AUSTIN, Texas — Hispanic activists are calling for more street lights and increased patrols at Chicano Park.

One of the leading voices for those improvements is Bertha Rendon Delgado who is no stranger to activist work. If anything, it runs in her blood. Her grandfather, Edward Rendon Sr. — the namesake of the east side park — fought to keep this land and now Delgado wants to make it safer.

“We grew up knowing that when it gets dark, you better go home and you better pack up, because the minute it gets dark there's no way you're going to find anything," she said.

She’s advocated for sidewalks and trash cans, and she got them. But now, she says, it’s time for some light.

“In our park, there is no lighting. It gets very, very dark here. And it's been like that throughout my whole entire life,” she said.

She’s also called on Austin police to step up patrols at night in the area, but the lack of lighting remains one of her main sources of frustration. She insists she’s worked with city leaders across different agencies to get answers, but generally, she says, she’s left with more questions than before.

“When the Parks Department tells me that there's no money in the budget, that we have no money in that bond... it makes me wonder why aren't we finding other sources?” she asks.

This feeling of neglect isn’t new, she says, but her fight isn’t new either. Delgado says she’s ready to keep defending this space.

“We're literally fighting for pieces everywhere, and it's a challenge right now," she said.