Library Card

New photo ID cards help the city's vulnerable populations access the Austin Public Library

The program helps immigrants, unhoused people, and Austin's seniors get a photo ID with minimal requirements.

Courtesy KVUE

The Austin Public Library's enhanced library cards have been a success since they were launched in early May. Over 550 cards have been given out since the launch, mostly benefitting Austin's vulnerable communities.

"The demand has been overwhelming," Austin City Councilmember Vanessa Fuentes (District 2) said.

The pilot program was started to help underserved communities get a photo ID. It's especially helpful for immigrants who recently entered the U.S, those who may not have a birth certificate. and those who are experiencing homelessness.

"These are populations that are most served by the enhanced library card," Fuentes said. "But it's available to anyone and everyone who's interested."

The City of Austin is already accepting the library cards as a valid form of ID. Fuentes said the City is also in conversations with Central Health, Capital Metro, and Credit Union about accepting the cards as valid forms of ID.

"It's about making services more accessible and easier to get to," she said.

Another benefit of having an enhanced card is it can be used the same as a standard library card to check out books, hotspots, laptops, and more.

Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

More Foraging

Free 'food forest' in East Austin expands with thousands of new plants

Angelina Alanis at Festival Beach Food Forest

Photo courtesy of KVUE

Angelina Alanis gives a tour of the garden, which is open to anyone.

In East Austin, there is an edible forest garden called Festival Beach Food Forest where anyone can walk around and harvest free produce, nuts, medicinal plant leaves and herbs. And over the summer, it grew to several times its size.

The forest has fig trees, peach trees, grapevines, asparagus and more that's not in season right now. You can grab passionfruit and plants like yaupon holly, with leaves that can make a caffeinated tea, rosemary and lemon balm.

"[Lemon balm] is part of the mint family," said Angelina Alanis, communication and partnership coordinator for Festival Beach Food Forest. "It has a lemony taste but it's good for a nervous stomach. I'm prone to anxiety so I always grab a hunk."

The food forest is located right next to Interstate 35 and Lady Bird Lake on 29 Waller St., near a part of town that's known for being a food desert, lacking grocery stores.

"There's as much as a 20-year life expectancy difference between parts of East and West Austin, and a lot of that comes down to food access, health care access and also access to nature."

Alanis said for the past nine years, the volunteer-based grassroots project been helping with the issue and just recently expanded in the summer from two-thirds of an acre of city parkland to over 3.5 acres.

"We're going to have hundreds of new trees," said Alanis. "We've already planted 150 new trees in the area and then thousands of plants on the ground."

See on Instagram

They also plan to add a community kitchen and a pavilion to do things like cooking classes or informational sessions.

Read the full story at KVUE.com.

health wellness gardening volunteering