Listen to the full program here:

Producers

Joy Diaz
Kate McGee
Matt Largey
Ashley Siebels
Wells Dunbar

Photographers

Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon
Ilana Panich-Linsman
Sam Ortega
Filipa Rodrigues
Jon Shapley
Bryan Winter

What Does the Future Hold for Dove Springs?

We asked people who live and work in the neighborhood what they see ahead for Dove Springs and what the neighborhood needs to come back from years of neglect.

Working, Studying and Raising a Child at 18

In Dove Springs, one in five children are born to teen mothers, some as early as middle school. It’s the area with the highest rate of repeat teen pregnancies in the country. 18-year-old Dove Springs resident Damaris Covarrubias is raising a two-year-old and working full time. She was trying to go to school as well, but had to take time off which is common for many teen parents. Full story.

Trying to Clean Up and Communicate in Dove Springs

Two-thirds of residents in Dove Springs don’t speak English as a first language, which means information as simple as trash collection can get lost in translation. On many major roads in Dove Springs, the curbs are littered with garbage: old mattresses, TVs, dishwashers and cardboard. The abandoned trash also creates a neighborhood filled with blight. Full story.

Rebuilding and Moving On

Since the Huerta family owns their home, they have moved back and rebuilt. But many families left Dove Springs never to return, especially renters. Others are trying to decide if they should rebuild too, or leave. Many are waiting to learn if the City of Austin and Travis County will buy their homes in the floodplain. If the home are bought out, the city could build parkland in place of homes.

Meanwhile, mental health continues to be an issue. Some residents are dealing with symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the few health services in the neighborhood are at capacity.

Picking Up the Pieces

For many people in Dove Springs, the Halloween floods only reinforced the feeling that their neighborhood is ignored by the City of Austin. Immediately after the waters receded many non-English speaking residents did not know where to turn for help. It took city authorities almost a week after the flood to organize the first community meeting. Meanwhile, newly-formed community groups began collecting food, water and supplies for those who lost everything.  They created a new group called the Travis Austin Recovery Group(TARG) to connect people with services and provide information to those picking up the pieces.

Months After Flood, Mold and Decay

 Month after the floods, hundreds of dead animals – from chickens, to dogs, to horses – still littered the affected area.  Some of those dead animals were in the green belt, right behind the Huerta’s home. The stench was unbearable. Hundreds of homes remained vacant and began to grow mold, affecting the health of those who stayed behind to rebuild, including the Huerta children.

Waking Up to Water

Dove Springs residents who live along Onion Creek went to bed the night of October 30, 2013, unaware most of them would wake up to inches of water in their homes. That morning, more than 600 homes in Onion Creek were underwater. Many people, including the Huerta family, sought shelter on their roofs, waiting hours until emergency responders could rescue them by boat. Five people died in the floods.