Austin, TX

In an age of repeated crises, these Texans are creating mutual aid networks to help neighbors in need

Published

2 years ago

February 13, 2023

In an age of repeated crises, these Texans are creating mutual aid networks to help neighbors in need

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Reese Baloutine woke early to sounds of crashing. Textual content messages pinged her cellphone as neighbors shared footage of bushes that fell on their homes and limbs that cluttered their yards after this month’s ice storm swept over Austin.

On occasion, the ripping of one other department cut up the air.

Baloutine, proprietor and founding father of Seedlings Gardening, determined to assist whomever she might as downed bushes sat on roofs, blocked sidewalks and disrupted electrical energy.

“I used to be like, ‘I am positive there’s folks that, for no matter motive, simply need assistance. And we’ve the power to exit and assist folks. So let’s simply see how we are able to,’” Baloutine mentioned.

Baloutine was certainly one of many individuals throughout the state this month who sprung into motion to assist their neighbors as roads grew to become impassable and a whole bunch of hundreds of individuals misplaced energy. It’s a observe referred to as mutual help and may come within the type of people shortly leaping in to satisfy the wants of others — and asking for assist in return.

Past this spontaneous collective motion, there are additionally organized, longer-lasting mutual help teams that goal to fill the gaps in folks’s wants with “solidarity, not charity” when authorities businesses are overwhelmed or underprepared. Mutual help initiatives have a deep historical past within the U.S., significantly serving as a instrument for Black communities, Indigenous folks and different marginalized folks to guard and take care of one another.

The long-standing observe gained recognition through the COVID-19 pandemic as folks more and more used social media and on-line donation platforms to flow into help requests within the wake of enterprise shutdowns. Mutual help grew to become particularly seen after hurricanes, tornadoes and the 2021 Texas energy grid collapse. But it surely’s additionally one thing folks observe between crises.

The acts of service may be rewarding. However as Texas governments repeatedly bungle communications and assist throughout crises, people who keep cohesive mutual help teams are working into funding issues and burnout.

“We get much less volunteers each time,” mentioned Sasha Rose, an organizer for Austin Mutual Assist. “So many people really feel like we are attempting so laborious to make a distinction. … We simply really feel exhausted. It looks like we’re preventing an uphill battle.”

In Baloutine’s case this month, what began as an Instagram publish asking who wanted bushes cleared totally free become a dayslong operation the place neighbors labored collectively to offer aid.

At first, solely a few folks reached out for assist — however then issues snowballed. Neighbors walked out of their properties because the crew traveled up and down an Austin avenue to assist chop up massive fallen branches and limbs. They pitched in to offer the chainsaws that Seedlings Gardening lacked. One aged woman whose bushes have been cleared introduced the group selfmade chocolate chip cookies and occasional.

“It’s tremendous useful in conditions like this, that you realize your neighbors and also you’ve already established some kind of connection,” Baloutine mentioned. “That means when one thing occurs, you realize who wants assist and who’s gonna enable you to.”

Volunteers prepare meals for distribution in Dallas with Harvest Project Food Rescue, a non-profit that organized a warming shelter and resource distribution for community recovery after the winter storm. — After the 2021 winter storm, volunteers ready meals for distribution in Dallas with Harvest Challenge Meals Rescue, a nonprofit that organized a warming shelter and useful resource distribution for neighborhood restoration.

Credit score:
Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Volunteer Christian Gonzalez packs blankets and warm clothes to be distributed in Dallas after the winter storm. She was one of over a hundred volunteers that came to help with Harvest Project Food Rescue's efforts to help the under-resourced across Dallas. — Volunteer Christian Gonzalez packed blankets and heat garments to be distributed in Dallas after the 2021 winter storm. She was certainly one of over 100 volunteers that got here to assist with Harvest Challenge Meals Rescue’s efforts to assist the under-resourced throughout the town.

