONCERNED RIGHT NOW ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN WE HAVE TO GO BACK IN PERSON.
UM, SO THAT IS BASICALLY IN A NUTSHELL, WHAT'S GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
HOLLY, DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ADD TO THAT? I'LL SEE, TY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR, YOUR LEADERSHIP.
UM, I THINK, UM, I JUST WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSCORE WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH PIECE.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE VERY ATTUNED TO RIGHT NOW.
AND SO A SMALL THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS EARLIER.
AND SO, UM, BUT YEAH, I THINK YOU COVERED IT WELL, AND WE'RE STILL, YOU WANT TO SAY WE'RE STILL ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO LEARN ABOUT THE COMMUNITY'S NEEDS.
AND, UM, WELL, WE'LL BE IN INVOLVED WITH THE CONVERSATION TOMORROW THAT THE COMMUNITY IS CALLED THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TRUST.
AND SO JUST WANT TO REITERATE THAT WE'RE STILL LISTENING IS THINGS ARE STILL VERY FLUID.
UM, BUT I'M EXCITED ABOUT HOW WE CAN SERVE OUR STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY THOSE MARGINALIZED.
UH, AND UH, OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, I DON'T SEE ANY MEALS FROM OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UH, ACC, THIS IS CHRIS.
[01:15:01]
HOUSTON.HEY, EVERYBODY, I'M LIZ JOHNSON, HOPE YOU ALL ARE DOING WELL.
AND SCHOOL STARTS FOR US IN A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK ON THE 24TH.
AND WE HAVE 90% OF OUR COURSES WILL BE ONLINE IN JULY.
WE GAVE OUR STUDENTS A CHOICE IF THEY WANTED TO COME BACK AND LIVE ON CAMPUS, OR IF THEY WANTED TO STAY WHERE THEY ARE, WHERE THEY WERE.
SO OUR HOUSING WILL BE AT ABOUT 50%.
WE KNOW MANY STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE HOUSING SITUATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN IDEAL FOR THE LAST FIVE MONTHS OR EVEN, UM, HAVE INTERNET ACCESS AND, UM, KEY INFRASTRUCTURE THEY NEED TO, TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR LEARNING.
SO THAT'S KIND OF WAS OUR THOUGHT PROCESS AND REOPENING OUR HOUSING, UM, AS WELL.
UM, AND, UH, WE IT'S, WE REOPENED OUR CAMPUS.
WE HAVE SENT EVERLY WELL TEST KITS TO ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES AND STUDENTS THAT ARE COMING BACK, UM, AND ARE REQUIRING DAILY SCREENINGS FOR, UM, THE CORONAVIRUS FOR PEOPLE WHO WILL BE ON CAMPUS.
UM, SO IT'S BEEN KIND OF A MULTI DEPARTMENTAL, UH, EFFORT TO GET OUR STUDENTS BACK SAFELY TO CAMPUS AS WELL.
UM, WE CONTINUE TO AWARD EMERGENCY AID FUNDS, UM, THEIR CARES ACT.
AND THEN THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE JUST ANNOUNCED TODAY, 46.5 MILLION IN STUDENT EMERGENCY FUND.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH HABIT THAT GETS DISTRIBUTED TO OUR STUDENT POPULATION AS WELL.
UM, WE'VE HAD SOME GOOD CONVERSATIONS WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.
IT'S BEEN GOOD TO PARTNER, BUT DR.
S SCOTT AND, UM, STEPHANIE HAYDEN TO ENSURE THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS IN LINE WITH THE CITY.
SO WE'RE TALKING WITH THEM ABOUT CONTACT TRACING.
WE WE'LL, WE'LL DO OUR OWN CONTRACT TRACING ON CAMPUS AND WORK WITH, UM, APH FOR, UH, EFFORTS OUTSIDE OF OUR FIRST STUDENTS THAT ARE OFF CAMPUS AS WELL.
UM, AND KIND OF OVERALL, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO A SAFE AND SOCIALLY DISTANCED START TO CAMPUS AND KNOW THAT ALL OF YOU, WHAT OUR PLANS ARE TODAY, WE'LL CONTINUE TO ADJUST AS WE LEARN MORE AND BECOME MORE NIMBLE DURING THE PANDEMIC AS WELL.
KATRINA, ARE YOU, ARE YOU STILL HERE? YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT HD SEEING THE LIST? HI, I AM STILL HERE.
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL OF OUR STUDENTS WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS SEMESTER.
UM, SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE, BUT WE JUST DID THE FACT THAT STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY OUR STUDENTS ARE IN THE HIGHER COMMUNITY WITH, COVID-19 JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE CAN MOVE FORWARD FOR FALL 2014.
UH, SO G THANKS COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, IT'S REALLY GREAT TO SEE YOU ALL, AND I REALLY DO APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THAT EVERYBODY IS DOING.
