In tackling the multifaceted issues plaguing Travis County, Commissioner Jeff Travillion is applying a strategy born from lessons of his childhood and sharpened by the challenges of the pandemic. According to a recent Austin Monitor report, Travillion believes that a coordinated effort, pooling diverse resources, is key to solving complex social problems.
Travillion's approach was crafted in response to escalating jail costs and recurring community issues, such as drug addiction that threaten to overwhelm local infrastructure. "Unless you address the core issues of the drug problem, jail costs will be unsustainable to you. Because you're housing someone, you're feeding someone, you're doing all these things," Travillion stated, as mentioned by an Austin Monitor report.
The commissioner advocates for a variety of services, including mental health support, job training, and housing solutions to uplift those entangled in the justice system. The roots of this community-centric outlook trace back to Travillion's youth in Mississippi, where his father's efforts to keep a local school open after hours demonstrated early on the power of institutions to serve community needs.
Travillion often pushes for the creation of "asset maps" at Commissioners Court meetings, which are essentially lists of assets. These maps are tools for understanding and utilizing available resources, aiming to patch the service gaps by fostering collaboration. "The goal of the process is to identify all of the pieces of fabric so we can build a quilt with it, rather than just have a little square of fabric that is not connected to the other squares in any way," he told the Austin Monitor.
Furthermore, the county has been active in bolstering job training programs. Travis County's strategy includes partnerships with major corporations and local authorities, exemplified by a program that helps incarcerated individuals obtain commercial driver's licenses, guaranteeing job offers with competitive wages post-certification.
For Travillion and the county's leadership, the endgame is enhancing the quality of life through practical measures. "We want to make sure that we are creating an environment that is improving the quality of life for the people who live in this community," Travillion said,, as mentioned in an Austin Monitor report.