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Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune

Getting ready for the subsequent disaster

Mutual help was a significant supply of assist through the 2021 winter storm, when Texans banded collectively shortly to share crucial security info, cash and provides. Throughout this month’s freeze, mutual help teams once more rallied to offer aid.

Many Texas organizers who’ve stored up this work for years say they’re drained. As participation dips from its sudden growth in 2020 and burnout weighs heavy, these networks say tapping into new sources of assist and constructing neighborhood is important to having teams able to go for the subsequent disaster.

With $500 from earlier donations to hold them by way of final week’s freeze, organizers from Fort Price’s Funky City Fridge pulled collectively 200 warming baggage to distribute to neighbors. Most of the hats, gloves, blankets and different chilly climate necessities have been left over from the group’s response to the 2021 freeze, mentioned Funky City Fridge founder Kendra Richardson.

“Now, we’re completely depleted,” Richardson mentioned. “I don’t understand how we’re gonna recoup and regroup, however we’re gonna push.”

Organizers throughout Texas say they’re additionally hampered by a present U.S. tradition of individualism. Rose mentioned weak relationships between neighbors limits what the observe of mutual help can do. With out current relationships and familiarity, it’s tougher to create the type of communication infrastructure essential to attach individuals who need assistance with people who can present it. The newest freeze has prompted Rose to dream of latest methods to drag folks collectively.

“Perhaps we have to return to neighborhood events and block events and getting our neighborhood members to get to know one another,” she mentioned. “In order that when a lot of these crises come, we are able to band collectively — actually — with the folks closest to us.”

The 2021 winter storm and energy grid disaster skyrocketed Austin Mutual Assist into the nationwide highlight. With new visibility got here new hurdles for the group, which fashioned in 2020 to assist marginalized Texans by way of the COVID-19 pandemic. The group positioned a whole bunch of unhoused Austinites in resort rooms through the 2021 storm.

The group entered 2021 with simply over $5,000 in funds. When the 2021 storm hit and Austin Mutual Assist’s GoFundMe circulated the nation, the group discovered itself with practically $3 million in contributions, in keeping with its report.

“We broke Venmo, to a sure extent,” Rose mentioned. “It took them a very long time to get us full information.”

Rising pains ensued and management modified. Different Texas organizers started calling on Austin Mutual Assist to point out receipts of funds raised and distributed, saying {that a} lack of transparency undermined neighborhood belief, in keeping with a VICE report.

In the end, the group employed folks to compile and publish a complete 2021 monetary report and assertion, Rose mentioned. The group held neighborhood conferences to find out how it will reallocate the remainder of the funding it acquired that winter. Grassroots organizations proposed and voted on neighborhood initiatives for Austin Mutual Assist to fund.

The group is at the moment submitting for nonprofit standing, Rose mentioned. It hopes to safe extra municipal funding and a brick-and-mortar location within the metropolis. Over the previous three years, its Fb group, which serves as a discussion board for neighborhood members to publish and reply to help requests, has grown to greater than 9,000 members.

Austin Mutual Assist has constructed relationships with folks experiencing homelessness for years, Rose mentioned. Its group is usually on the bottom delivering meals, clothes and different necessities to homeless encampments. As a result of a visual buildup of trash can pull police consideration to public camps, which Austinites just lately voted to ban, Austin Mutual Assist is coordinating waste elimination providers. The group simply began taking members on laundry journeys.

Linda Jackson and Corey Roberson work together to hold down and bind up a sleeping bag after pulling it from the dryer at the Washatopia laundromat in Austin on Feb. 7, 2023. — Linda Jackson and Corey Roberson work collectively to carry down and bind up a sleeping bag after pulling it from the dryer on the Washatopia laundromat in Austin on Feb. 7.

Credit score:
Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

Corey Roberson wheels a cart full of blankets and clothing out of the Washatopia laundromat after doing laundry for himself and five of his neighbors in Austin on Feb. 7, 2023. — Corey Roberson wheels a cart stuffed with blankets and clothes out of the Washatopia laundromat after doing laundry for himself and 5 of his neighbors in Austin on Feb. 7.

