- Coming up on "Austin InSight," our Decibel team takes over.

Our community reporting project is wrapping up nearly two years in the Rundberg area.

Our journalists share what they've seen, what they've learned, and what comes next.

"Austin InSight" starts now.

- [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally and James Gavin, and also from Daniel L. Skret.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) - Hi there and thanks for joining us.

I'm Laura Laughead.

Austin PBS covers news happening all across Central Texas, but it's also home to a reporting project that takes time to invest in listening to the community.

Decibel, our community reporting program, has covered underserved areas of Central Texas for years, including Dove Springs and Del Valle.

Now they're finishing up their latest reporting project in the Rundberg area.

It's a community that's been talked about a lot, but not often listened to.

Our esteemed Decibel journalists are with us now.

We have Blair Waltman-Alexin and Jackie Ibarra.

Thank you both so much for joining us.

- Yeah, thank you for having us.

- It is an honor.

Our offices are, like, very close to each other.

I don't get to see them daily.

I wish I did.

But we had to bring them on the show in order to, like, get something on the calendar.

- Fair.

- So the first question is, why Rundberg?

- Yeah, so we landed on Rundberg for a couple of different reasons.

We've been doing this community reporting project in the Austin area for a while now, and the way we pick locations that we're going to spend time is we look for a couple of different things.

One of the things that we look for is areas that have historically been underserved by the news media.

- Yeah.

- Have they not had a lot of coverage?

And if there has been coverage, has it mostly focused on stuff that is not necessarily the most uplifting about the community?

Are there parts of the community that are not getting represented or their stories not told?

The other piece is really looking at data.

Are there areas of town that are historically underserved by institutions in the community?

Are there needs that are being unmet?

So we took that information, and along with a couple other locations, we presented it to our Community Advisory Board here at Austin PBS, and Rundberg was the area that they selected.

- And, Jackie, when you think about this part of Austin and the people that you've met along the way, what in your view after two years makes it so unique?

- Oh, that's such a great question.

I think what makes it really unique is just how diverse it is.

One of the first stories that we did when we got to Rundberg, followed Jose Carrasco, and he worked with Austin Voices for Education and Youth.

He works really closely in Rundberg and with a lot of the schools in the area.

And he said that you can drop a point on a map and you'll probably find someone from there in Rundberg, which kind of just speaks to just how diverse it is, but just how much of a melting pot it is, which is what you'll see in the next coming story.

- America is one big melting pot.

And the biggest melting pot in Austin is Rundberg.

But unfortunately, Rundberg gets a bad rap.

(dramatic music) My name's Jose Carrasco.

I work with Austin Voices, and I'm the community school coordinator here in the Rundberg area.

Our biggest job as a family resource center is to connect them to the resources that they're needing.

(upbeat music) Rundberg is northeast Austin.

It's right before you leave Austin.

As soon as you start Rundberg, the first school you see is Dobie.

(students chattering) We got students from all over South America.

We got Afghanistan students, students from Iraq, different parts of Africa.

Rundberg is that area where it's still affordable, so that's why we get a lot of folks from a lot of different places.

The kids are amazing.

It is a really fun school to work at.

The two-mile radius around a school is supposed to be the safest spot.

Rundberg should be the safest neighborhood in Austin, with all the different schools we have.

But stats from the city, I mean, Rundberg is a high crime area.

(dramatic music) But one of the biggest reasons it does that is because we have 35 right here.

So people come out, they do whatever, and then they get back in.

So sometimes I think the people of Rundberg are the ones that people start pointing fingers.

It's like, "Oh, well, it's the people that live in Rundberg."

Nah.

The people who live in Rundberg are hardworking individuals that are trying to get their kids to graduate and go to college and, you know, just like everybody else.

This is the Browning neighborhood.

The first though I had is like, "Am I still in Austin?"

(dramatic music) These fourplexes, you know, some of them are really run down.

There is no questions asked about where you come from or your background.

People will rent to you, but with the understanding that you also can't complain.

The rent maybe is not as high as other places, and Austin is just getting so expensive, you know?

But this is where all the jobs are.

A lot of our families work in the Mueller, you know, work downtown.

Imagine if they go chasing affordable housing 30 minutes away from Austin.

I mean, that's a 30 minute extra drive.

That's gas.

The city has, you know, rental programs and there's other rental programs, but sometimes there's just no assistance out there.

So how much can I help without hurting anybody ability to live where they can afford, right?

(upbeat music) There's so many people that should be welcomed.

Like, Rundberg is this place where everybody's welcome.

You can do a map of the world and probably find somebody here in Rundberg.

They bring their culture, they bring their food, they bring their energy.

