Please join us for the annual CAN End of Year Celebration on Friday, December 16th.  The celebration will take place at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m.  We will celebrate our accomplishments of the past year and introduce our new leadership for the coming year.  We will also celebrate the winners of the 2011 Butler Spirit of Collaboration Award.  This award,  in honor of former CAN Executive Director Fred Butler, is presented to a collaboration that has worked to bring people, organizations, and groups together to collectively address community needs. RSVP to mary.dodd@austinisd.org.

The Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) and the Basic Needs Coalition of Central Texas (BNC) are kicking off Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week with a press conference tomorrow evening at City Hall. 

Events are planned throughout the week and include a parade to honor homeless veterans on Friday, a Sunrise Memorial Service to remember those who died living on the streets of Austin over the past year, as well as movies, happy hours and other tours and events to help people better understand homelessness and how we can work together as a community to end it. For more information, click the logo above or visit www.austinecho.org.

Open data is coming to Austin City government, and the City needs community input to identify data sets of interest and to help prioritize them for release in December.

Austin would like to join cities like Philadelphia, the District of Columbia and Boston, in providing data to increase transparency, promote operational efficiency and encourage public participation. Whether you are a resident, a researcher or software application developer, it is important that the City knows what data you need to stay informed and involved in City government.  

Visit http://austin.uservoice.com/forums/139204-city-of-austin-open-data-portal and enter the open data forum. Review suggested City data sets, vote on those you would like to prioritize and even add your own suggestion if the data you want is not on the list. 

CAN Retreat

Join Austin Travis County Integral Care for an important community forum on Tuesday, Nov. 15th from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. This forum is a rare opportunity to influence an important statewide effort.

The Texas Mental Health Code (TMHC) has not been substantially revised in more than 25 years, while behavioral health care standards, practices and services have changed dramatically. Ultimately, this can adversely affect people with behavioral health conditions in Texas. 

The TMHC  Project is a policy initiative funded by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and managed by Texas Appleseed, the primary grantee of a two-year grant awarded in 2010, with partner, Disability Rights Texas.  Click here to register and to learn more.

The Texas Children's Mental Health Forum, Texas Juvenile Justice Roundtable and the Partners in Child Protection are co-sponsoring a forum on disproportionality and disparity across systems in Texas. The forum will be held on Tuesday, November 15th from 1:30 - 4:30 p.m. in the State Capital, Room 3N.4.  Learn more.

Come, see, and comment on initial ideas for short and medium term projects to help improve traffic flow on IH-35. 

The City of Austin invites residents, travelers, businesses and other stakeholders to review and comment on proposed improvements to reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and enhance the quality of life around and on IH-35. 

An Open House will be held on Thursday, November 17th at Austin Energy's Town Lake Center.  Drop by anytime between 3 and 8 p.m.  Learn more.

Community Tax Centers is recruiting volunteers to help low-income families claim millions of dollars in tax refunds and credits.  By providing free income tax preparation services, IRS certified volunteers give working families a chance to build a financial future.  For the 2012 tax season, over 700 volunteers are needed to reach the goal of completing 20,000 tax returns and putting $32 million back into the pockets of those who need it most.

What is takes to volunteer: 

• Complete 8-12 hours of New Volunteer Training - No Prior Experience Required!
• A commitment of just 3hrs/wk, or a total of 36 hours, between January and April
• CPE credits are offered for CPA's that receive their IRS certification and
• volunteer the 36 hours requested
• A desire to give back to YOUR community

There are 10 conveniently located tax centers throughout Austin, including one in Round Rock and Del Valle.  For more information, other ways to volunteer and to sign up to volunteer e-mail Jackie.Blair@foundcom.org  or call 512-610-7377.