Credit score:
Evan L’Roy/The Texas Tribune

Cash will get tight, however communities pull collectively

Another organizations haven’t seen the identical momentum.

Fort Price organizers usually must combat to get out of Dallas’ shadow, mentioned Richardson. That may imply fewer sources. When celebrities and different high-profile figures share Dallas-Fort Price mutual help requests on social media, she’s seen the majority of funding and a focus usually funnels to Dallas.

As a most important mutual help group in Fort Price, Funky City Fridge will get a number of requests. However when visibility is low and cash is tight, wants go unmet, she mentioned.

“Individuals simply get burned out, or folks simply get drained. I’ve tried my greatest to remain in it for these previous three years, which is tough,” Richardson mentioned.

Funky City Fridge is amongst mutual help teams that depend on volunteers to inventory fridges so people have a spot to get meals. That’s particularly useful in energy outages when meals spoils. The fridges run on a leave-what-you-can, take-what-you-need foundation.

Earlier this month in Austin, a small crowd gathered simply off Dittmar Street in South Austin, sharing breakfast tacos, espresso and tales with one another on the primary stunning day after the freeze. Passing drivers honked their horns and waved.

The ATX Free Fridge Challenge was launching its fifth neighborhood fridge outdoors of a member’s home. Neighbors stocked the fridge with meals that they had ready for neighbors.

Some residents had been following the fridge’s set up because it was constructed, and a few noticed it for the primary time that day. One bus passenger seen the fridge as she rode by and instantly caught a distinct bus again to choose up meals. She was one of many tens of hundreds of Austinites who nonetheless didn’t have energy that weekend.

“It was a second that you just examine — the golden years of neighborhood. I really feel like we stay in a time once we’re very disconnected, communally,” mentioned Nitza Cuevas, a meals justice activist with ATX Free Fridge. “This was so not that. This felt like a time warp, in some methods.”

Disclosure: Fb has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partly by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full listing of them right here.

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Austin, TX

Clemson vs. Texas Prediction: Tigers look to upset the Longhorns in Austin

Published

3 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Clemson vs. Texas Prediction: Tigers look to upset the Longhorns in Austin

The winner goes to Atlanta and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The loser goes home for the winter. It’s the College Football Playoff and two national brands that have never faced each other. Will it be a shootout in Texas? We find out Saturday.

12-SEED CLEMSON (10-3, 7-1 ACC) at 5-SEED TEXAS (11-2, 7-1 SEC)

WHEN: SATURDAY, DEC. 21, 4 P.M. ET
WHERE: DKR-TEXAS MEMORIAL STADIUM (100,119), AUSTIN, TEXAS
TELEVISION: TNT (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Taylor McGregor, Laura Rutledge)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
RADIO: ESPN Radio (Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Dana Boyle)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 81

NOTABLE

*This season, Clemson earned its seventh College Football Playoff berth since the format’s inception in 2014. Clemson’s seven berths trail only Alabama (eight) for the most in the nation. Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney‘s seven CFP berths are the most of any active coach and one shy of Nick Saban (eight) for the most of any coach all-time.

*Though the game features two high-profile quarterbacks, the matchup will also feature two of the game’s emerging young stars on defense. Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons (12.5) and Clemson linebacker Sammy Brown (10.5) rank first and second in the nation, respectively, in tackles for loss by freshmen this season.

*Clemson is attempting to win multiple postseason games (conference championship, bowl game and/or national championship game) in a single season for the fifth time in school history (two in 2015, three in 2016, three in 2018 and two in 2019).

*Clemson attempting to produce its 12th 11-win season in program history, joining the 1948, 1978, 1981, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022 seasons. It would be Clemson’s ninth season of 11-plus wins under Head Coach Dabo Swinney.

