Register here! 

 

We are excited to have you for our July EAT meeting! We know that not all of our community can make a weekday dinner so we are switching things up with a Saturday brunch! We are also traveling away from our Equity Office home base to the COA/YMCA Community Recreation Center. The center is a Resilience Hub pilot location and we are excited to connect with the Office of Resilience team to learn more about their resilience framework and their mini grant program. We'll also have space for additional community updates and calls to action. 

 

We'll connect over coffee and light breakfast starting at 10:30AM and get our meeting started by 11:00AM. Lunch will also be provided!

 

This is a great time to bring in new EAT members. Hope to see you and your community there!

At our June EAT meeting we were lucky to have the folks from UpTogether give a presentation updating us on our year-long guaranteed income pilot program to provide 135 households $1000 per month. You can view UpTogether's presentation here. Additionally, the Urban Institute has just released preliminary findings and data after six months of the program. Explore the findings here, interim findings will also be shared in Fall 2023 followed by a final report in late 2024. 

 

We also heard from Equity Action and learned more about their Community Investment Budget. You can view their presentation materials here and reach out to Daniela Silva should you have additional questions: danielasilvatx@gmail.com

 

 

The Equity Office is excited to open applications for its Equity Mini-Grants! The Equity Mini-Grant Fund, offered annually since 2018, is now open. We are focusing on services provided to two priority populations in Austin & Travis County: immigrant communities and the unhoused community. A total of $250,000 in funding is available. Recipients can apply for funding ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Applications are open until July 20, 2023 11:59PM CST. To learn more and apply, visit our Grant Programs website: https://www.austintexas.gov/department/grant-programs

 

The Office of Resilience has created a mini-grant program to support community organizers and organizations that serve racially and economically diverse Austinites to help reduce stresses while mitigating the impacts of shocks. Apply by August 4^th, 2023 for a chance to receive up to $3,000 in funding for preparedness training, supplies, workforce development, or any other initiative that supports Resilience Hubs. Learn more and apply: https://www.austintexas.gov/department/get-involved-5

 

To support communities in their efforts to grow, sell, and eat healthy food, the City of Austin’s Office of Sustainability is now accepting applications for the Food Justice Mini Grants program! The program offers grants of up to $3,000 to support community-driven solutions led by those most negatively impacted by the food system. Learn more and submit your application by July 11, 2023 at www.austintexas.gov/fjmg 

 

We are excited that the Enhanced Library Card pilot program has officially begun! This has been a successful collaboration between Austin Public Library, the Equity Office and several other city departments and community organizations. Talk about a net that works! Stop by one of the three pilot locations and get yours today and help us spread the word within your communities. To learn more visit library.austintexas.gov/enhanced

Book One of Octavia Butler's the Xenogenesis Series,  Dawn traces the journey of one woman who is called upon to rebuild the future of humankind after a nuclear war. Hopeful and thought-provoking, this post-apocalyptic narrative deftly explores gender and race through the eyes of characters struggling to adapt during a pivotal time of crisis and change.

 

The City of Austin will welcome a new city manager on Sept. 1, 2024 – more than 18 months after the city council and Mayor Kirk Watson voted to fire former city manager Spencer Cronk. A timeline of the process was recently released by the City. Officials will start by picking out a professional search firm, which will then list out potential candidates. After that, the community will be asked to provide its input.

As June comes to a humid close, we wanted to give a shout out to National Immigrant Heritage Month! In 2019, the City of Austin conducted a review of peer cities and the function of Immigrant Affairs Offices. This review determined we were one of the cities with the largest immigrant* communities without a central office to plan programming and services. As a result of this report, the City Council directed the creation of an Immigrant Affairs Office, and budgeted for an initial Immigrant Affairs Manager. In March 2020, the City hired Rocío Villalobos into this role and began its journey to staff and build out its Immigrant Affairs Office, currently a part of the Equity Office. 

• Subscribe to our Immigrant Affairs Newsletter to stay in the loop with local and national immigration updates, programs, and policies 
• Have a project or program serving the immigrant communities of Austin & Travis County? Apply for an Equity Mini-Grant by July 20, 2023! 

This photograph archived at the Austin History Center, taken by photographer Mary Kang in 2010, features four Nepali-origin Bhutanese women studying for their U.S. citizenship exam. Austin History Center, Austin Public Library, PICA-38038

Due to extreme heat, all Parks and Library facilities will serve as Cooling Centers during normal operating hours. All Parks and Library facilities can serve as a Cooling Centers during normal operating hours. Service animals are permitted in City facilities. To view the current list of cooling centers, locations and hours of operation, please visit  austintexas.gov/alerts.   

 

Need transportation to a cooling center? CapMetro is able to provide free rides to anyone seeking a cooling shelter without the means to pay a fare. 

 

For more tips on how to stay cool and safe, we invite you to watch and share this episode of MY API LIVE.

 

English - Stay Cool, Stay Safe and Prepared This Summer

https://youtu.be/GzIJ7qx_PI8

 

中文 - Stay Cool, Stay Safe and Prepared This Summer

https://youtu.be/MRj8oXz5l-w

 

Tiếng Việt | Stay Cool, Stay Safe and Prepared This Summer

https://youtu.be/VJQWp43_Nhw

Austin Central Library, July 3 12-6PM 

Are you ready to travel the world? Apply for a passport at our Passport Fair at Central on Monday, July 3rd, from noon to 6 PM. We'll accept walk-in applications until our capacity is reached, so come early to get a spot!

Want to get more involved in the city's food planning initiative? Visit the Austin/Travis County Food Plan site. You can also share your thoughts using the Visioning Survey

Casa Marianella shelter is currently over capacity and does not have enough space for all the new individuals and families showing up to their doors every day. They are looking for ATX locals to host some of our residents for a preferred 3-month period (shorter stays can be accomodated). You will make a big difference in someone’s life and this is a great opportunity if you are interested in cultural connection and language learning. If you live centrally or have access to a bus line, you would be an especially great fit! Contact Jennifer Long at jlong@casamarianella.org if you are interested. Visit our website for details and DM us with questions!

Check out this great summer lineup at Allgo! Follow them on instagram @allgoqpoc or visit https://linktr.ee/allgoqpoc to stay in the loop

RESN, a project of Communities of Color United, provides food distribution and political education for Black, Indigenous, Latine, and other folks of color in ATX. Stay tuned for details and in the meantime sign up to volunteer and learn. 

Show us what a digitally-connected world looks like to you!

Put your imagination and artistic skills to the test and enter the City of Austin's ArtConnect art contest for ages 10 - 18. Winning entries may be hosted in various gallery spaces across the City and include a cash prize. Winners will be announced during Digital Inclusion Week (DIW), October 1-7. DIW raises awareness around home internet access, personal devices and local technology training and support programs. Deadline for entry is August 31, 2023 at 11:59 PM CT. Learn more and submit today: ArtConnect 2023 | AustinTexas.gov 

Artwork by past winner, Luis Angeles

One Austin: Our Resilience Framework for Action is based on stakeholder engagement, review of previous and current relevant initiatives, and preliminary research. As a result, the CRO and Office of Resilience, Community Advisory Committee, City departments, and Resilient Cities Catalyst developed the cross-cutting priorities, aspirations, and discovery questions outlined in this Framework. This Framework is a starting point and will be fleshed out over the next year through extensive community engagement—resulting in the release of Resilient Austin, which will articulate the city’s collective vision of a more resilient Austin. Check it out today!