Travis County Commissioners Court and Austin City Council have both voted to encourage Governor Perry and the Texas Legislature to participate in the expansion of Medicaid coverage to low income adults as prescribed under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.    

Economist Ray Perryman and former Assistant State Comptroller Billy Hamilton have each done separate studies outlining the economic benefits of Medicaid expansion to Texas. The Texas Tribune has created an interactive map with the data in Hamilton's report that shows the estimated economic impact of Medicaid expansion by legislative district.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has released a Hunger and Homelessness Survey that provides a status update for 25 major cities in the U.S. Respondents were asked to provide information on the extent and causes of hunger and homelessness in their cities.  Dallas and San Antonio were two of the cities included in the survey.  

Findings for HUNGER include....

• Among those requesting emergency food assistance, 51% were people in families, 37% were employed, 17% were elderly and 8.5% were homeless.
• Unemployment led the list of causes of hunger cited by the surveyed cities, followed by poverty, low wages and high housing costs.
• Providing more affordable housing and more jobs led the city officials' list of actions needed to reduce hunger, with 71% of cities calling for both.  Half of the surveyed cities also called for employment training programs and increased food stamp benefits.

Findings for HOMELESSNESS include...

• City officials cited the lack of affordable housing as the leading cause of homelessness among families with children.  This was followed by poverty, unemployment, eviction and domestic violence.  
• The cities reported that, on average, 30% of homeless adults were severely mentally ill, 18% were physically disabled, 17% were employed, 16% were victims of domestic violence and 13% were veterans.

 

 

 

The Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life and the National Conference on Citizenship will team up to produce the first-ever statewide Texas Civic Health Index. The report will look closely at how residents are engaged in their communities and democracy across the state, looking at key indicators of volunteerism and giving, voting and political participation, group involvement, trust and confidence, and social connectedness.

The National Conference on Citizenship is a national nonprofit organization, chartered by Congress to advance the nation's civic life. The partners plan to release the report in April 2013 and convene community conversations across Texas to carry forward its recommendations.

The first Rosewood Choice Neighborhood Community Meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 26th from 6-8 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club, 901 Thompson Street.  The Rosewood Choice Neighborhood Transformation Plan will employ a comprehensive approach to neighborhood transformation by revitalizing the distressed Rosewood Courts public housing complex while investing and leveraging investments in well-functioning services, high quality public schools and education programs, high quality early learning programs and services, public assets, public transportation, and improved access to jobs.  Learn more about the Rosewood initiative at

http://rosewoodchoice.com.

  

CAN is a partnership of governmental, non-profit, private and faith-based organizations which leverage mutual resources to collectively improve social, health, educational and economic opportunities in our community.