NOT ONLY, OBVIOUSLY, AS I CAN REMEMBER, BUT ALSO AS A PARENT IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, AT UT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, LIKE SAINT ED'S AND HG AND ACC, JUST TRYING TO PREPARE FOR, UM, OUR STUDENT POPULATION.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ABOUT OVER HALF OF OUR STUDENTS, UM, COMING TO CAMPUS.
AND SO OF COURSE WE'RE MAKING PLANS FOR THAT, INCLUDING PROACTIVE, UM, TESTING.
UM, I BELIEVE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE TESTING 5,000 STUDENTS A WEEK, AS WELL AS, UH, RAPID TESTING, UH, EVERY DAY, UM, AS WELL AS CONTACT TRACING.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE DOING WHAT WE CAN THERE IN TERMS OF JUST KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY PHYSICALLY SAFE.
UM, WE ARE ALSO, UH, IN LEARNING GROUPS RIGHT NOW.
I KNOW THOSE OF US WHO ARE TEACHING IN THE FALL ARE PART OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT LEARNING COMMUNITIES, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO TEACH ONLINE, UM, WITH THE REALITY THAT, UH, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE REST OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR LOOKS LIKE.
AND SO, UM, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UM, PLANS RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE PLANS TO COME BACK FOR FOOTBALL.
WE HAVE PLANS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, BE IN PERSON, UM, IN THE SPRING, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING, WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING ALTERNATIVE PLANS JUST IN CASE.
AND, UM, IN THAT REGARD, I THINK THIS HAS TRULY BEEN OUR CRUCIBLE MOMENT AND SORT OF, UM, WHERE WE ARE RECONSIDERING SORT OF
[01:20:01]
EVERYTHING WE DO AS A UNIVERSITY, AND REALLY THINKING ABOUT LIKE, WHAT IS A UNIVERSITY FOR, WHAT ARE THE PURPOSES OF THIS PLACE? RIGHT.AND SO, UH, WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THAT.
NOT ONLY IN TERMS OF COVID, WE WERE THINKING ABOUT THAT IN TERMS OF RACE EQUITY, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE, UM, VIEWED DR.
MORRIS SIX PART HISTORY OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE CLASS, WHICH WAS REALLY, UM, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO WATCH IT.
HE'S A, HE'S A REALLY WONDERFUL TEACHER.
UM, BUT THAT, UH, HAS HISTORY THAT SPIRIT HAS PERVADED THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
UM, YOU MAY HAVE ALSO HEARD THAT J HER EXEL, WHO WAS OUR INTERIM PRESIDENT IS OUR SOLE FINALIST FOR THE, THE ACTUAL PRESIDENCY.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, HE HAS, IT'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNER TO US ALREADY IN THE SHORT TIME THAT HE'S BEEN IN THIS ROLE IN TERMS OF ENCOURAGING US TO THINK INNOVATIVELY ABOUT RECRUITMENT OF BLACK AND BROWN STUDENTS, OF RETENTION, OF STUDENTS, OF THINKING ABOUT OUR STUDENTS' NEEDS, ESPECIALLY DURING THIS TIME OF UNCERTAINTY, ESPECIALLY AS WE'RE THINKING ABOUT STUDENTS LEAVING CAMPUS AT THANKSGIVING AND NOT COMING BACK UNTIL AFTER THE NEW YEAR.
UM, HE'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNER.
YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED EMAILS ABOUT SOME, SOME CHANGES ON OUR TEAM CAMPUS THAT MAY ENCOURAGE A MORE INCLUSIVE CAMPUS, INCLUDING CHANGING THE NAMES OF BUILDINGS, UM, UH, MAKING SURE PROACTIVE EFFORT TO HONOR THE PRECURSORS, THE FIRST CLASS OF BLACK UNDERGRADUATES TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, UM, AND, UH, AND PUTTING AWAY A LOT OF TIME AND EFFORT INTO RETHINKING WHAT WE DO IN TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH.
SO, UM, I THINK WHERE WE'RE IN IT WITH ALL OF YOU AS WELL, IN TERMS OF, UM, THINKING THROUGH HOW DO WE MAKE THE MOST OF A VERY, VERY STRANGE MOMENT.
UM, I WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT OUR, UM, MY CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WILL BE, UH, WE'RE WORKING ON OPENING OUR JOHN S. CHASE BUILDING ON EAST 11TH IN NAVASOTA, AND WE SHOULD BE OPENING THAT BUILDING IN ANY, TECHNICALLY IT OPENS IN JANUARY, BUT I HAVE SAID THAT IF WE CAN'T GET A BLOCK PARTY TOGETHER, AND EVERYBODY WE KNOW TOGETHER WEARING MASKS, IF WE HAVE TO, UM, THEN WE CAN, WE CAN HOLD OFF ON THAT, UM, CELEBRATION UNTIL MAY.
BUT, UM, I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.
THAT IS, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, TENURE, UH, PROGRAM, UM, BUILDING OPENING IN THE MAKING.
