Austin Forward. Together. documentary

WATCH THE COMMUNITY’S PLAN COME TO LIFE!

The Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-of-life plan now has a short documentary film about it:

MAKING A COLLECTIVE IMPACT

Austin Coming Together (ACT) exists to serve the people of Austin. Not only do we connect residents to resources (everything from childcare services to counseling or free legal aid provided by our many members and community partners), but we facilitate collaborative action with the mission of creating a thriving Austin for all who live here. 

Since 2010, ACT has harnessed the power of collective impact to improve education and economic development outcomes in Chicago’s Austin community. Today, we are the backbone support agency for a network of more than 50 member organizations. Due to our history of supporting large community development projects, we were chosen to steward the creation and implementation of Austin’s first-ever quality-of-life plan called Austin Forward. Together. (AFT).

AFT is a set of goals created by and for the community designed to address 23 strategies with 84 total actions across 7 Issue Areas between the years 2019 and 2023: Community Narrative, Education, Housing, Youth Empowerment, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Civic Engagement.

AUSTIN FORWARD TOGETHER DOCUMENTARY

Since the release of Austin’s community-led plan, Austin Coming Together and AFT leaders have planned and hosted an annual public Community Summit to celebrate the previous year’s accomplishments, giving guests a chance to hear directly from the individuals and organizations moving this massive project forward. 

In December 2019, more than 300 community stakeholders (residents, people who work in the community, and financial supporters) attended the Summit at the recently renovated Kehrein Center for the Arts. In the past, one of the major purposes of the Summit was to bring people together and build community. The pandemic has forced us to reimagine our community gathering model. 

This year, we decided to create and promote an AFT Year in Review video that still accomplishes the goals of our past Summits. We are incredibly proud of the video and how it celebrates our successes while laying out the vision outlined in the AFT plan.

Digifé, the production company hired for this project, mentored a handful of participants from the Austin Has The Mic program, a youth media group aiming to give local youth the chance to tell their community’s story as they see it. 

The documentary was first shown to AFT plan leaders and funders at a private premiere on July 29, 2021 that took place at Austin’s own Kehrein Center for the Arts, and debuted to the public on August 18, 2021 virtually.

Austin activists featured in the film include ACT staff, in addition to several volunteer AFT Task Force leaders such as:

  • Briana Shields, Founder of the Austin Community Food Co-op
  • Jerrod Williams, AFT Task Force Strategy Lead, Austin resident, ACT Board Member

MEDIA COVERAGE

YOU CAN HELP!

Please let Grace know if you want to show the video to your network, so we can keep track of our collective outreach efforts. Email Grace Cooper, Project Coordinator at Austin Coming Together to confirm or learn more: gcooper@austincomingtogether.org.

BACKGROUND

Austin is the largest community area in Chicago, with the second-largest population— nearly 100,000 residents. From its earliest years in the late 1800s through the 1950s, Austin was developed piece by piece. Today, we are one community that contains many neighborhoods— North Austin, South Austin, Galewood, the Island, and even smaller neighborhoods within these areas— each unique but interconnected.

Over decades of government neglect and a decline in Austin residents, the community continues to face setbacks. With the absence of fresh grocery stores, limited career options, and several Chicago Public Schools being shut down, Austin has not attracted the public and private investment that builds a strong neighborhood.

But things are changing. Austin’s community residents, social services, and a variety of leaders from local and citywide organizations decided to rewrite the narrative by creating Austin’s first-ever quality-of-life plan called Austin Forward. Together. (AFT). From the Austin Eats Initiative addressing food insecurity and bringing farmers’ markets to the community, to Austin getting its first International Baccalaureate® Program for a high school with Michele Clark, dozens of volunteer leaders have been hard at work bringing opportunities to our neighborhood. Click here to get more updates on this work.