City of Gonzales
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
ACTIVITY REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: June 20, 2023
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, Acting City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement Activity Report
Gonzales Youth Council
• The month of May was a busy one for the GYC not only were they busy with finals, some were preparing to graduate while others were working to organize the mental health forum held on May 26th at Gonzales High School. The Forum went great, especially for it being their first one.
There was great dialogue with teachers and professionals regarding the effects of mental health and the pandemic and potential ways to continue supporting youth. The students also presented the data they collected on the second irritation of the mental health survey and their findings and are preparing to conduct another presentation to the School Board and the Gonzales City Council at their next joint meeting in August.
AGENDA
ITEM
7 • In the month of May GYC Commissioner Luke Naegle and Jr. Ambassador Aliyah Castillo were also busy preparing to join a delegation of 8 others to compete for a winning spot at the AllAmerican Award competition put on by the National Civic League in Denver, Colorado, June 9th through the 12th.
• GYC member Valeria Tinoco was highlighted in the news for being one of five youth nationwide to receive a Mental Health Awareness Scholarship by the National Society of High School Scholars. She received it after submitting an essay describing the work she was part of through the Mental Health Action Project.
Community Engagement
• In May, the Gonzales Community Health Workers continued to support the food distributions, they also supported the Cinco de Mayo festivities and helped spread the word about the Housing Element survey.
• In May, they also held the last two classes of the healthy cooking demonstrations. They continued to be a hit and had a great turnout. The children and their families really enjoyed them, and the school is now interested in partnering on them. They want to host more for their students to encourage healthy eating.
Gonzales in the News
• Staff continued to prepare the team going to Denver to compete for the All-American award. The team practiced twice a week to get the presentation down. We feel they will be ready when the time comes.