AUSTIN, Texas — This month, KVUE is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the extraordinary accomplishments of Hispanic individuals in the Austin area.
Austin FC is honoring four local leaders, including architect Jon Salinas.
Salinas said he knows what it's like to struggle while leaning on other family members for help.
Born to a family of migrants, his family traveled throughout the country picking cotton and fruit. It's an image he still carries with him.
"It can be a very haunting experience for kids when their parents are going through these economic ups and downs," Salinas said.
It makes him reflect on a time when his father would lend him whatever money he had.
"He said, 'This is something I have, I can give it to you. And I might not have it when you need it. So just take it.' And yeah, it was very powerful of understanding – that's how he grew up. He doesn't always have it, but when he does, he's willing to share it," Salinas said.
Now, Salinas is passing on that same spirit of giving through his position as the vice president of Spring Architects, developing affordable housing projects in communities of color. One project he is working on is the Juniper Creek development in North Austin, which will provide 110 units of affordable housing and will share resources with a food pantry and learning center.
"It's important for us to make sure that we design with compassion and understanding the background of where some of the folks [are from], what they've been through," Salinas said.
Rebecca Henderson is a stay-at-home mom of three who benefits off projects like these.
"I think money can either be a set of wings or a set of shackles. And affordable housing helps give people more wings that chains," Henderson said.
Salinas is helping to give Austinites those wings as a designer offering the comforts of home by understanding the past and building the future.