Bridge Builders: Community Listening Event Propels Community Engagement through Group Discussions

South Central, TX – Community Council of South Central Texas is delighted to announce the success of its, Bridge Builders: Community Listening Event, sponsored by Methodist Healthcare Ministries. This event took place at the end of May, in celebration of, Community Action Month.

Bridge Builders, held at the McKenna Center in New Braunfels, TX, attracted passionate community members from Guadalupe, Comal, and Kendall Counties. These individuals actively shared their concerns, ideas, and aspirations with local officials and representatives from CCSCT. The event provided a unique platform for residents to express their opinions, concerns, and hopes for the future of the community.

Guadalupe County participants expressed challenges such as lack of transportation and access to services, rural isolation, crime concerns, increasing housing costs, and basic infrastructure needs. To address these concerns, there is a request for improved transportation, partnerships with employers, enhanced police patrols, targeted road maintenance, more affordable housing, and infrastructure improvements including road maintenance, drainage, sewer services, and sidewalks.

In Comal County, the key concerns include lack of transportation and access to services, insufficient childcare for working parents, lack of affordable housing, and basic infrastructure deficiencies. The community also highlights the need for more outdoor play spaces, affordable activities for children, and cleaner communities. The requests include providing services to high-need neighborhoods, improved transportation, increased promotion of available resources, support for parks and children’s activities, child care support, and community cleanup efforts. Additionally, infrastructure improvements such as road maintenance, drainage, sewer services, and sidewalks are needed.

Kendall County shares concerns related to transportation and access to services, the need for foster parents and support systems, and addressing substance abuse disorders. The requests include improved transportation for seniors, more assistance for individuals with substance abuse disorders, support for foster parents and children in foster care, and infrastructure improvements like road maintenance, drainage, sewer services, and sidewalks.

Executive Director, Bobby Deike expressed his gratitude to all involved in the following statement:  “Thank you to Methodist Healthcare Ministries for their generous donation that made this vent possible. I also appreciate those community partners that gave of their time to share their perspective on the needs of their local communities. I also want to thank community leaders from Comal and Guadalupe Counties for attending and showing interest in hearing the thoughts of the community partners. Finally, I want to thank the Texas Association of Community Action Agencies for their support and making it possible for Frontera Strategies to moderate both days of the event.”

CCSCT would like to express its sincere gratitude to Methodist Healthcare Ministries, all community members, local officials, and partners who contributed to the success of Bridge Builders. Together, we will continue our efforts to build a stronger, more vibrant community.

Community Council of South Central Texas is a member of the National Community Action Partnership and the Community Action Network, which was born out of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. CCSCT is a non-profit community action agency that empowers vulnerable families and individuals in the greater South Central Texas area to achieve self-sufficiency by eliminating barriers through innovative programs and strong community partnerships. Counties serviced include Atascosa, Bandera, Bee, Brewster, Comal, Crane, Culberson, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, LaSalle, Live Oak, Maverick, McMullen, Medina, Pecos, Presidio, Real, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde, Wilson, and Zavala. For more information, visit www.ccsct.org or follow us on the socials at https://linktr.ee/ccsct_cares.