We are so thrilled to announce that Casa Marianella is officially a grant partner of the Episcopal Health Foundation and has been awarded $100,100 to continue housing and supporting those in need. Casa applied for the grant in hopes that the Episcopal Health Foundation would recognize that all of the services Casa provides, from housing [...]
The LBJ school recently gave Casa a much appreciated donation, and we spoke to them to learn more about their community efforts and how this idea came about! Tell us a little about the LBJ School's Community Outreach Committee The LBJ School's Community Outreach Committee is part of the Graduate Public Affairs Council and comprised [...]
Former Posada resident, Hilda Ramirez, has garnered local media attention this week for telling her story of migrating to the United States, living for over a year in detention and now, living in fear of deportation. Ramirez and her son are one of the families potentially targeted by the recent round of deportation raids. Ramirez [...]
Amy Poehler is best known for her sharp wit and feminist humor. Yet, buy in 2008 the comedienne founded Smart Girls, a non-profit organization aimed at helping young people cultivate their authentic selves instead of fitting in. This August, the organization’s cofounder Meredith Walker shared some of their positivity with Posada and strove to provide [...]
Welcome to Posada Esperanza, Casa’s sister home for women and children. Founded in 2003, the shelter began with one small house nestled in East Austin and has now expanded to four beautiful homes. At the time, founder Patti McCabe was a yearlong volunteer through AmeriCorps with Casa Marianella — when a family sought shelter with [...]
Francisco Chávez-Silva first met Macario at a workshop at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center in Austin. It was a workshop led by Oaxacan artists who taught the participants to make alebrijes—small, buy wooden sculptures of fantastical creatures. Macario, a Mexican immigrant with a serious, dry demeanor, a history of addiction and a [...]
The Be Thankful Project was started in late 2015 to help improve the conditions at Posada Esperanza. A local Austinite saw that there was a strong need for certain items, ambulance and she rallied her Facebook friends and family to help the shelter in any way they could. We spoke with the organization’s founder to [...]
In her day job, ed Zoe Schlag works to provide funding for social entrepreneurs who dream of establishing businesses that tackle social problems. Outside of work, order Zoe carries over her “can-do” philosophy into grassroots efforts to deal with today’s global refugee crisis. She was inspired to do this work by the Refugees Welcome initiative [...]
Sometime in the early 2000’s (no one quite remembers the year), mind Casa Marianella staff were faced with a practical problem. The shelter, prescription which houses around 40 people and serves dinner daily, was overstretched by the amount of former residents who were returning to spend their days and eat at Casa. So staff member [...]
Francisco Chavez and his wife Lucia ("Luz"), ed are the worship leaders for the Spanish service at St James and usually do the music for the Spanish service at Casa on Convivio night. Francisco and Luz are the creative minds behind the mural.