AND SO, UM, I AM EXCITED TO SHARE THAT SPACE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND WITH ALL OF YOU AND ALL OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS, OUR CHALLENGES GOING FORWARD, UM, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE SERVE OUR MOST DIVERSE STUDENTS? THIS SORT OF ALLUDED TO THE IDEA THAT, YOU KNOW, WE LOST SOME OF OUR STUDENTS IN THE SPRING, HOW DO WE NOT LOSE THOSE STUDENTS IN THE FALL? HOW DO WE MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY HAS, UM, THE EQUIPMENT, THE TECHNOLOGY, EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED AND TO PARTICIPATE, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, AND, AND HOW DO WE, HOW DOES THIS UNIVERSITY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE STAFF MEMBERS THERE WHO ARE PART OF THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO HOW DOES WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY IMPACT THE WAY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO SERVE OUR STUDENTS? I THINK GOING FORWARD, HOW CAN CAN SUPPORT US PLEASE? YOU KNOW, LET ME KNOW HOW YOU WANT TO WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS.
WE ALL HAVE NEEDS IN OUR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND ARE, AND ALL OF YOUR ORGANIZATIONS, UM, OUR STUDENTS CAN HELP YOU BUILD CAPACITY.
WE WANT TO GIVE THEM AS MUCH NORMALCY AS POSSIBLE.
WE WANT TO PROVIDE A LOT OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THIS YEAR, UM, IN CASE, UM, YOU KNOW, IN CASE THAT HAS TO BE OUR STRENGTH THIS YEAR IS PROVIDING THEM EXPERIENCE AND, AND, UH, SOME SKILLS.
AND, UM, I ASKED THAT YOU, UM, JUST ALLOW ME, I'LL PROBABLY CALL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU ABOUT THAT, THE CHASE BUILDING OPENING, AND, AND JUST FIND OUT HOW YOU WANT TO USE THAT PUBLIC SPACE, HOW WE CAN SORT OF AS A, AS A COLLABORATIVE, UM, HOLD SPACE IN THE COMMUNITY FOR THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE AND FOR ELEVATING EQUITY.
THANKS FOR WATCHING QUICK, THANK YOU TO CT.
CAUSE GETTING BACK TO THE STUDENT INTERNS, I GUESS, UH, UH, WE, WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF UT INTERNS THAT ARE HELPING US OUT.
UH, ONE IS, UM, BEGINNING TO MANAGE OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT, UM, AND ALSO ANOTHER ONE.
[01:25:01]
LANGUAGE ACCESS, UM, PROJECT OR INITIATIVE, AND THERE'S ANOTHER STUDENT LATER IN THE FALL, WHO'S GOING TO HELP WITH THE RACE EQUITY ASSET MAP THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING, AND THEN WE'LL SHARE, YOU KNOW, EITHER NEXT MONTH OR THE FOLLOWING MONTH.BUT I DO WANT TO THANK YOU FOR PUTTING US IN TOUCH WITH THOSE VERY CAPABLE INDIVIDUALS.
JEREMY, WANT TO GO FIRST? SURE.
UM, I LIKE THE FRAMEWORK THAT WAS PROVIDED FOR US, AND IT'S VERY HELPFUL TO PUT TOGETHER THE COMMENTS IN TERMS OF RECENT SUCCESSES, UH, TO GIVE A SILVER LINING TO THE CLOUD THAT WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH WITH REGIONAL ECONOMIC STRUGGLES.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT UNEMPLOYMENT IS FALLING IN THE REGION AND THE MOST RECENT NUMBERS SHOW THAT WE'VE GOT JUST UNDER 91,000 UNEMPLOYED IN JUNE, UM, IN THE REGION, THAT'S A 7.5% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE THAT IS DOWN FROM APRIL WHERE WE HAD 143,000 UNEMPLOYED AND A 12.7% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE.
SO, UH, 52,000 CENTRAL TEXANS BACK TO WORK, UH, FINDING JOBS AND 52,000 IS A KEY NUMBER BECAUSE JUST THIS WEEK WE ANNOUNCED THAT, UH, FOR ALL THE JOB POSTINGS THAT WE'RE TRACKING, THERE ARE 52,000 AVAILABLE JOB POSTINGS THIS MONTH, UH, FIELD SUCH AS TECH, HEALTHCARE, RETAIL, FOOD SERVICES, AND, UH, COMPANIES THAT ARE SEEKING TO RELOCATE OR EXPAND IN THE AUSTIN AREA ANNOUNCED JUST UNDER 7,000 NEW JOBS LAST MONTH, THAT INCLUDES THE TESLA ANNOUNCEMENT WITH 5,000 JOBS.
I WANT TO THANK TRAVIS COUNTY AND DEL VALLEY ISD FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP AND PARTNERING WITH THE COMPANY.
AND THAT DOES NOT, UH, THAT JOBS NUMBER DOES NOT INCLUDE BAE WITH THEIR ANNOUNCEMENT EARLIER THIS WEEK OF 375 NEW JOBS NOW.