And we should embrace all that.

You know, that is the melting pot that America is.

Rundberg is America.

Rundberg is America in every sense of the way.

(upbeat music continues) (dramatic music) - So an issue that came up in our meeting with Jose and with a lot of residents was safety.

Rundberg has this reputation as being this very unsafe area of town.

But as we dug into that, experts told us that a lot of the issues really came down to a lack of resources.

- And you saw that lack of resources go from bad to worse last year when the federal government shut down.

Can you explain what kind of impact that had?

- Yeah, well, in Rundberg, about 10% of residents rely on SNAP benefits, but roughly 25% are considered food insecure.

And food banks are really crucial in helping them get food on the table.

So when SNAP benefits were put on hold during the shutdown late last year, it really took a toll.

So we spent a weekend at different food banks across the area, talking to families about the struggle to put food on the table.

- I'm Louis Malfaro, and I'm the Associate Executive Director at Austin Voices for Education and Youth.

Today we are at Wooldridge Elementary School, and we're serving the Wooldridge, Burnet, and Navarro High School communities with a food pantry.

We've been doing these food pantries basically since the COVID pandemic.

It seems like families are in an evermore precarious position.

(dramatic music) - Oh, it's gotten so much busier.

So it is Carol's Kindness+ Pantry.

We are at the Gus Garcia Recreational Center.

If you want to take these into the dessert thing?

We were probably seeing 50, 55 people a week.

Last week we had 193 people signed in, which translates to approximately 600 people to serve.

(dramatic music continues) - We are at North Austin Muslim Community Center Grocery Drive-Through Program.

It's at Sunday morning, 7:30 AM.

So the first few folks have been here since 6:00.

In the last few weeks, we have seen a real uptick.

Last week alone, we have got 200 extra calls, and we're expecting 200 additional families to come in today.

- Because of SNAP benefits being frozen for a period of time, there have been more people who need food.

(people chattering) - And it really makes a difference between, "Hey, am I gonna buy something else?

Am I gonna buy food?"

And you have to decide which one is more important 'cause you can't have both.

I gotta pay insurance bill or I gotta pay light bill.

Well, which one am I gonna do?

I'm gonna buy food.

(recipient speaking in foreign language) (recipient speaking in foreign language) (recipient speaking in foreign language continues) - [Volunteer] And so when you run out of this one... (recipient speaking in foreign language) - So it's kind of a one-two punch, right?

And we know that costs keep going up.

You know, we all see it at the grocery store.

You know, who's eating beef these days, right?

- I'm hoping for some meat.

This is my second Saturday.

Oh, it's been real hard, and I don't even, you know, get Lone Star.

So mainly I have to deal with food pantries, and it's a big help.

- There's a lot of resources.

Definitely do research on all the resources.

I lost my government job while giving birth to my daughter and going through an adoption with my son.

And so, unfortunately, you know, it put us in a situation where, what do you do at that point when you're just kind of cut?

(dramatic music) - We have families in our community that have no money for food, who have children, who are older adults that aren't working, that are retired.

And I think it's difficult sometimes for the average person to relate to that.

But we see that.

We see what it looks like.

- [Interviewer] Do you think it's gonna get worse?

- I think it's gonna be more.

I've had people come up to me and say, you know, "I'm on disability, and this is the only way that I'm getting enough food to make it through the week."

Just makes you wanna cry.

- You know, knowing that times is getting hard day by day, we all need help every now and then, whether you're rich or poor.

- I think that's the biggest thing is lending a hand where you see you can to other people that are in the same position as you are.

- [Interviewer] Is there anything you'd like to add before I let you go?

- Hey, (indistinct), we are with you.

We are with anyone who needs food, and we'll do our best to serve you.

- Now what's great about that story is, yes, it helps us better understand the need in this community, but it also captures the kindness of the people and the organizations that repeatedly show up to help.

Now, you also spent a lot of time covering education in the Rundberg area.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

- For sure.

So we spent a lot of time at Dobie Middle School, where years of low accountability scores put the school at risk of closure.

Ultimately, Dobie earned a D rating earlier this fall.

So while there's still work to do there, they were at least able to avoid another F and pause their state accountability chain.

- But you guys apparently weren't the only journalists covering the story.

- No, we were not.

- Not at all.

We also met a team of young journalists right there in the halls of Dobie Middle School as they covered the possible closure of their own campus.

- Two more minutes, girls!

Two more minutes to be in class!

Right, Dulce!

Good morning!

My name is Tatiana Brown-Gomez.

And I am a sixth grade and eighth grade ELA teacher.

We have all this different after-school stuff, but there was not a newspaper.

Sadie.

I hope you're not, oh, lord, and Amy too.

