Our neighborhood health story: Meet the Texas nonprofit that’s transforming a community’s health, one step at a time

Mayra Lara-Jimenez’s home is a few blocks away from her children’s school, but until recently, the walk there was one of the most dangerous parts of her day. Nearly all of it was spent alongside North Bluff Drive, a busy two-lane road that runs through this close-knit south Austin, Texas, neighborhood. One after another, the cars whooshed by, leaving gusts of wind in their wake.

But the trickiest part of the family’s commute was the sidewalk across from school. A tangle of garbage, branches and parked cars, it was all but impassable. Parents and children who made the trip on foot were faced with a no-win situation: either climb over the debris on the sidewalk or share the street with cars. Mayra, who is blind and can’t drive, reluctantly chose the latter.

Walkability has been an ongoing issue in south Austin. Residents in these low-income, primarily Mexican American and Latino communities have complained for years about cracked sidewalks, missing crosswalks and unsafe parks. But progress has been slow. In fact, though it’s less than 10 miles from the bustling downtown, south Austin has historically been among the last parts of the city to receive investments in basic infrastructure. 

Rather than sit idly by, many south Austin residents have taken steps to improve conditions in their neighborhoods. Mayra is one of them. Fed up with the dangerous path and eager to provide her kids with at least two built-in walks a day, she and other concerned parents teamed up with GO! Austin/¡VAMOS! Austin (GAVA), a local nonprofit devoted to helping south Austin residents live healthier lives through access to healthy food, physical activity, school health, early childhood and community safety. Its efforts have been boosted by a recent $100,000 Cultivating Healthy Communities grant from the Aetna Foundation.

Together, GAVA and residents spent two years lodging complaints, submitting petitions and keeping their team of volunteers motivated. Their persistence paid off: Austin officials agreed to hire a crossing guard to usher families safely to school, while local businesses helped clear away branches and donated paint so children could beautify the pavement with their brightly colored handprints.

Since the sidewalk’s makeover, Mayra has noticed an uptick in the number of kids and parents who walk to school, which makes her feel happy. “The whole walking to school thing is amazing,” she says. “You have a chance to spend time with your kids, to hold their hands. Plus, it gets the blood flowing, gives you energy, lets you breathe the air and hear the birds. It’s a form of meditation. It’s therapeutic.” 

Making an impact

A renovated sidewalk may sound like a small improvement in Mayra’s neighborhood, but for GAVA, it’s a major win. Since its inception in 2012, the nonprofit has been working tirelessly to help south Austin families access healthy food and be more active. The environments where we live, work and play can serve powerful roles in shaping our health, even impacting our life expectancy by as much as 60%, according to researchers. 

Rather than impose specific changes on a community, GAVA supports initiatives that residents say are important to them. “We talk to people in these neighborhoods and find out what’s getting in the way of them living a healthy lifestyle,” says Carmen Llanes Pulido, GAVA executive director. Carmen and her team also work with community members who are ready to make improvements and empower them to organize their neighbors and affect change.

Mayra first learned about GAVA in 2016, when the group held an open meeting at her children’s school. At the time, she was frustrated about the sidewalk, but didn’t know how to go about having it fixed. After the meeting, she reached out to the organization, and has worked with them on various improvements for the last two years, including adding extended traffic lights and crosswalks to busy intersections. “GAVA has been such a good resource for us,” Mayra says. “They helped us make the connections, get the right people to our meetings, learn how to organize people and hold meetings, and how to stay persistent.”

To date, GAVA has helped form nearly 40 resident-led teams that focus on improving neighborhood parks and corner stores, building community gardens and trails, and establishing weekly farm stands.

Elena Rodriguez is another such community leader. A longtime resident of south Austin, she wanted to improve the nearby Dove Springs District Park. The sprawling space had fallen into disrepair. Tall grass consumed much of the land, lights had long burned out, and gangs and criminals left behind socks filled with bullet casings. Together with GAVA, Elena knocked on neighbors’ doors, assembled a team of volunteers to clean up the park, and worked with the city to secure funding for new equipment and lights. She also drew up the plans for the lighting, which the city used in the final design.

Now, the park is one of the busiest in the area, with an elaborate play structure, manicured walking trails, rock climbing walls, exercise equipment, soccer fields, a pavilion and even a zip line. On any given day, it hosts more than 100 people. Similar success is being seen in the five other parks that were also improved. 

Building a bright future

An interesting thing happens when you start to improve your community’s health: you want to do more. That’s what Elena discovered after tackling the Dove Springs District Park renovation nearly five years ago. Since then, she’s worked with GAVA and her neighbors to improve another park and a creek. They’ve also worked together to promote traffic safety around two local schools, start a neighborhood watch group on several streets and place healthy food in local corner stores.

Though her work has helped residents be healthier, she says she’s benefited personally. Before the Dove Springs park project, she struggled with depression and diabetes. Now, Elena is pre-diabetic and enjoys a renewed sense of purpose and confidence. “I feel like I’m someone who matters now,” she says. “Before this project, I was depressed, anxious, unhealthy and eating lots of sugar. But now that I can go out into the community and pull people in to volunteer, I feel like I’m powerful, like I’m a leader.”

Since revamping the sidewalk in 2016, Mayra has continued fighting for changes in her community. Now that she’s had experience submitting petitions, working with the city government and organizing a team, she’s led the charge to bring amenities to two local parks, improve or add sidewalks and crosswalks around more schools, and promote nutrition initiatives.

Last fall, Mayra and her husband, Luis, also teamed up with the Police Activity League to start a free soccer program for grades K-5. Nearly 100 kids signed up in the first year. Regular practices and weekly games give the children an incentive to step away from their video games and run around outside with friends.

The program is purposely relaxed. No one keeps score, and the only time parents raise their voice is to shout encouragement from the sidelines. After all, by simply being on the field and playing, the kids are already winners. “This league helps kids develop a love for the athleticism of the sport,” Mayra says. “It can be a stepping stone for them to be more active. Now they have a soccer ball at home and can practice if they want to get better. It makes me happy to be able to give them that opportunity.”