Houston flooding still expected to worsen as rain continues

[dlevere]

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/

[dlevere]

Harvey strands about 20,000 cruise ship passengers at sea

[dlevere]

You can call 1-800-RED CROSS or make a $10 donation by texting "HARVEY" to 90999

How to help the groups responding to Harvey

[dlevere]

As our hearts break for Houston, the Gulf Coast, and other affected areas, here are ways to contribute.

By Dan Solomon

If you’re in Houston, on the Gulf Coast, or in one of the places inland that’s experiencing massive flooding and other catastrophic impacts from Hurricane Harvey, you’re likely too busy to read this right now. But if you’re elsewhere in the state, you may have—like us—found yourself glued to the news coming out of affected areas. People are suffering. We don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know how long it’ll take before those places are safe again. We don’t know if they’ll ever return to normal. Because according to the National Weather Service, nobody alive has ever seen a storm like this in Texas.

But even if you are far from the devastation, there are ways to contribute. There are organizations that need support—now more than ever—that will ensure that people impacted by the storm have the resources they need to keep their lives functioning. Here’s a list of some of them, and what they’ll be doing to help:

To Help Kids

The Texas Diaper Bank, which is based out of San Antonio, is putting together relief kit for families with very small children who need access to clean diapers in the midst of flooding and evacuations. Diapers take up a lot of space in a delivery truck, which means that other relief organizations have to decide between bringing diapers or food to affected areas. The Texas Diaper Bank fills in that need.

Corpus Christi Food Bank
361-887-6291
foodbankcc.com

Southeast Texas Food Bank (Beaumont)
409-839-8777
setxfoodbank.org

Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley (Pharr)
956-682-8101
foodbankrgv.com

Brazos Valley Food Bank (Bryan)
979-779-3663
bvfb.org

Central Texas Food Bank (Austin)
512-282-2111
centraltexasfoodbank.org

San Antonio Food Bank
210-337-3663
safoodbank.org

To Help The Homeless

The Houston Coalition for the Homeless is facilitating shelter for homeless people in Houston, including offering up-to-date information about which shelters currently have space, who’s the best fit for each one, and how to get there safely. They’re accepting financial donations to continue their work.

To Help Farmers

There’ve been a lot of dramatic photos of cattle and other livestock being rescued in the storm, but there’ll be a lot of recovering to do for many of them. The Texas Department of Agriculture’s STAR Fund is a resource made up entirely of private donations that go to farmers and ranchers affected by the storm.

To Help Those Displaced

If you’re not in one of the affected areas and you have a spare room, you can host someone by listing your home on Airbnb for free, with no service fees to anyone. Right now, most of the listings are in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio. If you’re in any of those cities—or another part of the state that’s not experiencing flooding—you might consider listing your space so displaced people have more options.

In Dallas, Trusted World is operating three shelters for evacuees. They need donations, supplies (clean clothing, non-perishable food, toiletries, diapers, and baby formula), and volunteers to help sort out the things that people have dropped off.

Global Giving is trying to raise $2 million to help those affected by the storm. As of this writing, they’ve raised $43,000, but the campaign had just launched. The organization provides food, gas, clean water, hygiene products, and shelter in the short-term, and then funnels the remaining resources to local organizations to facilitate long-term recovery.

HEB doesn’t accept donations, but it’s worth being aware that the supermarket chain provides emergency response services, mobile kitchens, and disaster-response units to affected areas. (They also announced on Sunday that they’d be collecting donations at the register for the American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and Feeding Texas.) That’s especially important as a number of stores in affected areas (including the entire Houston area) are closed. You can learn more about which stores are closed—and which ones have reopened— here.

(Thanks to Jia Tolentino, Andrea Grimes, and the Houston Press for suggestions on where you can help.)

[dlevere]

Don't Fall Victim To Harvey Flood Scams