Where Community Becomes Opportunity

She soon learned that AVEY partnered with Central Health to enroll uninsured residents in Central Health’s Medical Access Program (MAP) or MAP Basic, health care options for Travis County residents with low income. In fiscal year 2025 (Oct. 1, 2024–Sep. 30, 2025), 62,587 uninsured people in Travis County with incomes below the federal poverty level received health coverage through MAP, while 101,489 earned coverage through MAP Basic.

The staff at AVEY explained to Estenia they could enroll her into their Tech Navigator program, an initiative formed in 2025 to teach Travis County participants how to access health records on MyChart, along with so much more.

Estenia didn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

Evolving Programs

Building healthier communities takes committed work. Just over six years ago, as fears raised due to the COVID pandemic in Travis County, AVEY staffers worried that local communities in underserved areas were at risk.

“Our communities were not getting information about the dangers of COVID,” Carrasco said.

The solution was a community-health coalition called Promotores de Salud, which AVEY formed on the heels of the pandemic. The program, which translates to “Health Promoters” in English, essentially bootstrapped the next wave of informed citizens. Parents like Bertha Varela, who is now the Webb Middle School Family Resource Center director, stepped forward to learn new skills.

“Austin Voices has helped me grow personally and professionally,” she said (through a Spanish translation). “They helped me find a passion for helping my community, for being the bridge that connects people to resources and aid.”

These impact teams went to great lengths to spread awareness—knocking on doors, walking up to strangers. They visited restaurants and schools, sometimes even laundromats. Effectively, the campaign’s intent was to open a dialogue with the community at large. A few years later, AVEY applied for Central Health’s Community Health Initiative Fund (CHIF) program grant, which led to hundreds of enrollments in MAP, MAP Basic, and Central Health’s Premium Assistance Program (CHAP). Over 400 participants applied for MAP over a year period in 2023, furthering AVEY’s goals to increase health care access for its community. Since 2024, 72,285 MAP and MAP Basic applications have been processed with Central Health overall.

“AVEY stretched every CHIF dollar,” said Megan Cermak, Central Health’s senior director of public health strategy. “They went beyond just MAP and benefit enrollments. AVEY used the CHIF money to help people find housing, stable sources of food, and education resources.”

Amid all that goodwill, though, came another question. At some point, Carrasco realized a gap was forming.

“Who is going to have the time to come back and show (parents) how to connect to a health home?” he said. “We needed to train parents to become Tech Navigators.”

Improved Tech Literacy

Leaning on its first Promotores de Salud cohort, along with its family resource center staff, AVEY sketched out its Tech Navigator program as part of its adult education academy. It rolled out the plan in July 2025. AVEY first accepted applications from the community, then selected members—who were often parents—and provided enrollment to computer classes taught by Austin Community College lecturers. When those community members returned to AVEY, they began the next phase of the journey as Tech Navigators and began teaching new clients how to enroll in MAP and perform tasks online.

Tech Navigators became a go-to resource for the community.

“Last year I got my certification as a teaching assistant (TA),” Gamez said. “So now I can say I’m ready to help other families.”

Helping A Community in Need

Carrasco says the journey toward greater health care awareness is never complete.

The 45-year-old father of three grew up in East Austin and took care of his parents at a young age. He joined the Marines and then graduated from St. Edward’s University, ultimately moving back to the community that shaped him. His mission has always been to help people.

When he looks at his clients, he often sees his parents and imagines a world where they would have been tech navigators. While he recognizes the many obstacles facing residents in the Rundberg and St. Johns areas, he says he’s driven by the belief that every person deserves the opportunity to thrive.

Most days, Carrasco shuttles between resource centers. He’s been the Dobie Middle School Family Resource Center director since 2015.

Some days, clients like Estenia pop in.

They might need help filing an application or completing a task online. Gamez might be right there to help. Often times, she’ll tell them she’s a parent, too. And she’s bonded with Estenia over their shared experience—they both have special needs children. Gamez is working with Estenia so that she can pass her GED.

“When I came to this school, I told her that in other schools I never had support like I do here,” Estenia said. “I feel like I’m with family.”

Gamez tells Estenia the goal isn’t just to get by. Maybe one day she can teach, too. Maybe one day she might pass on the information she’s learned at the Tech Navigator program to another client who is in her shoes now.

“We’re all Austin Voices at this point,” Carrasco said. “We couldn’t do what we do without them. So, it is a great program.”