*The winner advances to play Arizona St. in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. That game is set for Wednesday, Jan. 1st at 1 pm.

ABOUT TEXAS

The Longhorns featured the nation’s No. 18 offense (445.4 yards per game), with quarterback Quinn Ewers leading the way. He has thrown for 2,665 yards (233 for 352, 66.2 percent) with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Backup Arch Manning has played in eight games (61-of-90, 939 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions).

However, Ewers is more of a dropback passer and has 42 attempts for minus-62 rushing yards. Unlike the NFL, in college a sack is counted as negative rushing yardage. Manning is more of a dual threat and has 21 carries for 100 yards.

Quintrevion Wisner is the leading rusher (176 carries for 863 yards, 4.9 yards per carry and 71.92 yards per game). Jaydon Blue has carried it 112 times for 564 yards, giving the Longhorns a true two-back tandem.

Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond was the big news in the offseason at wide receiver, but he tallied just 33 catches for 532 yards and five touchdowns [According to ESPN, he faces “long odds” of playing due to recovering from a high ankle sprain still]. Matthew Golden leads Texas with 738 yards on 47 catches, but tight end Gunnar Helms is Ewers’ go-to guy on third down – he has 49 receptions for 611 yards.

Defensively, the Longhorns are ranked third nationally in total defense, giving up just 249.5 yards per game. Texas is ranked second nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 12.5 points per game. Texas ranks 15th nationally against the run (106.38 yards per game) and No. 1 nationally against the pass, giving up just 143.1 yards per game.

Texas gave up over 100 rushing yards seven times, twice to Georgia (108 and 141), and a season-high 197 against Florida. Kentucky managed just 21 yards on the ground in its loss.

Only two teams cracked the 200-yard mark through the air against Longhorns – Michigan (204), and Kentucky (211). Florida is the only school to crack 300 yards of total offense, with 329 yards. That 329-yard mark would serve as the fourth-lowest for the Clemson defense this season.

Texas is ninth nationally in sacks with 38 and recorded six sacks on four occasions (Miss St., Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky). Freshman edge Colin Simmons leads Texas with eight sacks, while sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill registered 4.5 sacks. Fourteen different players have a spot in the sack column.

The Longhorns are seventh nationally in tackles for loss, with 95 (for 402 yards lost). Texas is third nationally in interceptions, with 19 (San Jose St. and BYU each have 20), and it collected a season-high three against Georgia in October.

FIVE KEYS TO A CLEMSON WIN

1. Take care of the football. The Tigers are ranked fifth nationally in turnover margin (plus-16) with 25 takeaways against just nine turnovers. Texas is opportunistic on defense, but also lost 22 turnovers (the same as Clemson last season). Clemson is attempting to win the turnover margin for a sixth straight game. It would be Clemson’s first time winning the turnover margin in six straight contests since a nine-game streak in 2019.

2. Find the running game. Phil Mafah won’t be entirely healthy until he has surgery, but the Tigers still have to run the football enough to keep that dangerous Texas defense honest. To me, that means quarterback Cade Klubnik is going to have to be a huge part of the run game, along with those short throws that act as part of the run game.

3. Score points! That sounds simple, but the Tigers put up yards and plays against both Louisville and South Carolina but didn’t turn those into points.

4. Play complementary football for four quarters. The Tigers will have two good quarters out of the offense, and three good quarters out of the defense, or vice versa, and then it all goes hooey. Teams that should have been put away have crept back into games because of a conservative offense and a conservative defense.

5. Stop the Texas run game. As we’ve noted, Texas is prone to turning it over, and if the Tigers can stop the Longhorn rushing attack and make Ewers one-dimensional, the defense can stymie them enough to win the game.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

I was running through the keys to the game with a former player – one who wears a couple of big-time rings – and he told me, “Hope isn’t a gameplan.”

