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| Mental Health Cuts Create Police Nightmare |
 This month's edition of Texas Monthly features an article on how state budget cuts to the mental health care system have impacted law enforcement officers. As funding and access to mental health services have decreased, the mentally ill have migrated from hospitals to jails and prisons. In her article, Patricia Kilday Hart notes that the Harris County jail is the largest psychriatric facility in Texas, caring for more people who are mentally ill on a daily basis than all ten of the state's mental hospitals combined. Read "Cop Drama."
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| Social Security Lifts Texans Out of Poverty |
 The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has released a state by state analysis of the impact of social security on poverty. The report, based on Census data from 2008, notes that Social Security kept 20 million Americans out of poverty that year. The report cautions that any action to reduce or limit Social Security could significantly increase the ranks of those living in poverty.
Social Security lifts 860,000 Texans out of poverty. The poverty rate for Texans over the age of 65 was 12.6% in 2008. Without Social Security, the poverty rate would have been 46.8%. |
| Revenue and the State Budget | |
Gain a clearer understanding of the revenue and budget challenges facing the 82nd Legislature at a presentation hosted by the CHIP Coalition. Revenue and the State Budget in the 2011 Legislative Session will feature a presentation by the Center for Public Policy Priorities on the root causes of our impending state deficit and an exploration of potential means of addressing this crisis beyond cuts in services. The meeting will be held Tuesday, August 31st from 10 a.m. to noon in the Thompson Auditorium of the Texas Medical Association, 401 W. 15th Street. |
| Give Input on City Plans to Build 350 Units of Permanent Supportive Housing | |
Next Monday, community stakeholders will have two opportunities to provide input on the City of Austin plans to develop Permanent Supportive Housing for people who are most vulnerable to homelessness. City Council passed a resolution in March directing staff to prioritize housing resources for the development of 350 permanent supportive housing units over the next four years.
Two public input sessions will be held on Monday, August 23rd:
- 1:30 - 3:30 p.m., Trinity Center, 304 E. Trinity
- 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., Street-Jones Building, 1000 E. 11th St.
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| How Financial Coaching Can Help Your Clients | | Foundation Communities is inviting case managers and other service providers for a discussion over coffee to learn how their clients can benefit from financial coaching. Financial coaching is offered for free to individuals earning less than $25,000 a year and families earning less than $50,000. The one-on-one coaching helps clients develop a budget, save for the future, reduce debt, repair credit, obtain credit reports and receive credit counseling. The discussion will be Tuesday, August 24th at 1 p.m. RSVP to Mary.Baird@foundcom.org for more information. |
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| Apply for CAN Community Council | | The CAN Community Council is now accepting applications for new members. Get to know the issues in our community and become engaged in building collaborative solutions. Apply at www.caction.org. |
| Nominations Open for 2010 Butler Award | | Do you know of a collaboration that has been effective at bringing people and groups together to address community needs? Consider nominating the collaboration for the 2010 Spirit of Collaboration Butler Award. The deadline for nominations is October 30th. |
| Forum on Criminal Justice Indicators | | The CAN Community Council will continue its series of forums on the CAN Community Dashboard Indicators with a forum on violent crime and arrest demographics on Monday, August 30th. The forum begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Cable Channel 6. |
| Follow CAN's Tweets |  Get short, timely updates on meetings, research and more on CAN_Austin. |
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| Don't Be in the Dark About Child Care |
 A new media campaign, in English and Spanish, lets parents know the importance of choosing regulated day care. The year-long TV and radio campaign was developed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and the Texas Association of Broadcasters.
The "Don't Be in the Dark" campaign urges parents to always choose regulated day care and always do their homework on TxChildCareSearch.org before picking a day care.
58 children died in illegal home-based day care settings in Texas from 2004-2008, according to a report to the legislature last year by the Committee on Licensing Standards.
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| Out of the Darkness: Community Walk for Suicide Prevention | |
 The Austin metropolitan area has the highest suicide rate of the major metropolitan areas in Texas, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Although most depressed people are not suicidal, two-thirds of those who die by suicide suffer from a depressive illness. Join walkers in 200 communities across the nation in raising awareness about suicide prevention by participating in the local walk. The 6th Annual Out of the Darkness Community Walk for Suicide Prevention will be held on Friday, September 24th. The walk begins at 10 a.m. from the State Capital grounds and ends at 11:30 a.m. Register.
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| Community Resources 101 |  United Way Capital Area and 2-1-1 Texas are beginning an on-going series of free trainings on community services for front-line staff and volunteers. Participants will learn when to use 2-1-1 Texas and how to search the 2-1-1 Texas database to find information about available community resources. The trainings will be held on Friday, October 22nd and Friday, December 10th from 9 - 11 a.m. at United Way Capital Area, 2000 E. MLK Blvd. RSVP to cristell.laurel@austinisd.org 414-0323. |
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Community Action Network (CAN) is a partnership of agencies and organizations in Austin and Travis County that provide resources to improve the health and well-being of people in our community. CAN is a collaboration of organizations and individuals working together to build a community of equity and opportunity.
CAN's role in the community is to ...
- enhance awareness of community issues;
- strengthen partnerships and connect planning efforts;
- support collaborative strategies that maximize community resources and impact; and
- mobilize action by reporting on progress made to improve the community's well-being.
CAN Partners: Austin Area Interreligious Ministries, Austin Chamber of Commerce, Austin Community College, Austin Independent School District, Austin Travis County Integral Care, Capital Metro, Central Health, City of Austin, Community Justice Council, One Voice Central Texas, Seton Family of Hospitals, St. David's Foundation, St. Edward's University, Travis County, United Way Capital Area, University of Texas at Austin, and Workforce Solutions - Capital Area.
CAN Issue Area Groups: Aging Services Council, Austin/Travis County Victim Services Task Force, Basic Needs Coalition, Behavioral Health Planning Partnership, Central Texas Afterschool
Network, Child & Youth Mental Health Planning Partnership, Ending Community Homelessness
Coalition, Early Care and Education, HousingWorks, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Coalition, Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, Ready by 21, Reentry Roundtable, and Regional Transit Coordination Committee.
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