Hurricane Beryl Assistance

We continue to provide after-school child care for 1 family who was displaced from the storm. In addition, we extended our child care hours to 7PM for all program participants. We are also helping with job readiness and when possible, placements, for families and individuals who developed employment challenges.

We're not able to provide direct assistance for rebuilding homes, but we are connecting homeowners to programs that provide that type of assistance. For people experiencing homelessness, we provide food, clothing, showers, water, and toiletries.

We are happy to observe that the majority of our community has physically recovered from the storm. Unfortunately, mental health is a persistent challenge. In response, we have contracted with mental health professionals, who live and work in the community, to provide group and individual sessions. In the spirit of unity, we are also hosting a series of free events so the community will have a generative space for gathering and healing.

On July 8, 2024, Houston, Texas, was hit by Hurricane Beryl, a Category 1 hurricane that caused unprecedented damage. Some of our staff members were among the millions of people who had been without electricity for up to 10 days. Staff members whose electricity was restored earlier engaged their networks and began relief efforts in any capacity that was available to them.

Record high temperatures and the lack of electricity throughout Houston and the surrounding areas led many families into crisis situations. One of our staff members was connected to a family that consisted of two elders who were both over 70 years old. They had been in their home without electricity for 8 days. One of the elders was bedridden, which made it difficult for them to leave. We were able to connect with resources in their area to arrange appropriate transportation. Unfortunately, there were no cooling centers in their area, but they were eventually able to connect with relatives with electricity.

Our buildings were also directly impacted by the storm and outages. The administrative building was without electricity for 6 days, and then spent another 2 days without air conditioning. After the building became fully functioning, we were able to resume programs with some adjustments. Over three days, we provided children, elders, and families with approximately 300 meals. Additionally, we chartered a bus for 5 days to take students to the Houston Children’s Museum where they spent most of the day in fun, enrichment activities with full air conditioning.

Our programs building and family center was without electricity for 10 days. When electricity was restored, we were faced with the task of cleaning and removing mold and mildew in a portion of the building. We have started the process of mold remediation and expect the building to become fully operational when we receive a clear report from the mold specialist. Although we have made adjustments, we will continue to serve the community with all of the resources available to us.