In middle schools, it's not common to have a newspaper because there is no, like, middle school newspaper curriculum like that.

But I really enjoyed it when I was in high school, and I saw a lot of potential in just how they wrote.

And I was like, "Something about this is telling me they just need a little bit of their own voice, and that's gonna to help put the cherry on top for sure."

So I went ahead and started newspaper this year.

(lighthearted music) You still get the interview.

It would be really good if we got some information on that, at that assembly, like, what happened with that.

That first pitch day, it was hard.

- We're doing the work on LeBron.

- [Tatiana] Everything's completely new.

- I was kind of nervous.

I wanted to be like, I wanted to get it.

I feel like I'm actually doing a real job.

Like, I'm not just going to classes.

I actually am dedicated to do something, you know?

(Evelin speaking in foreign language) - Another challenge was grammar because a lot of our students' first language isn't English.

If I'm struggling with it, and English is my first language, then I can't imagine having it be your second language.

But do the seventh graders on here first.

But it was really cool to see them get into the habit of being like, "Oh, well, let's write about the pep rally.

Oh, let's write about band.

Let's write about this and this and that."

- That was my first actual story.

I was like, "You know what, I finally know what to do."

(Evelin speaking in foreign language) (lighthearted music) - April 3rd is when we got an email, and that was Thursday at six o'clock.

(dramatic music) They were having a performance, a dance performance, at the same time.

So, you know, people pull out their phones, they have this community emailing that's being sent.

It's saying that Dobie has three options now, to be turned into a charter school, to be permanently closed, or to be temporarily closed, and re-imagined is the wording they used.

(students chattering) We were projected to get another F this school year, making that four years.

So if we got five years in a row of an F, that would allow for a TEA takeover.

And as the district put it, that's not something they're willing to risk.

So everybody is freaking out, obviously, and being like, "Oh, well, what do we do?"

- I heard it in newspaper class.

And so she wanted us to know about it, but not to be scared.

- Monday's the next day that we have newspaper.

So I told them... - We started discussing about it.

Like, "How do you guys feel?

What should we do about it?"

- It was immediate.

Like, "Y'all, what are we gonna do?

How are we gonna save Dobie?"

(upbeat music) - No, they're gonna submit it.

- [Tatiana] Ivy was working on the letters.

- And how do you feel about Dobie shutting down?

- I actually have a job to do, you know?

I have to save the school.

I have to talk about it.

(Evelin speaking in foreign language) (Evelin speaking in foreign language) - We were like, "Okay, let's start social media."

(upbeat music continues) So it's like, okay, what do students think?

What do staff think?

What do parents think?

- I wanted to do a video.

- And they're gonna have to move schools.

And I don't think, like, that's fair to them.

- [Ivy] So we started recording everyone.

We were like, "What's your opinion?

How do you feel about Dobie shutting down?"

(Evelin speaking in foreign language) (Evelin speaking in foreign language continues) - When will this decision be made?

That's a good question.

We've been trying to keep people updated as well.

These are when you should be here at the community meeting, or this is when this big board meeting is happening.

We kind of just went go, go, go, and it hasn't really stopped since then.

(students chattering) But not release 'cause that would have to be like a whole separate thing.

Like, what is that?

It started out with a lot of energy.

It's kind of died down now as we've been in this weird limbo.

We don't know what's necessarily going to happen.

(dramatic music) When we first got that email, and this is gonna make me somewhat emotional because immediately they're like, "Oh, is it because we're bad?"

They immediately saw it as everybody else in this district sees our students as bad students, as bad people.

It's just when you get news like this and it's being plastered around all media platforms, that they're an F, they're an F, they're an F, they're an F, and it's because of their low performance.

That's one phrasing I kept seeing a lot, was that they're not performing as they should be.

And it disheartened me so much because I've seen what they could do in the cosmetology, in barber, in medical, in their classes.

Like, that's a big thing that nobody thinks our students can do, because they see these stereotypes that are around here.

(Tatiana laughing) (students chattering) Like, I've been very honest with my students and being like, "I'm worn out.

I know you're worn out.

We've been fighting really hard.

But we still have to put our voices out there."

It doesn't necessarily have to be like, "Oh, now save Dobie."

But it is about the students.

What do y'all need and what do you want?

What do you deserve?

(students chattering) (dramatic music) - So once again, that's something that we could report on.

It's hard because we don't know a lot of information right now, but the community meeting... I'm not sure exactly when the decision will be made.

I would love for my newspaper students to report on it so we can get that closure too, because like I said, our following is majority students.

(students chattering) I want them to understand that they truly have learned a lot of skills.

And now they have opened so many different avenues for themselves.