SO THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT ARE GROWING, HIRING, LOOKING TO EXPAND, AND WE'RE HAPPY TO DO OUR PART TO HELP CONNECT SEEKERS WITH EMPLOYERS.
UM, AND ONE LAST NOTE ON THAT, UM, THERE WERE 4,300 NEW FIRST TIME POSTINGS.
UH, SO THERE ARE COMPANIES THAT ARE CONSTANTLY PUTTING NEW JOBS OUT THERE.
IN ADDITION TO THE POSTINGS THAT WERE THERE BEFORE, UM, WITH RESPECT TO CHALLENGES, UH, WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THROUGH OUR TASKFORCE.
WE PARTNERED WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO CONDUCT TWO SURVEYS OF LOCAL BUSINESSES, UH, GENERAL BUSINESS SURVEY, AND VERY FOCUSED ON CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
AND I WANT TO THANK MARINA AND THE AGENT CHAMBER FOR HELPING US WITH TRANSLATION SERVICES TO HELP EXPAND THE BREADTH OF THE, UM, OUTREACH THAT WE DID.
AND AS IT WAS REPORTED IN THE NEWS, VERY DIFFICULT CHALLENGES STILL AHEAD FOR OUR HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, SPECIFICALLY LIVE MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT.
AND ALSO ANOTHER CHALLENGE THAT WE FEATURED RECENTLY AS DAVID EVANS AND SIMONE MENTIONED SCHOOLS IN THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
UH, WE'VE BEEN CONDUCTING SURVEYS WITH OUR LOCAL DISTRICTS TO FIGURE OUT HOW BUSINESS CAN HELP.
AND IN THAT SURVEY, THERE ARE GAPS IN ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.
WE DO HAVE PRETTY GOOD COVERAGE OF BROADBAND THROUGHOUT THE REGION, BUT IT IS THE ADOPTION OF THAT BROADBAND SERVICE THAT THERE IS, UH, THAT CAUSES THAT GAP WITH THE STUDENTS ACCESSING, UH, HIGH SPEED INTERNET.
UM, THE GOOD NEWS IS MOST OF THE DISTRICTS DO HAVE ONE-TO-ONE DEVICES FOR STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY MIDDLE SCHOOL, HIGH SCHOOL LEVELS.
BUT ONE CHALLENGE IS THAT MOST OF THE DISTRICTS HAD TO DRAW DOWN RESERVES TO PAY FOR THAT CAPITAL EXPENSE.
SO FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS WILL BE A KEY ISSUE THIS NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, IN TERMS OF THAT SUPPORT SECTION, I JUST WANT TO TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO SAY, UH, THANK YOU TO A LOT OF THE CANNED PARTNERS ON THE CALL.
I MEAN, FIRST WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH OUR NEW PARTNER AT THE HISPANIC CHAMBER, FORMER STATE REPRESENTATIVE, DEANNA MALDONADO.
UM, AS SHERRY MENTIONED EARLIER, WANT TO THANK THE CITY AND COUNTY STAFF FOR ALL THEIR WORK TO, UM, HELP DISTRIBUTE THE FEDERAL CARES ACT FUNDS TO OUR LOCAL BUSINESSES, UH, WHO ARE ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT ARE STRUGGLING.
ONE TO THANK OUR FRIENDS AT HOUSTON TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY FOR THEIR RECENTLY ANNOUNCED PARTNERSHIP WITH TESLA, UH, THANKS TO WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS AND ACC FOR THEIR WORK ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY THOSE OUT OF WORK TODAY.
HOW CAN WE UPSCALE FOR THOSE JOB POSTINGS THAT ARE OPEN RIGHT NOW? UM, ONE OF THE THINGS UNITED WAY, ESPECIALLY CATHOLIC POURS FOR ALL OF THE WORK ON CHILDCARE, SUCH A HUGE ISSUE
[01:30:01]
NOW AND IN THE FUTURE, UH, THANKS TO DAVID EVANS FOR WHAT HE MENTIONED EARLIER, PROVIDING ALL THOSE RESOURCES TO EMPLOYERS TO ASSIST, UH, THOSE THAT ARE STRUGGLING WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CHALLENGES AND HELPING US, UH, LOOK FOR THE SIGNS AND HOW WE CAN BEST SUPPORT ONE TO THANK CAP METRO FOR PROMOTE PROMOTING OUR TASK FORCE MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO WEAR MASKS.UH, SO THIS IS A GOOD EXAMPLE, UH, THROUGHOUT THESE FEW MONTHS OF HOW, UH, ALL THE CANNED PARTNERS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO WORK IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, UH, AND I'M GLAD TO HAVE BEEN PART OF IT.
