REGULAR MEETING OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 6:00 PM PERMITTING AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER, ROOM 1406, 6310 WILHELMINA DELCO DR., AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Asian American Quality of Life Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch- atxn-live Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, contact Chelsea Pfeifer at chelsea.pfeifer@austintexas.gov or 512-974-2498. CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: Padmini Jambulapati, Chair Aasiyah Baig Sarah Chen Zachary Dolling Hugh Li Bhumika Purohit Nayer Sikder CALL TO ORDER Nirali Thakkar, Vice-Chair Alka Bhanot Sarah Xiyi Chen Hanna Huang Ahmed Moledina Alpha Shrestha Kuo Yang PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first ten speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission regular meeting on May 19, 2026. STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. Staff briefing regarding recent study and ongoing engagement with aging Asian American community in Austin. Presentation by Halana Kaleel, Public Health Community Engagement Specialist, Austin Public Health. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. Discussion regarding debrief of meeting with City Manager regarding Asian American Resource Center unmet needs. Discussion regarding Annual Internal Review and Report. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 5. 6. 7. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment Market Review of Job Titles. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding funding for SAFE Alliance. Approve the creation of a working group to identify needs of the Asian American Resource Center. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance, please contact the Liaison or TTY users’ route through 711. A person may request language access accommodations no later than 48 hours before the scheduled meeting. Please call or email Chelsea Pfeifer at the Austin City Clerk’s Office, at 512-974-2498 or chelsea.pfeifer@austintexas.gov to request service or for additional information. For more information …
ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, May 19, 2026 Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission Regular Meeting Minutes Tuesday, May 19, 2026 The Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission convened in a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 4815 Mueller Blvd, Room 1125 in Austin, Texas. Chair Jambulapati called the Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission Meeting to order at 6:06 p.m. COMMISSIONERS IN ATTENDANCE: Padmini Jambulapati, Chair Nirali Thakkar, Vice Chair Zachary Dolling COMMISSIONERS IN ATTENDANCE REMOTELY: Alka Bhanot Sarah Chen Hugh Li Ahmed Moledina Alpha Shrestha Nayer Sikder Sarah Xiyi Chen Kuo Yang PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission regular meeting on April 22, 2026. The minutes from the Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission regular meeting on April 22, 2026 were approved on Vice Chair Thakkar’s motion, Commissioner Moledina’s second on a 9-0 vote. Commissioners Yang and Li were off the dais. Commissioners Baig and Huang were absent. DISCUSSION ITEMS ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, May 19, 2026 3. Discussion of Fiscal Year 2027 Priorities to inform future working groups. Discussed. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. 4. Approve a recommendation to Council for Austin Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment Market Review of Job Titles. This item was withdrawn without objection. Approve a recommendation to Council regarding funding for Communities in Schools. This item was withdrawn without objection. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Recommendation to Council regarding ACME Market Review Recommendation to Council regarding Communities In Schools Staff Briefing from the APH Age-Friendly team on the recent study and ongoing engagement Staff Briefing from Austin Equity and Inclusion regarding the Levers of Economic Mobility Update Creation of Working Groups around recently discussed commission priorities Chair Jambulapati adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m. without objection. 2
RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission Recommendation Number: [YYYYMMDD-XXX]: Emergency Budget Recommendation for SAFE Alliance - Eloise House Date of Approval: Recommendation: The Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission recommends that the Austin City Council and the Mayor’s Office, in partnership with Travis County allocate a minimum of $430,000 in funding to preserve Eloise House as a community-based, non-hospital forensic exam and advocacy center operated by SAFE Alliance from June 9 through September 30, 2026, and $200,000 to keep the SAFE domestic violence shelter open from October 2026 through October 2027. The Commission further recommends that the City commit to a sustainable, multi-year funding strategy that ensures continuity of SAFE’s full wraparound model without displacement into hospital settings. Services include: • Forensic exams • Trauma-informed advocacy • Shelter • Legal services • Culturally responsive care Finally, the Commission calls on the Austin City Council to immediately pause the Mayor’s proposed transition of forensic nursing services to hospital systems and BRAVE Alliance, and to require a meaningful community input process that centers survivors, advocates, and the communities most impacted before any transition moves forward. A press release is not a plan. Survivors and the organizations that serve them deserve a seat at the table before services that took decades to build are dismantled in weeks. Description of Recommendation to Council: Eloise House, operated by SAFE Alliance, is the only non-hospital forensic exam facility in Austin. It provides sexual assault forensic exams and rape kits at no cost to survivors, in a setting purporse built for: • Trauma-informed care • Outside the emergency room • Free from billing • Staffed by advocates who remain with survivors throughout the process The Mayor’s May 5, 2026 announcement proposed transitioning forensic nursing services to hospital systems and BRAVE Alliance, a Cedar Park-based organization with no demonstrated capacity at Austin’s scale. This Commission asks Council to reject that transition and instead fund Eloise House directly, preserving the co-located model of exam, advocacy, and wraparound care that has made it the destination of choice for survivors; accounting for 95% of all forensic exams in the region. Funding of at least $630,000 would allow SAFE to sustain approximately 600 forensic exams annually, maintain 24/7 SAFEline access, and continue serving the more than 700 survivors per day who rely on SAFE’s shelter, counseling, legal support, and preservation programming. SAFE Alliance - Eloise House Statistics …
