This is the March and April Haca Census Magazine Covers which we send out to over 1,000 residents via Facebook and Constant Contact. This type of engagement does not just contact our direct housing residents but also engages residents in the entire census tract. The covers and the contents are created by the Volunteer residents who mostly had no experience creating magazines or engaging residents via online or social media platforms.
Social Determinants of Health: The Community Impact of Hospitals
Hospitals see value in addressing social determinants of health to improve the well-being of their communities. A concept known as social determinants of health, defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as “conditions in the places where people live, learn, work and play [that] affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes,” is becoming a vital part of mainstream health care. But to achieve sustainable success in addressing Social determinants of health, experts say health systems need … Read More
Bringing Healthcare Home.. Even During a Pandemic
“I don’t want to end this conversation pretending that our work is race neutral, because it’s not,” said Rodolfo Rodríguez, director of the health & wellness ecosystem at the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA).
Meet Our Matching Funds Donor: Rex Jones
Thank you Rex Jones & AMP Management for supporting the vision HACA staff have to send first generation scholars to school on an Austin Pathways scholarship! It's hump day & HACA Amplify Austin Pathways employee fundraisers get a surprise! "It's easy to make a donation. What you do, being on the front lines is the hard part." Thank you Rex Jones & AMP Management for supporting the vision HACA staff have to send first generation scholars to school on an … Read More
Book: Smart Cities in Application
Smart Cities in Application, explores categories of applications and driving factors surrounding the Smart City phenomenon. The contributing authors provide perspective on the Smart Cities, covering numerous applications and classes of applications. The book uses a top-down exploration of the driving factors in Smart Cities, by including focal areas including “Smart Healthcare,” “Public Safety & Policy Issues,” and “Science, Technology, & Innovation.” Contributors have direct and substantive experience with important aspects of Smart Cities and discuss issues with technologies & … Read More
Austin’s Digital Inclusion Program
Austin considers itself the tech hub of Texas — so much so that it has embraced the nickname “Silicon Hills.” U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked it as one of the nation’s best places to live. So it would be logical to assume its residents lead the nation in digital inclusion. But that assumption would be incorrect. Much work remains to be done to ensure digital inclusion for the city’s population, with the opportunity to access the internet and gain … Read More
Austin Forum Program Helps Level the Playing Field for Expectant Mothers
“Giving birth five times naturally in the hospital, I saw a wide range of care. Some good, some not so good.” Chante Wright-Haywood is determined to ensure new mothers understand all their options so they can make the right choices for their children – from pain medication to nutrition – for families who don’t have basic medical information. “I’ve seen a nurse’s personal and cultural preferences prevent new mothers from making their own choices,” she says. To become a midwife, … Read More
Broadband for America’s Future
Connecting our entire nation through High-Performance Broadband will bring remarkable economic, social, cultural, and personal benefits. Open, affordable, robust broadband is the key to all of us reaching for – and achieving – the American Dream.
Disrupting Food Insecurity
An estimated 40 million Americans—including 12.5 million children—struggle with food insecurity, meaning they can’t afford an adequate diet. Federal nutrition programs and charitable meals make up the first line of defense, but solving this challenge will require communities to go beyond food to disrupt the root causes of economic distress.This dashboard equips counties with data about their food insecurity levels and related risk factors, identifies cross-cutting opportunities for intervention, and groups counties by shared challenges. Dive into your county’s data and explore … Read More
Smart Cities and Digital Equity
An examination of several cities which have sought to embrace smart city technology while keeping equity in the forefront shows that:
Mobility Ambassadors
Mobility Ambassadors are public and subsidized housing residents paid a stipend or hourly rate to teach low-income residents to navigate digitally-powered transportation, engage City officials on our community’s most pressing transportation issues and advocate for partnerships with impact. In 2018-19, Mobility Ambassadors learned to use multiple smart transportation tools and to conduct digital transit adventures, surveyed 240 public housing families about more than 1,000 trips, and hosted 15 events to reach 5,200 Austin residents with safe roads and life-saving transit … Read More
Connecting Economic Mobility Practitioners in Online Community
The Center for Applied Public Research, has launched a pilot program connecting public sector employees across the country around the topic of economic mobility. The Economic Mobility Policy Forum, the first of its kind, kicked off this month with two webinars led by Policy Fellows, competitively chosen public sector leaders who have demonstrated in-the-field success. Topics discussed included gentrification, food systems, housing, education, and attempts to leverage technology and data to help low-income people. “It’s great to have so many … Read More
Smart Work Learn Play – Participatory Smart City Innovation and Digital Inclusion in Public and Subsidized Housing
Publisher: Global City Teams ChallengeSmart Work Learn Play, initiated by the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA), with support from Next Century Cities, the Transit Empowerment Fund and the City of Austin’s Digital Inclusion and Transportation departments, aims to ensure that the design, deployment and use of smart cities technologies are inclusive and equitable. The program hires HACA-resident Smart City Ambassadors to work local government and corporate partners to: 1) teach HACA residents how to use digitally-enabled education, ... Read More
Code for America Annual Summit: Keynote
Let’s talk about public-private partnerships, sustainability, metrics, smart cities and funding! Eager to hear about your most successful digital inclusion programming – from branding, promoting, monitoring and measuring results. Catherine began her career in the semiconductor industry, focused on public private research partnerships aimed at giving the U.S. a global competitive advantage. She’s played an active role in building the Unlocking the Connection program, a first-of-its-kind initiative to bring Internet connectivity and know how to every public housing authority resident … Read More