Fifth Ward organizers step up to aid with winter storm relief
Fifth Ward organizers aid the community in the winter storm relief efforts. | Courtesy of Marcel McClinton
Weeks after the winter storm devastated Texas, residents of Houston’s Fifth Ward were left behind as the rest of the city recovered. Limited resources and attention to the region led community members to take matters into their own hands.
Led by Marcel McClinton, Fifth Ward organizers Amatullah Contractor and Jacqueline Westman began mutual aid efforts to help people in the Fifth Ward recover after the storm.
“We saw a need, so we stepped up. People can’t survive without water and basic essentials,” said McClinton. “No one had to convince us to go to Fifth Ward.”
Houston Food Bank distributes holiday boxes at NRG.
The Houston Food Bank has distributed a record 272 million pounds of food since the pandemic first hit Houston in March 2020 an 86% jump from the 12 month period leading up to COVID-19.
A spokesperson for the Houston Food Bank said demand is more than they’ve ever seen before, even exceeding the year following Hurricane Harvey.
In May, June and August of 2020, the food bank almost tripled the amount of distribution it had during the same months in 2019.
“For food banks, the pandemic brought new challenges and has tested us in ways we ve never been tested before,” read a statement from Houston Food Bank CEO Brian Greene. “We had to find ways to distribute more food with increased restrictions, how to do more with less volunteers, and how to do it all while adhering to strict health and safety protocols.”
Deep freeze just latest disaster to befall Houston s needy apnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from apnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Deep freeze just latest disaster to befall Houston’s needy March 8, 2021 10:11 AM CDT By Juan A. Lozano
Mark Johnson pulls a shopping cart with cases of donated water back to his home, which was without running water after a recent winter storm, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021, in Houston. Local officials, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, say they have focused their efforts during the different disasters on helping the underserved and under-resourced but that their work is far from complete. AP | David J. Phillip)
Deep freeze just latest disaster to befall Houston s needy – People s World peoplesworld.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from peoplesworld.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.