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Austin Public Health reports CSBG progress: eviction prevention, food distribution and mobile pantry move to Dove Springs
Summary
Neighborhood Services Unit manager Angel Zambrano told the Community Development Commission that the Community Services Block Grant program is on track to expend funds with notable service delivery including eviction prevention for 201 households, nearly 50,000 food recipients through July, and a new Dove Springs mobile pantry site.
Angel Zambrano, manager of the Neighborhood Services Unit at Austin Public Health, told the Community Development Commission on Sept. 9 that the city's Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program is meeting several service goals while seeking a short extension to fully spend its current allocation.
Zambrano said the neighborhood services unit 'improves the lives and health of people experiencing poverty by providing public health and social services and connecting residents of Austin and Travis County to community resources.' He reported the unit is "on track to fully expend the funds by probably January 26," and said staff will request a brief extension from the state to complete spending.
The update emphasized three service areas that staff highlighted to commissioners. The unit's self-sufficiency case managers are supporting households to move out of poverty; Zambrano reported 19 individual transitions out of poverty so far this year toward a state goal of 43. Rental-assistance funds had helped 454 people in 201 households avoid eviction through August. Food services remained large in scale: "we've served, almost 50,000 people" through July, with mobile pantry operations running behind the reporting window.
Zambrano said a mobile pantry event that moved from Onion Creek to the Dove Springs Recreation Center served nearly 300 families at its first event on the morning of the meeting. He also reported the public-health nursing team provides free screenings and referrals and will offer free flu vaccines at neighborhood centers this fall; Zambrano said he would email commissioners the vaccine flyer after the meeting. On centers and facilities, he said all neighborhood centers are open except the South Austin Neighborhood Center, currently closed for renovations and an HVAC replacement with a hoped-for October reopening.
Commissioners asked about community events tied to reopening the South Austin center and about the calendar for food distributions; Zambrano pointed them to neighborhood centers pages at austin.gov and said staff are preparing limited vaccine supplies focusing on uninsured and underinsured residents but will help people who are insured find alternative resources. Commissioners also praised a client success story included in the backup packet as an illustrative case of social-work and case-management impact.
The presentation closed with commissioners thanking staff and asking that routine data and flyers be emailed to commissioners.
Ending: The commission did not take formal action on CSBG during the Sept. 9 meeting; the item was a monthly information update and commissioners asked follow-up questions about calendars, reopening outreach and vaccine distribution plans.