That’s the critical thing for me. Clemson needs to do things it hasn’t done this season – score points on a really good defense, stop a dominant rushing attack, and play four quarters of good football. It can happen. Clemson has a chance to stroll into Austin and steal one from the Longhorns, but it will take its best effort of the season.

I don’t see it happening. The Texas defense leads the way to a win.

FINAL SCORE: TEXAS 27, CLEMSON 17

TigerNet picks

David Hood – TigerNet senior writer – 27-17 Texas
Mickey Plyler – The Roar 105.5 morning show host – 31-17 Texas
Nikki Hood – Staff writer – 20-17 Clemson
Brandon Rink – Associate editor – 24-22 Clemson
Tony Crumpton – Associate editor – 24-23 Clemson
Ryan Kantor – Contributing Writer – 23-14 Texas
Ariana Pensy – Intern – 27-21 Texas
Merrell Mann – Photographer – 27-24 Clemson
Brooks Thomason – Intern – 30-10 Texas
Grayson Mann – Staff writer – 20-17 Texas

Game	Actual	David Hood	Plyler	Nikki Hood	Rink	Crumpton	Kantor	Pensy	M. Mann	Thomason	G. Mann
Georgia	34-3 UGA	27-24 CU	23-21 CU	24-17 CU	29-20 UGA	27-20 UGA	28-21 UGA	24-17 UGA	17-14 CU	27-21 UGA	27-23 UGA
App State	66-20 CU	34-14 CU	30-16 CU CU	38-17 CU	34-17 CU	31-17 CU	35-10 CU	30-10 CU	31-10 CU	31-13 CU	28-10 CU
NC State	59-35 CU	34-13 CU	38-16 CU	42-20 CU	30-13 CU	28-10 CU	35-14 CU	34-17 CU	38-17 CU	31-10 CU	31-10 CU
Stanford	40-14 CU	44-20 CU	48-17 CU	38-10 CU	44-16 CU	42-14 CU	41-17 CU	45-17 CU	48-21 CU	40-20 CU	41-17 CU
FSU	29-13 CU	41-13 CU	42-10 CU	42-17 CU	38-16 CU	35-14 CU	40-14 CU	55-7 CU	44-20 CU	31-16 CU	45-14 CU
Wake Forest	49-14 CU	47-20 CU	44-20 CU	52-14 CU	45-20 CU	48-13 CU	48-14 CU	35-14 CU	42-13 CU	38-17 CU	45-10 CU
Virginia	48-31 CU	38-16 CU	42-17 CU	38-17 CU	44-20 CU	45-14 CU	47-14 CU	45-17 CU	45-13 CU	42-20 CU	41-17 CU
Louisville	33-21 UL	44-28 CU	40-25 CU	45-24 CU	40-21 CU	34-21 CU	49-31 CU	37-27 CU	42-27 CU	41-28 CU	38-21 CU
Va Tech	24-14 CU	30-23 CU	30-20 CU	28-17 CU	26-22 CU	24-17 CU	41-28 CU	28-24 CU	30-24 CU	31-20 CU	23-21 CU
Pitt	24-20 CU	27-16 CU	31-17 CU	28-12 CU	31-16 CU	31-21 CU	35-17 CU	27-20 CU	34-24 CU	24-21 CU	31-17 CU
The Citadel	51-14 CU	52-6 CU	44-14 CU	55-7 CU	44-7 CU	56-7 CU	46-14 CU	45-10 CU	42-17 CU	52-17 CU	56-17 CU
SC	17-14 SC	26-20 SC	27-24 CU	28-20 CU	24-22 CU	28-24 CU	31-30 SC	34-33 CU	35-31 CU	20-17 CU	30-21 SC
SMU	34-31 CU	31-23 CU	30-27 CU	30-28 SMU	27-23 SMU	28-24 CU	28-21 SMU	24-20 CU	27-24 CU	31-24 SMU	27-26 SMU
Points	–	14	13	15	16	17	14	11	10	19	11

