Austin Diabetes Services
“Providing high-quality education for a better quality of life.”
Understanding Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition that affects how your body manages sugar in your blood. When your body cannot produce enough insulin — the hormone that helps move sugar from your blood into your cells for energy — glucose builds up in the bloodstream. Over time, unmanaged high blood sugar can affect your heart, kidneys, eyes, nerves, and feet.
It is one of the most common chronic conditions in our community — and one of the most manageable, when you have the right education, tools, and support around you.
Why Our Community Faces a Higher Risk
Living with diabetes — or preventing it — is not just a medical challenge. It is shaped by where we live, what we have access to, how we were raised to think about health, and whether we have ever had someone explain our diagnosis in a language and a way that truly made sense to us.
For many Hispanic and Latino families in Travis County, the barriers go deeper than a doctor's visit. They include not having health insurance, not having a provider who speaks Spanish or understands our culture, not having reliable access to fresh food, and never having been taught what a glucose number actually means or what to do when it is too high.
These are not personal failures. They are the conditions that too many families in our community have been navigating alone — until now.
Diabetes Self-Management Education — Learning That Actually Fits Your Life
Diabetes Self-Management Education — or DSME — is a program backed by research and recognized by health authorities across the country as one of the most effective tools for helping people with diabetes live healthier, fuller lives. But what that means at Austin Diabetes Services is something more specific than a textbook definition.
It means learning what your glucose numbers actually mean — for the first time, in a setting where you feel comfortable enough to ask the question you have been afraid to ask for years.
It means figuring out how to manage your meals without having to buy separate food from the rest of your family, cook two different dinners, or give up the dishes that have been on your table your whole life.
It means having a promotora — a community health worker who looks like you, speaks your language, and has navigated the same healthcare system you have — walking alongside you, not just handing you a pamphlet.
Our classes are free, held in places you already know and trust, like our offices, churches, community centers, and places in Travis County neighborhoods. They are also held in two languages. Our lessons cover the 10 required ADCES topics for good diabetes self-management instruction. They are taught in a way that fits your schedule, your family, and your budget. You don't need insurance. Just truthful, useful lessons based on the real life you're living.
Commitment to Health
At Austin Diabetes Services, we focus on breaking down the social and cultural barriers that prevent effective diabetes management, providing world-class educational tools.
“Support Diabetes Prevention”
Many people in our community live at risk of developing diabetes without health insurance or access to preventive services. Austin Diabetes Services offers preventive health education (DSME) and screenings to help people detect, prevent, and manage diabetes.
With your donation you can help one person receive:
- ✓Preventive diabetes education
- ✓Health assessments
- ✓A1C testing
- ✓Weight assessment (BMI)
Your support allows people in underserved communities to understand their health risks and take the first steps toward a healthier life!