Hurricane Harvey Day 7 update

Thursday August 31 was the first day since the storm hit, last Friday, that we have been able to drive around town very far. 

Robin, Cypress and I tried to sign up to volunteer for the Red Cross online, but their systems were overloaded because of the high volume of volunteers, so we never got the confirmation of shift email we were waiting for yesterday.  So today we decided to just get up early and just head to the NRG Center to see what happened.

I am so glad that I have brought yoga back into my life because starting each day feeling calm and strong is helping me alot right now.  We had a good breakfast and then ventured out into our damaged city.

Traffic was light in the direction we were going and we didn't see any major damage on the way to the stadium.  When we arrived and checked in they said just come on in, because there was a ton of work needing to be done.  Today is the day that they moved all the people from all over town in the small shelters into the big ones like NRG, Toyota and GRB.  From what I gathered talking to other volunteers, the county and the Red Cross want to be in charge of all the logistics and the flow of donations coming to refugees.  I think it is a good idea because you could tell the NRG was run by a motivated and knowledgeable team of people.  I also have been hearing some not so nice things about Joel Olsteen's church which he opened as a refuge only after sharp criticism from his congregation.  I don't like the idea of funds for shelters passing through his megachurch coffers.  I am much more comfortable with the Red Cross setting up lasting and well managed shelters for those who need them.

The jobs we were given were needed.  We helped convert what started out as a cafeteria area into a new sleeping area.  It was a massive effort involving probably 50 of us loading tables, chairs and tons of donated food items from Exhibit Hall A to Exhibit Hall E.  The distance was probably half a mile and we made the walk back and forth pushing carts many times.  A volunteer coordinator heard I was a teacher and asked me to check in with the kids zone.  I went there and talked with their volunteers about what kinds of activities they were doing with the kids.  It is a popular volunteer station and each child who was dropped off at the kids zone was assigned a personal attendant who stayed with them and played with them until their parents came back.  There were many activities and more volunteers than there were children.  I am sure the popularity of this zone will increase as people are in the shelter for more days, so I will check back with them early next week to see if they need volunteers there.  This will be especially important for the school age kids who will have yet another week out of school due to the flooding.  HISD announced today they won't open until Sept. 11.  The shelter is well stocked and there is even an area where they can play with their pets.  The volunteer coordination there is being handled really well.

The kids and I spent some time this afternoon getting Dr's appointments taken care of and also doing some back to school shopping so that they are ready on the 11th. We still haven't been able to get beds for them because all the stores have been closed.  We will attempt an IKEA visit tomorrow if possible. 

We went to visit our friends Christine, Johnny and Lilly Peters and it was heartbreaking seeing all of their belongings on the yard.  Inside of the house all the pets were lifted above the high water mark and demolition was happening all around.  We are going to be hosting one of their pets, a rat named Sylvie, for the time being.  Lilly has a gig at the Mucky Duck on Saturday night and I will attend and celebrate with them in the midst of all this chaos.  I will spend Sunday with them helping to muck out more rooms and move what belongings we can to storage while the house is rebuilt.  Driving through their neighborhood was the first look we got at the extent of damage in Houston.  I am happy to help and hate that Christine is sitting teary eyed in her yard among her things as we drive away. 

Tomorrow we have an early shift at the Houston Food Bank. My friend Caitlin is going with us, as she is a neighbor and received no damage in the storm either. She has to drive her own car, though, becuase she is a Doula and might be called to attend a birth.  Funny how life just keeps on being created in the midst of all this chaos.   I love the food bank because they are run by volunteers and they are really organized.  It will be interesting to see how they are getting food out to all the shelters and still making their trips to local schools to deliver food.  I'm sure they have it under control. 

I will take the kids back to Jamie for a few days since they won't be starting school for another week.  I was so anxious to get back to a scheduled life but it looks like it will have to wait. 

Thank you to all of you who continue to send well wishes and also to those of you who responded to my post yesterday by donating to the food bank.  It is a solid organization supporting thousands of families in Houston. 

I can feel your love and support and I will continue to take notes for you on what is going on here.  I'm overwhelmed listening to the totals of what has gone on here.  80% of Harris County was underwater at some point.  I'm in the lucky minority.  Some homes are not expected to drain for 6 to 8 weeks.  I couldn't get into my house after Ike for 19 days.  I can imagine the mess they will find when they finally get in.  I think there will be alot of demolition happening.  People are already starting to throw around the words "grade raising" like after the 1900 storm in Galveston.  Seems improbable for a city this size.  I wonder where people will go.  I feel sad for my fellow Houstonians who don't have a place to live anymore.  I will continue to support them as much as possible.  Thank you for supporting me while I do that.  I think we will be in crisis mode for months if not years in some neighborhoods, so if you want to come down and help, please come stay with us.