* Points: 3 pts for best correct prediction of the week (tiebreaker is Clemson score), 2 pts for picking score exactly, 1 pt for picking the correct winner

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Austin, TX

Where is Cade Klubnik from? Hometown, high school and more about Clemson QB's Texas roots | Sporting News

Published

10 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Where is Cade Klubnik from? Hometown, high school and more about Clemson QB's Texas roots | Sporting News

When Clemson travels to Austin to play Texas in the College Football Playoff on Saturday afternoon, it will be a bit of a homecoming for the Tigers’ quarterback. Cade Klubnik grew up in Austin, Texas, and he will be returning to play football in the area for the first time since leaving to attend Clemson.

As a member of the ACC, Clemson doesn’t typically travel to Texas for games, so Klubnik may not have expected to play close to where he grew up in college. But not only is he getting a chance to return to his hometown, he does so in the most important game of the season for either team.

While the 21-year-old junior is trying keep his focus on beating Texas, he did mention the excitement in playing in his hometown again.

“Obviously I’ve had quite a few people reach out to me in the last week and a half,” Klubnik said, via On3. “I think like last Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, I just kind of embraced it and just kind of got to sit there and enjoy the feeling of, ‘Hey, I’m getting to go home.’ You know, the guys I’m getting to be playing, the people that are going to be there, and just kind of enjoyed that for one or two days.”

Ahead of Clemson’s showdown against Texas in Austin, here is a breakdown of Klubnik’s history growing up in Austin, Texas.

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL NEWS:

Cade Klubnik high school

Before starring at Clemson, Klubnik attended Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, which is just 20 minutes away from the University of Texas’ campus. If that high school sounds familiar, it’s because Westlake High School has many famous alumni athletes that graduated over the years.

Among famous Westlake graduates include Drew Brees, Nick Foles, Justin Tucker and Sam Ehlinger, the latter two players stayed close to home by attending Texas in college.

Additionally, in 2020, Klubnik helped lead Westlake to the state title, and he did so by beating then-Southlake Carroll quarterback Quinn Ewers in the finals. On Saturday, Klubnik and Ewers will meet for the first time since that game in January of 2021.

Cade Klubnik high school stats

Year	Games	Completion Percentage	Passing Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
2019	12	76.8%	680	8	1
2020	14	67.7%	3,495	35	3
2021	13	71.1%	3,215	43	3

Klubnik was a star in high school, which led to him becoming a five-star recruit in the class of 2022. According to 247 Sports, Klubnik was ranked No. 13 in the country, and No. 2 among quarterbacks, when he chose to attend Clemson for college.

Cade Klubnik college stats

Year	Games	Completion Percentage	Passing Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
2022	10	61%	697	2	3
2023	13	63.9%	2,844	19	9
2024	13	63.7%	3,303	33	5

Klubnik took over as Clemson’s starter in 2023, and after an unspectacular first season, he improved his play in his second as a starter this year.

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Austin, TX

Austin mother charged with capital murder in death of 6-week-old infant son

Published

18 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

Austin mother charged with capital murder in death of 6-week-old infant son

AUSTIN, Texas (KWTX) – Jacqueline Mendoza-Ramirez, 21, of Austin, is charged with capital murder in the death of her 6-week-old infant son.

On Nov. 27, Austin police say officers responded to the Dell Children’s Medical Center, located at 4900 Mueller Boulevard, for a dead person call.

The parents of a 6-week-old infant had taken their baby to the hospital as he was not breathing, police say.

Hospital staff attempted life-saving measures on the infant but were unsuccessful, and the infant was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to police.

Additional authorities responded to process the scene, and their initial investigation showed the infant had several trauma injuries on his body, police say.

Police say CPS was notified and the parents of the infant were interviewed.

On Dec. 18, an arrest warrant for capital murder was issued for Mendoza-Ramirez in the death of the infant. She was arrested the same day, according to police.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Austin police at 512-974-8477.

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