AUSTIN (KXAN) -- After school on a Tuesday at the Boys and Girls Club facility in Meadowbrook - a low-income housing community in south Austin - sisters Julissa and Jaritza Topar Mendez, 13 and 12 years old, acted like your typical sister-sister duo.

"You copied me," Jaritza said, when older sister Julissa said her favorite food was chicken alfredo.

This conversation transitioned into a rehash of that morning's argument about how much ice one sister was supposed to put in the other's water bottle.

"OK, we've got to be professional here," Julissa eventually said, putting a stop to the banter so the interview could go on.

Sure, they engaged in a standard sisterly squabble, but when it comes to feeling safe in their community, they don't have the same luxury many families may take for gra

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