By Today is day 3 of no power for many families across the state of Texas. A brutal winter storm that continues to sweep through the southwest of the United States has rendered the electrical grid useless, leaving millions without power, and still some on their third day of no heat and no electricity.
What we are seeing are the very real impacts of bad policy and lack of movement to stop the climate crisis.
While we know the climate crisis is causing this “freak” storm, we also know the same unwillingness to shift away from fossil fuels is also the reason the grid in Texas is failing. A lack of regulation to make sure the energy grid is resilient to storms, legislators looking the other way when presented with the science of the climate crisis, and an unwillingness to take action to make sure the state’s most vulnerable are protected, are creating the perfect storm for failing infrastructure and loss of human life.
There are some excellent pieces that have come out in the last few days about the disproportionate impacts of every crisis (not just this one) on Black communities, communities of color, and low-income Texans that can be found below.
The most important thing right now is to do everything we can to support those who are struggling to stay warm, find food, and keep their families safe. This is not a comprehensive list but a start of places you can donate to or support right now to help support people suffering the worst impacts of this storm.
For a comprehensive guide on places to get warm in Texas, places to donate to, and places to find a hot meal check out this 8-page guide. The bottom of this guide has dozens of places to donate to that represent communities across Texas.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11GplfTTLRv6yV-2AC6GFw5Gy4izlPdGSay1HdRQcRjQ/preview?pru=AAABd9ue6iU*_OODJ1qZ9X81AKra7hvpbQ
The Black Futures Collective is offering small payments to folks who need immediate support. You can donate by following the links to their cash app or Venmo.
https://www.instagram.com/blackfuturescollective/
T.E.J.A.S. Barrios is an environmental justice community organization focused on providing community support to combat environmental injustice. They are raising money for mutual aid for frontline and fenceline community members. To donate click here: T.E.J.A.S Donations
Living Hope is an organization focused on improving quality of life and advocacy for folks with spinal cord injuries and other disabilities. They are currently raising money to replace medical equipment, offer food for, and help to repair homes of people in their community. Living Hope support
Mutual Aid Houston is collecting funds via GoFundMe here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mutualaidhou
Rio Grande Valley Mutual Aid has a number of helpful links on their linktree including a thread on twitter that has resources for folks in the area who need support. You can find the thread and other support links here: https://linktr.ee/Rgvmutualaid
Crowd Source Rescue is another mutual aid organization that works out of Houston. Currently, they are distributing water and supplies to those without power or heat.
https://www.crowdsourcerescue.com/donate
Para Mi Gente is a mutual aid group that has worked to provide money, food, and support to communities. They’re currently accepting donations via CashApp. More info is on their instagram page.
https://www.instagram.com/para.mi_gente/
Articles about what is happening in Texas and who it is impacting:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/17/texas-winter-storm-power-outages
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/climate/texas-blackout-storm-minorities.html