The AFT Highlighted Agenda

The Austin Forward Together (AFT) Highlighted Agenda is a new approach to more effectively implement Austin’s award-winning quality-of-life plan, Austin Forward Together. This approach is meant to amplify and optimize impact across the plan by aligning resources and leveraging expertise from multiple Task Forces into ten focus areas over the next three years. Our goal is to have a comprehensive neighborhood-wide action plan, created and led by community leaders from across AFT issue areas, for each of these 10 items.

1. Build Resilient Commercial Corridors

By focusing capital resource investments into each commercial corridor and coordinating among the corridor projects, we aim to expand on the economic prosperity of Central, North and Chicago Avenue, and bring more job and commercial opportunities to the area.

2. Implement the ASPIRE Initiative

Make a concerted effort to refocus and gain more traction on the entire Initiative after the initial push to advance the Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation. The Center will open in 2025, offering on-site manufacturing job training and other resources at Madison & Central Avenue, and will be the first of the four ASPIRE Initiative projects to be completed. The others are: ⇂Aspire Housing (a multi-tiered approach to provide homeownership assistance, plus new or renovated units for sale); ⇂The Aspire Education & Wellness Campus (a new state-of-the-art early learning, health, and recreation center); and ⇂new programs and support to increase enrollment at the Austin College and Career Academy.

3. Build out the Austin Workforce Collaborative (AWC)

Work with AWC members to create project plans to make connecting more workers to living-wage careers a reality. We want to continue to support job training centers’ important work, and expand support for local entrepreneurs in order to help more Austin workers and business owners make a living right here in Austin.

4. Weave Restorative Justice (RJ) into the Fabric of Austin

Work with AWC members to create project plans to make connecting more workers to living-wage careers a reality. We want to continue to support job training centers’ important work, and expand support for local entrepreneurs in order to help more Austin workers and business owners make a living right here in Austin.

5. Build Lasting Youth Power

Develop an Action Plan that spans the various AFT goals addressing youth issues and empowerment. This effort will build on the success of many of our partner groups who’ve been working with Austin’s young people for years. Moving forward, focus will be on giving youth the power to influence recommendations throughout the entire AFT plan.

Local vendor at the Austin Eats and One Earth Collective’s Movie at the Farm event

6. Sustain the Austin Eats Initiative

Grow and invest in the five working groups of Austin Eats, an initiative that’s been underway since 2020: emergency food; grocery and culinary entrepreneurship; gardens and farms; food education; and marketing. By collaborating with partners from across the food ecosystem to strengthen it, we are able to make a greater impact on Austin’s overall wellness and get closer to achieving the initiative’s mission of removing barriers preventing Austin residents from accessing healthy and affordable food. 

7. Initiate all Mental Health Actions

Mental health is a complex issue with many root causes and effects. This effort will involve developing an Action Plan that addresses mental health for residents in a holistic way by expanding access to mental health services, meeting the needs of young children, youth, and families. This will Include grassroots hyper-local research on the mental health needs in Austin.

8.  Launch an Early Childhood Campaign                                                                                                                                                                        

Organize a campaign to educate community leaders about the systems and support that exists for young children, and how we can change them for the better. Austin residents depend on childcare providers, and this effort will better recognize these unsung and underpaid leaders in the community.

9.  Create a Local Housing Policy

Rising housing costs and the threat of gentrification are a major concern in Austin. This effort will develop local policies that ensure that Austin residents can afford to live in the neighborhood and get to reap the benefits of the AFT plan.

10. Coordinate an Authentic Storytelling Campaign

Create action plans that focus on the community stories we want to tell with modes of communication that will reach a larger audience, and strategies to amplify authentic narratives. This will make us better equipped to tell community stories through the arts as well as journalism/writing.  

You can download the Highlighted Agenda One-Pager here, or read about it in the digital version of the 09/04/2024 special print section published in the Austin Weekly News and Wednesday Journal newspapers. Individual articles are listed below:

 

Austin Coming Together is seeking local leaders to join the AFT Task Forces carrying out the AFT plan and Highlighted Agenda.

LEARN MORE AT austincomingtogether.org/qlp