UM, THE LAST THING I WANT TO MENTION IS, UH, OUR FINANCIAL AID SATURDAYS, WE'LL BE STARTING UP IN OCTOBER AND THAT'S WHERE WE WORK WITH GRADUATING SENIORS TO HELP THEM FILL OUT THEIR FINANCIAL AID FORMS, SECURE THOSE PRECIOUS DOLLARS TO HELP WITH, UH, PAYING FOR POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION VOLUNTEER TRAINING BEGINS LATER THIS MONTH.
I WANT TO THANK ALL OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT PARTNERS FOR WORKING WITH OUR BUSINESS VOLUNTEERS TO HELP MAKE COLLEGE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL OF OUR GRADUATING SENIORS.
SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER FOR REMINDING, UM, JEREMY MENTIONED A LOT OF THINGS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN JUST BEING PART OF AND SUPPORTING, BUT SPECIFICALLY WE'RE JUST, YOU KNOW, KEEPING TRACK OF ALL THE DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITIES AND RESOURCES AND, UM, DOING OUR PART IS BEING BRIDGED, MAKING SURE THE ASIAN COMMUNITY KNOWS ABOUT IT.
UM, TRANSLATING, INTERPRETING WHERE THAT'S NECESSARY.
UM, THE PFLUGERVILLE CARE SEC, THAT WAS A NICE ONE.
WHEN WE SENT OUT ANYTHING, WE HAVE QUITE A FEW VIETNAMESE BUSINESSES LOCATED IN PFLUGERVILLE WHO APPLIED.
UM, AND THEN JUST SHARING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL ACE, WHICH IS A NATIONAL ASIAN CHAMBER NDA, DIFFERENT RESOURCES AND EVENTS PANELS, AND SHARING THAT WITH OUR COMMUNITY TOO.
SO THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO.
CAN YOU HEAR ME, UM, HELLO EVERYONE.
UM, UH, THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR ALL, ALL OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING.
AND, UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT ON BEHALF OF THE, UH, BLACK CHAMBER.
I DROPPED THE LINK TO THE CHAMBER'S WEBSITE A LITTLE WHILE AGO, SO YOU CAN SEE WHATEVER, ANY UPDATES THAT HAVE BEEN GOING THERE, BUT, UM, HAVING CHECKED IN WITH TAM IT'S, YOU KNOW, YEAH.
WHAT PRETTY MUCH WHAT EVERYONE'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT, RIGHT.
JUST CONTINUING TO ENGAGE AND KEEP KEEPING TRACK OF THE NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WHILE ALSO TRYING TO WORK THROUGH SOME NEW PROJECTS IN THE MIDST OF ALL OF THIS.
SO, UM, THE BLACK CHAMBER IS WORKING ON SOME THINGS THAT CAN BE SUPPORTIVE TO, UM, BLACK PROFESSIONALS AND, UM, BUSINESS OWNERS, UM, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF COVID, UM, KIND OF LOOKING FORWARD, UM, PAST THE PANDEMIC.
AND SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT AND HAVING BEEN A PART OF THE CONVERSATIONS ON SOME OF THESE MAJOR, UM, UH, UH, PROJECTS, INCLUDING TESLA, I'M APPRECIATIVE FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE AND TO CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD.
SO, PATRICIA, I DON'T SEE ANYBODY FROM THE HISPANIC CHAMBER, UH, ALTHOUGH THEY DID HIRE A NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FORMER STATE REP DIANA MALDONADO, WHICH IS VERY EXCITING.
SHE USED TO REPRESENT WILLIAMSON COUNTY, WHICH, YOU KNOW, I TALK ABOUT ALL THE TIME.
SO, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING HER JOINING US IN THE FUTURE.
RICH, WHY DON'T YOU UPDATE US ON THE LGBT, OH, YOU GOT SOMETHING ROLE.
I JUST WANT TO SAY I DID SPEAK DIANA AND SHE WAS GOING TO TRY TO BE HERE IF THEIR SCHEDULE PERMITS.
OBVIOUSLY IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE, BUT I DID REACH OUT TO HER TO CONNECT.
AND IF Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED, I DID HAVE BOTH MARINA AND DIANA ON MY LIVE SHOW LAST WEEK.
I PUT SOME OF THESE WINS AND LOSSES QUESTIONS TO TINA CANNON SINCE SHE IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OR THE PRESIDENT AND CEO, AND HAS MORE OF THE DAY TO DAY INVOLVEMENT IN THE CHAMBER THAN I DO.
UH, HER, UM, CHALLENGES SEEM TO CENTER AROUND OUR BUSINESS MEMBERS, HAVING A DIFFICULT TIME, NAVIGATING ALL OF THE FORMS THAT ARE OUT THERE FOR THEM TO FILL OUT DIFFERENT FORMS, WHERE TO FIND CURRENT INFORMATION, ET CETERA.
BUT THIS WAS BEFORE WE SAW THE WEEKEND ATX, UH, WEBSITE THAT OUR WILL, UH, SHOWED US A LITTLE BIT EARLIER.
