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Community Corner

🌱City Council Approves YWCA Women's Center + Viva Poesia Returns

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in San Antonio.

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Gabriela Cantu Couvillion, Neighbor

Happy Monday, San Antonio! Here's everything you need to know about what's happening in San Antonio today.

First, today's weather:

A shower and thunderstorm. High: 79 Low: 50.

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Here are the top stories in San Antonio today:

  1. The Alamodome mass vaccination site located at 100 Montana St. will be closing on Friday, March 25. The site which originally opened on January 11, 2021, operated continuously administering more than 226,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses, but city officials decided to close it now due to "a decrease in people seeking to get vaccinated at the Alamodome drive-thru clinic." However, Metro Heath COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinics will still be open at various neighborhoods in town. Claude A. Jacob, Metro Health Director, said, "We would like to thank everyone who visited the Alamodome drive-thru clinic to get vaccinated in order to protect themselves and our community from this virus." Jacob added, "I would also like to thank our fantastic staff and, in particular, Dr. Anita Kurian and her team for their tireless contributions in reaching this milestone. Metro Health wants to remind the community that we must continue to remain vigilant and encourage those who have yet to get vaccinated or boosted to please do so at any of our weekly vaccine pop-up clinics." A list of vaccine pop-up clinics and testing locations is available at covid19.sanantonio.gov, and you can also call 311 and select option 8 for more information." (Press Release Desk)
  2. On Thursday, March 17, San Antonio's City Council "approved the YWCA Women's Live and Learn Center in District 5" on the West Side. The project provides women aged 17-25 "who are domestic violence survivors and/or exiting out of foster care...an opportunity to gain vital, lifechanging skills while receiving the workforce development training that they need to get ahead in San Antonio." Some of the services offered at the center are "on-site childcare, job training, access to food, financial literacy, and preventive mental health services." During the City Council meeting, Councilwoman Teri Castillo said, "Today we approved a rezoning that is in line with the Strategic Housing Implementation Plan, the City's Domestic Violence Plan, and a plan that expands the YWCA's commitment to empowering young women on the West Side of San Antonio. The YWCA Women's Live and Learn Campus is a monumental first step toward bringing women and their children out of the shadows of an abusive home or a failing foster care system and empowering them." Francesca Rattray, YWCA CEO, added, "Today, YWCA had the opportunity to be a voice for the many women who will be served by the Women's Live and Learn Center. We look forward to working with City Councilwoman Castillo to create opportunities for young women on the West Side." For more details visit: (Press Release Desk)
  3. After being held virtually for the past two years due to COVID-19, the "Viva Poesía: Palabras, Música, y Cultura" returns this year "as an in-person event" with the theme "La Música Que Somos." The free event is presented by the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office and will be held at the historic Mission Marquee Plaza, located at 3100 Roosevelt Ave., on Saturday, March 26 from 6-9 p.m. For more event details and for registration information for vendors interested in participating, please visit www.missionmarquee.com and: (Press Release Desk)
  4. One San Antonio organization "working to help the future generations in our community" is the UP Partnership, whose unique goal is to ensure that young people in Bexar County youth are ready for the future. "The group wants to deliver on this plan by coordinating data, aligning pathways and promoting policy change that can help unlock the full potential of our young people, our communities, and our region." UP Partnership CEO, Ryan Lugalia-Hollon, said, "Across all of our partners, we have one shared mission and that's to ensure all young people in Bexar County are ready for the future. We do not provide any direct services for what's called the backbone organization, so we support and connect our partners. We work with over 30 local partners, from UTSA and TAMUSA and Alamo Colleges to smaller organizations like Powerhouse and Austin Center. And collectively, they reach about 400,000 young people, which is roughly 70% of our county's young people." For more information on the initiative visit https://uppartnership.org/ and for additional details, including a news video, visit: (KSAT San Antonio)

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Today in San Antonio:

  • Unveiling of the Little Locker Project, hosted by San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) and local education nonprofit SA YES, in honor of National Reading Month. Unveiling celebrations will be held at Kelly Elementary School at 1026 Thompson Place, and at Barkley-Ruiz Elementary School on 1111 S Navidad St. (10:15 a.m.)
  • PitchBlack210 Lunch and Learn Edition, "San Antonio's only small business and startup pitch showcase amplifying Black founders," at Geekdom Event Centre, 131 Soledad St. (Noon)
  • Sunset Flow Yoga with Alamo City Yoga at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. "Meet at the entrance" to start off "with a 10-minute meditative walk" in the gardens "followed by a 50-minute" yoga session for all levels. Registration due at the time of the event and cost is $13.50 for members and $15 for members, or $75 for all 6 classes from March 21-April 25. For questions contact csauers@sabot.org. (6 p.m.)
  • Women's History Month celebration continues at St. Mary's University with the national 2022 theme, "Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope." Local university events include "a chat over coffee, panel discussions and more." (All Day)
  • The UTSA Racial Equity Habit Building 21-Day Challenge begins at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) via Zoom. The entire event focuses "on the diverse Latinx experience" and "the first week begins with an overview of the program, terminology and language."Faculty and staff are invited "to complete a curriculum of daily short assignments, typically taking less than an hour a day," with group discussions on Fridays from 11 a.m.-Noon via Zoom. Faculty, staff and students should sign up for the challenge by Monday, March 21. (All Day)

From my notebook:

  • "The love runs deep between Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs and VOKS Athletics, the official account for Lanier High School athletics. On behalf of Keldon, The San Antonio Spurs team is proud to donate $10,000 to the Lanier High School Basketball programs! Keldon found a second home at Lanier during the pandemic and now serves as a mentor and friend to the athletes and the West Side community." (Instagram)
  • "Join San Antonio Pets Alive! on Wednesday, March 23, from 6-8 p.m. to celebrate National Puppy and Cuddly Kitten Day at Chicken N Pickle, located at 5215 UTSA Blvd. The restaurant will be donating 10% of their proceeds during this time frame to San Antonio Pets Alive! In addition, they will have a variety of dog-centric vendors onsite." (Instagram)
  • "Sharks Lawn Care in the Northside of San Antonio offers local residential lawn care services. For more information visit Www.sharkslawncaresa.com." (Nextdoor)
  • "A neighbor in the Stonewall Estates area is looking for someone to take care of their mother for approximately 30 hours a week. Please call 210-838-4781 for details." (Nextdoor)

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  • Online Webinar on accident cases with a San Antonio lawyer (April 7)
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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Monday! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with your next update.

— Gabriela Couvillion

About me: I'm an active mom of two grown sons and lifelong San Antonio resident. I received a BA in Spanish from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and in my free time I immerse myself in creative writing. Thanks for reading Patch, and feel free to reach out if you have any news and happenings you think may appeal to our readers!

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

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