- And it's showing that, like, they need us to like... I never wrote like this before.

I feel like it's gonna improve my writing skills and my thinking skills.

And I feel like in my future, people are gonna look at my resume and they're like, "Whoa, she's in a newspaper class?

Okay, she knows what she's doing."

(Evelin speaking in foreign language) (interviewer speaking in foreign language) (Evelin speaking in foreign language) (interviewer speaking in foreign language) (dramatic music) - Those kids are seriously so impressive.

I am blown away.

I guess our days here are numbered.

- Right?

- Right?

- Exactly.

I mean, I'm gonna hand them the keys.

Like, they're good.

- Right.

I'm gonna roll out the red carpet, by all means.

Though on a more somber note, in the Rundberg area, immigration enforcement has been a major concern in the community.

How have you seen that play out over the last two years?

- Absolutely.

Yeah, Rundberg is home to a really large immigrant population, and we've heard so many reports from residents, many of them with no criminal background, being detained.

Even up until a few weeks ago, when an ICE operation led to the shooting of a Venezuelan man.

- Yeah, and fear was definitely a common feeling among the community.

But even in the middle of that, we saw plenty of examples of residents finding ways to connect to their community and their culture.

(emcee speaking in foreign language) (singers singing in foreign language) (emcee speaking in foreign language) (singers singing in foreign language) - [Mynor] So today we're celebrating Quince Septiembre, which is Guatemala's Independence Day.

(Maria speaking in foreign language) (Maria speaking in foreign language) (resident speaking in foreign language) (people chattering) (lighthearted music) - We're gonna celebrate the food, the music, the culture, and do it in our own small way.

(upbeat music) My name is Mynor Alvarado.

Good to see you, thank you.

And I'm one of the owners and founders of Marimbas.

- [Interviewer] You say your mom makes a lot of the food, but do you also help in the kitchen?

- No, my biggest contribution is eating it.

(laughs) (upbeat music) (Maria speaking in foreign language) (Maria speaking in foreign language) (customers chattering) (customers chattering continues) - This is our first year open, so we haven't really seen any trends historically.

But for the celebration today, we do feel like a lot of people will still be scared to be out and about.

(dramatic music) - [Reporter 1] Local news outlets reported that ICE began targeted operations here in Austin.

- [Reporter 2] Vargas and her partner were then detained by ICE.

- [Reporter 3] About 1100 people were picked up by ICE across the country.

- From what we're told from other people in the restaurant business, it has slowed down a lot of the traffic that we would usually expect.

(resident speaking in foreign language) (resident speaking in foreign language) (resident speaking in foreign language) (resident speaking in foreign language) (dramatic music) (resident speaking in foreign language) (resident speaking in foreign language continues) (resident speaking in foreign language continues) (upbeat music) (resident speaking in foreign language) (resident speaking in foreign language continues) (people cheering) (dramatic music) - The cool thing about this area, I think, is it's a ethnic melting pot.

(patriotic music) You know, I think the most important thing that my family and myself have always wanted to accomplish with the restaurant is obviously sharing our culture and history, but also acknowledging that this sharing of culture and accepting of different ideas is what makes America who it is.

It doesn't have to be one or the other.

And that's the great thing about it.

(emcee speaking in foreign language) (people cheering) - Yet another beautiful story.

Everything you guys do is so intentional from top to bottom and also just, like, really well shot and really well edited.

I'm like, "Please, I want to collaborate with y'all even more."

And it's amazing.

This throughline is so apparent.

Like, Rundberg is this misunderstood, but it's a beautiful place.

It really is a melting pot.

And we're lucky to have this neighborhood and to understand it better.

Your reporting has captured it so well.

I know after two years, it's hard to say goodbye, and you're wrapping up, but what is next?

Where's the next location for the Decibel Reporting Project?

- We will soon find out.

We are right now in the process of identifying our next location.

We're figuring that out with input from our community advisory board here at Austin PBS.

And then in 2027, we will start over in a brand new community.

- Well, wherever that community is, we are excited to see your stories, and they are lucky to have y'all reporting.

Really, you guys should be so proud.

- Oh, thank you.

- Well, Blair Waltman-Alexin and Jackie Ibarra, thank you so much for all the work that you do and for sharing your insights with us today.

Oh, thank you for having us.

- Thank you.

- Absolutely.

And you can of course see all of their reporting online at decibelatx.org.

That's our show.

Thanks so much for watching this special episode of "Austin InSight."

You can see all of our other episodes on the Austin PBS YouTube channel and in the PBS app anytime for free.

We'll see you next time.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from Sally and James Gavin, and also from Daniel L. Skret.

(lighthearted music)