[01:35:01]
I'LL DIRECT HER TO THAT AS FOR OUR ORGANIZATION.I'M JUST GOING TO READ THIS VERBATIM AS FOR OUR ORGANIZATION IN PARTICULAR, LIKE ALL WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT REGIONAL ECONOMIC STRENGTH.
WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF BUSINESSES THAT WE'RE LOSING, ESPECIALLY LOCAL BUSINESSES, AND THAT WE WILL CONTINUE EXCUSE ME, THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOSE WORRIED ABOUT THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES TO THAT IN THE WINDS THAT SHE HAS SAID THAT WE HAVE HAD, WE HAVE HAD 70 EVENTS, WEBINARS, ET CETERA, SINCE THE SHUTDOWN ALL FOCUSED ON HELPING SMALL BUSINESS MEMBERS, UH, OUR ADVOCACY COMMITTEE HAS BEEN WORKING VERY HARD.
AND ONE OF THE WINS THAT WE WILL BE REPORTING ON IN OUR NEXT MEETING IS THAT IN SEPTEMBER ON THE 14TH, WHICH I BELIEVE IS A MONDAY AND THE 18TH, WHICH IS A FRIDAY, WE ARE HAVING A CANDIDATE FORUM, CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUM.
AND THERE'LL BE MORE INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE FOR THAT.
WE ALSO DID AN EVENT IN COLLABORATION WITH THE NASHVILLE GAY CHAMBER, A PRIDE IN LOCAL MUSIC, WHICH IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE REPEATED ONLINE ON AUGUST 25TH.
WE WERE RAISING MONEY FOR AUSTIN MUSICIANS AND HAM.
AND IN THE FIRST EVENT WE HAD OVER 5,000 VIEWERS AND WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL HAVE THAT MANY OR MORE WHEN THIS NEXT EVENT IS PUBLICIZED A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN I THOUGHT IT WAS BEFORE THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMMITTEE HAS FOCUSED ON OBVIOUSLY THE HEALTH OF OUR MEMBERS, BUT WE'VE TAKEN A DIFFERENT TACK TO IT.
WE ARE FOCUSING MORE ON HAVING FUN WITH OUR WEBINARS BECAUSE A LOT OF THIS INFORMATION THAT WE WERE DOING EARLY ON SERIOUS STUFF.
SO WE DID ONE ON THE ART OF HEALING AND WHICH WE DID LETTER WRITING, AND SOME FUN WITH THAT SELFIE SKETCHING, ADD SOME FUN WITH THAT.
AND WE HAD A VERY SERIOUS HEALTH PROFESSIONALS THAT HELP US WITH THIS EFFORT.
WE ARE GOING FORWARD WITH A FEW MORE EVENTS, ONE, INCLUDING A SCAVENGER HUNT.
NOT REALLY SURE WHAT'S GOING TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT BECAUSE THAT WAS JUST DECIDED YESTERDAY, BUT WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON THAT AS WE GO ALONG.
AND IT'S 104 DEGREES RIGHT NOW WITH THE HEAT INDEX OF ONE OH SEVEN.
WELL, I HAVEN'T LEFT MY HOUSE IN FOUR MONTHS, SO I COULDN'T EVEN TELL YOU WHAT TEMPERATURE IT WAS SPOKEN THAT I HAVE AN AIR CONDITIONER BENT RIGHT ABOVE MY HEAD.
SO I'VE BEEN ON SOME CALLS WITH A JACKET ON PEOPLE MAKING FUN OF ME, UH, SO THAT THAT'S THE END OF OUR LIST.
UM, DID I MISS ANYBODY ROLL? YOU WANT TO CHIME IN? YEAH, I MEAN, I WANTED TO, IF WE HAVE A FEW MINUTES JUST TO SHOW YOU OUR PODCAST WEBSITE, IF, UM, CAUSE IT'S KIND OF A LOT OF INFO THERE AND YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW THAT THERE'S THAT MUCH INFO THERE, BUT, UH, BUT IF, IF WE WANT TO HAVE ANOTHER CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, UM, AND MAYBE JUST GIVE ME A FEW MINUTES TO DO THAT BEFORE WE END YET.
UM, YEAH, I WISH I HAD PULLED TOGETHER THE BIG, LONG LIST OF STUFF THE CITY HAS BEEN DOING.
UM, CAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, UH, SHERRY KIND OF REMINDED ME THAT, YOU KNOW, CITY'S HAS GOT ITS SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAMS, IT'S RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, THE RISE PROGRAM, THE PROGRAM PROGRAM PROGRAM.
UM, AND IT'S BEEN FUN TO SEE THE CITY AND THE COUNTY B BE SOME GOOD PARTNERS, I THINK IN THAT WORK.
UM, THERE'LL BE A LOT OF CHANGE AT THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT OVER THE NEXT YEAR.
SO IT'LL BE A WHOLE NEW WORLD.
UM, AND I'M HOPEFUL TO SEE THAT THAT RELATIONSHIP IMPROVE.
I JUST, I WANTED TO THANK RICH FOR BRINGING UP ALL THE CANDIDATE FORUMS AND SUCH THAT ARE GOING TO BE COMING UP.
I KNOW THAT MANY OF US ARE TRANSITIONING FROM WORKING ON CENSUS COMMITTEES TO SERVING ON LIKE CIVIC COALITIONS WOULD JUST CHANGED THE WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LETTERS, UM, AS WE HEAD INTO, UM, INTO THE FALL.
UM, AND I DO WANT TO SORT OF UNDERSCORE THAT, THAT, THAT IS GOING TO BE A MAJOR AREA OF, UM, PROMOTION AMONG OUR STUDENTS AS WELL.
OUR STUDENTS ARE REALLY ENGAGED RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, AND IT'S GREAT THAT SO MUCH OF THAT CAN BE DONE ONLINE.
I JUST ENCOURAGE US ALL TO, TO SHARE ACROSS THE NETWORK.
THANKS, THANKS FOR BRINGING THAT UP TO CHEAT.
UM, SOME OF US ARE ON THE BALLOT THIS NOVEMBER.
IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT THE, THAT THE COUNCIL HAS BEEN DOING IS VERY MUCH TRANSFORMATIONAL AND ON SOME LEVEL IT'S LEADING THE NATION, THE CHANGES AND THE REFORMS THAT WE MADE THIS WEEK, UH, ARE ON PAR WITH THE SCALE OF CHANGES THAT WERE MADE IN LOS ANGELES WITH A DEPARTMENT THAT IS ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE BIGGER THAN OURS, BUT IT JUST SHOWS YOU THAT THE SCALE OF WORK THAT WE DO IN AUSTIN IS IT'S THE SAME WAY THAT YOU ALL DO.
IT'S TRANSFORMATIONAL AND, AND IT'S RISKY.
IT'S RISKY IN THE SENSE THAT THERE ARE FOLKS WHO AREN'T LISTENING
[01:40:01]
TO, THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.THEY'RE LISTENING TO THE RHETORIC THAT PEOPLE WRITE ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
UM, IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY COMPLICATED FALL.
ON THE ELECTORAL SIDE, THERE ARE ALREADY NEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES THAT HAVE FORMED ONES THAT WILL NOT BE PUBLISHING THEIR DONORS.
THERE ARE GOING TO BE EFFORTS TO MAKE EXAMPLES OUT OF CERTAIN ELECTED OFFICIALS, BECAUSE THEY THINK THOSE ARE THE ONES MOST VULNERABLE.
AND THOSE ARE THE ONES WHOSE ELECTIONS CAN BE USED TO SEND A MESSAGE.
UM, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE AN EASY CAMPAIGN.
I'LL SAY AT LEAST FROM MY PART, YOU KNOW, I, I, I AM ON THE TRAIL, RIGHT? I'M DOING MY DIALING FOR DOLLARS THING AND ALL THAT.
AND I'VE LEARNED THAT FOLKS DON'T EVEN KNOW I HAVE OPPONENTS LIKE THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT IS NOT MAKING IT OUT OF THE BUBBLES.
OUR BUBBLES ARE SO SMALL RIGHT NOW THAT IT IS THE EXPLORATION, BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE RUNNING FOR OFFICE WHO ARE NOT, NOT INTERESTED IN MOVING THIS COMMUNITY FORWARD IN THE WAY.
I KNOW YOU ALL ARE TRYING TO MOVE THIS COMMUNITY FORWARD.
IT IS A, IT IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGING FALL.
SO I DON'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN THAT ON THE NATIONAL LEVEL, WE ALL KNOW THAT PART, BUT IT MAKES THE LOCAL ELECTIONS THAT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT.
AND I, AND NOT JUST IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, A LOT OF LOCAL ELECTIONS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN MAY GOT MOVED TO NOVEMBER.
SO YOU HAVE CITY ELECTIONS IN CEDAR PARK AND ROUND ROCK NOW IN NOVEMBER, WHEN THAT, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN MAY.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE A WILD NOVEMBER.
YOU WANTED TO SHOW US THE PANDEMIC OF THE, UH, THE PODCAST.
YEAH, I THINK SARAH SHE'S, UH, ON WITH GOODWILL'S.
SO SHE WANTED TO SAY A QUICK SOMETHING ABOUT THE KENNY.
THIS IS SARAH OLSON, MONDAY EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO KENNY HILL AT GOODWILL CENTRAL TEXAS.
HE JUST WANTED ME TO LET YOU KNOW, HE'S SORRY.
HE COULDN'T MAKE IT TODAY, BUT IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS FOR HIM OR ANY PARTNERSHIP THAT THEY'D LIKE TO REACH OUT TO HIM FOR, PLEASE REACH OUT TO HIM DIRECTLY.
AND, UH, SARAH LEE HAS ANY INFO HE'D LIKE FOR US TO SHARE WITH THE BOARD, LIKE AN UPDATE, LIKE A WRITTEN UPDATE.
I'M HAPPY TO SEND IT, YOU KNOW, TO, TO THE BOARD MEMBERS AS WELL.
UM, I'LL START FROM OUR MAIN WEBSITE HERE, CAUSE, UM, LET ME SEE IF I CAN DO THAT JUST SO YOU SEE HOW EASY IT IS TO NAVIGATE OUR MAIN WEBSITE, RIGHT? UH, SO THIS IS OUR MAIN CAN ATX.ORG AND YOU SEE, YOU CAN GET TO OUR DASHBOARD PRETTY EASILY WITH ONE CLICK, YOU CAN GET TO OUR EQUITY BLOG PRETTY EASILY, AND THAT, UM, HAS A LOT OF GREAT CONTENT, RIGHT? NOT ABOUT SORT OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES COVID IMPACTS ON IMMIGRANT WORKERS ON THE, ON ASIAN AMERICANS, UH, LATINOS, AFRICAN AMERICANS.
SO, UM, SO THESE ARE, UM, AGAIN, GOOD, A GOOD PLACE TO KIND OF LOOK AT SOME OF THESE MAIN ISSUES.
UM, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF OUR RACE EQUITY CONVERSATIONS, UH, WE CAN, UH, USE THESE AS TOOLS I THINK FOR, FOR THOSE KINDS OF CONVERSATIONS AROUND EQUITY AND ITS IMPACT.
BUT IF YOU GO, IF YOU CLICK ON PODCASTS, YOU GET THERE PRETTY, PRETTY QUICK.
AND, UM, YOU SEE ALL OF OUR, UM, EPISODES, RIGHT? LIKE IT'S EPISODE 13 AND YOU WILL SEE, I KEPT THEM OUT TOO.
I LIKE SENT ONE FOR SEVEN MINUTES OR LESS.
AND THAT ONE IS, CAUSE I COVERED TWO WEEKS INSTEAD OF JUST ONE WEEK.
CAUSE WE HAD TAKEN, I TOOK A WEEK OFF FROM THE, UM, FROM WORK.
UM, SO IT'S NOT A LOT OF TIME, BUT, UM, BUT YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP HERE FOR EMAIL NOTICES OF THE PODCAST.
SO YOU WANT AN EMAIL, YOU CAN CLICK ON IT AND JUST LISTEN.
OR IF YOU WANT TO GO TO APPLE PODCAST OR GOOGLE PODCAST, YOU JUST LOOK UP, GET ENGAGED.
AND IF YOU SEE THAT CAN DOT AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE RIGHT PODCAST.
AND UM, AND THEN FINALLY, YOU KNOW, IN ORDER TO DO THE PODCAST, WE HAD TO CREATE A CALENDAR SO THAT THESE ARE THE EVENTS I'M ADVERTISING IN THE PODCAST.
SO IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO LISTEN OR IF YOU'D RATHER JUST GO TO THE CALENDAR, YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE'RE HIGHLIGHTING IN THE, IN THE PODCAST AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY FIND LINKS RIGHT.
SO, UM, SO THEN, SO YOU CAN ACT, PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY SIGN UP FOR THOSE.
AND I THINK I GOT LOST, BUT, UH, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU ALL KNEW THAT THESE WERE ALL, THIS IS ON THAT PODCAST WEBSITE.
AND WE HAD TO CREATE A COMMUNITY CALENDAR IT'S FOR THE PODCAST.
IT'S NOT FOR EVERYTHING GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT, UH, IT'S ACTUALLY A PRETTY INTERESTING SET OF EVENTS, RIGHT? IF YOU WANT TO GO, JUST PERUSE THAT AS WELL, TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING, UM, THIS PARTICULAR WEEK OR IN THE FUTURE.
SO THANKS FOR, UM, FOR LETTING ME SHARE THAT.
AND, UH, IT'S BEEN A LOT OF FUN TO DO IT ACTUALLY IT'S, IT'S VERY DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING ELSE
[01:45:01]
WE DO AT CAMP.UM, BUT I GET TO PROMOTE OUR PARTNER ACTIVITIES, OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON WITH REGARD TO EQUITY THAT, UH, AGAIN, MAYBE, UH, OUR PARTNERS DON'T KNOW ABOUT AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS DON'T KNOW ABOUT.
SO, UH, THANKS TO OUR STAFF FOR HELPING TO MAKE THAT POSSIBLE.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, INPUT, SONG, AND DANCE NUMBERS.
I'LL HAVE THAT READY FOR I'LL HAVE THAT.
YOU'RE LIKE DON'T, DON'T TEMPT US.
DON'T THREATEN ME WITH A GOOD TIME.
WELL, THANKS EVERYBODY FOR YOUR TIME TODAY.
SEEING ALL YOUR FACES SOME DAY SOON IN PERSON, SOME OF YOU I HAVE SEEN IN PERSON.