North Texas’s LGBT community steps up to aid hurricane victims
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
As of Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 30, The Washington Post was estimating that Harvey — in all its incarnations from tropical storm to hurricane and back again — had dumped 19 trillion gallons of water on Southeast Texas. Nineteen trillion. They estimated that another 5.5 trillion gallons had fallen on southern Louisiana.
And when that report was published, the rain was still coming down, threatening the smaller cities and towns and rural areas east and northeast of Houston.
By Thursday morning, Aug. 31, the death toll stood at 39, and tens of thousands have been forced from their homes. While the floodwaters were beginning to recede in some areas, officials were warning that the waters could rise again as reservoirs were forced to open their floodgates to keep dams from breaching.
And explosions at a flood-crippled chemical plant in Crosby, just northeast of Houston, were adding to the already-overwhelming crisis.
But the state and the country are responding, reaching out to provide rescue and respite. And that includes the DFW LGBTQ community. Here are some of the efforts underway and how you can help.
Relief funds
Montrose Center in Houston has established what has become the largest LGBT relief fund for Houston. Texas Pride Impact Funds is matching money going to Montrose Center through the TPIF.org website.
Montrose Center is a counseling and community center that has served Houston’s LGBT community since 1978 and currently serves about 35,000 clients. Among those served are people with HIV, homeless youth, seniors, hate crime survivors and now others impacted by the floods with food, housing, furniture, counseling and more.
According to TransGriot writer and Houstonian Monica Roberts, the Trans Community Fund run by the Transgender Foundation of America established the Trans Disaster Relief Fund to help transgender people along the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane Harvey. Donations to that fund may be made online at TFAHouston.com/donate.
McCrocklin and friends
Dallasite Karen McCrocklin has experience providing flood relief. Last year, she and some friends collected about $7,000 and drove supplies and money down to Baton Rouge after that city was hit by devastating floods.
McCrocklin began a GoFundMe page, Dallas for Harvey, soon after Hurricane Harvey hit and collected $4,000 in the first 24 hours (By Thursday morning, the total stood at just over $9,000). Someone even donated a jon boat, a flat metal boat with an outboard motor to do water rescues, and on
Tuesday, Aug. 26, McCrocklin drove the boat down to the outskirts of Houston to give to someone who put a call out for boats.
“I have no business getting in the way,” McCrocklin said before leaving for her first trip to Houston. “I’ll drop it off and get out of the way.”
She has a friend making a trip to drop off items in Houston on Friday, and she’s planning to bring a U-Haul full of items on Monday.
“We learned a lot from Baton Rouge,” she said. “One of the most important things we took were plastic tubs.”
People needed a place to keep items dry, McCrocklin explained. They also needed backpacks. While people were dropping off items at temporary shelters, those getting the items had no place to keep them; backpacks were the only place they had to store personal hygiene and other small items.
The other thing she said flood victims cherished were personal notes of encouragement.
“People were moved that other people were thinking of them,” she said.
McCrocklin said her relief effort was to “augment and amplify.”
“The key is not to duplicate what the big organizations are doing,” she said, adding that she makes sure to “stay out of the way of the bigger rescues.”
McCrocklin called her trip to deliver the boat a fast trip. But in addition to dropping off the boat for water rescues, she’ll be picking up a few people who wanted to get to Dallas but had no way of getting here.
For the short term, she’s looking for smaller community organizations and finding out their needs.
The real challenge, she said, comes later. Once the rescue organizations have moved on, the real work begins. Once people get back into their homes, they’ll need help ripping out carpet and painting to get rid of mold.
Her advice to anyone who wants to help is to answer specific needs, “But absent a mission, give cash.”
Texas Red Ribbon Wish Network
The Texas Red Ribbon Wish Network, based in Malakoff, is also working toward disaster relief efforts.
The organization’s chief financial Officer lives in The Woodlands, 20 miles north of Houston, and he was on the ground in Houston as soon as possible, “helping support the volunteer rescuers from all across Texas and Louisiana,” Chairman and CEO Brian Paris said.
“So far, he has spent nearly $2,000 of his own money on gas cards and hotel rooms for the volunteer search and rescue personnel,” Paris said earlier in the week. “These are people from all walks of life who have dropped everything, set aside politics and prejudice, and volunteered their own time, vehicles, boats and pretty much anything else needed just to help save lives.”
As the rescue efforts continue, Paris said Red Ribbon Wish Network will be working to provide support for the rescue workers and volunteers.
Make donations online at RedRibbonTexas.org/hurricane-harvey-support or mail a check payable to TRRWN to P.O. Box 24 Malakoff, Texas 75148.
Paris said, “100 percent of your donation will be spent in the affected area within 24 hours, solely on the rescuer’s efforts,” noting that donations may be tax deductible.
Medical assistance
Dr. John Carlo, CEO of Prism Health North Texas formerly AIDS Arms, is creating the medical clinic for the shelter in the Dallas Convention Center.
On Wednesday, no one was using the shelter yet because people had no way out of Houston. Flights from Hobby Airport were expected to begin on Thursday, and people may arrive needing a place to stay.
“We’re preparing for the worst and hoping for the best,” he said.
The clinic will be set up to deal with general issues. He said people with HIV from the Texas coast who need medical help can call Prism Health. They’ve gotten waivers needed to see patients without a lengthy intake and will see people at the Oak Cliff or South Dallas clinics that day.
Downtown at the convention center, Carlo said, “We’re setting up for a large number of people coming.”
Those who may have lost HIV medication during the storm can call the Texas Medication Program, at 1-800-255-1090, for help.
Rose Room benefit show
“We’ve been feeling helpless watching the news, so here is our chance to do something and your chance to help,” said James Love, aka drag performer Cassie Nova, in explaining why he and his fellow entertainers have scheduled a special show on Sunday, Sept. 10, in The Rose Room at S4, 3911 Cedar Springs Road, to benefit disaster relief efforts.
The doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m. Admission is a suggested donation of $5, and all tips and donations will go to the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund.
Entertainers will include Love, Kelexis Davenport, Jenna Skyy, Layla Larue, Krystal Summers, Sasha Andrews, Chanel LeMasters, Mulan, Raquel Blake, Athena O’Hara, Alexis Rayne, Fantasha, Rocky Tacoma, MayMay Greaves, Bleach, Ariel O’Hara, Daphne Rio, Your Highness, Starr Michaels, Bianca Starr and more.
Benefit concert
Poor David’s Pub is holding a 12-hour benefit concert for flood victims on Sat., Sept 2, from noon to midnight.
Lesbian singer-songwriter SONiA will be among the performers. She and her band were scheduled to perform at the Kerrville Folk Festival, which was canceled because of the hurricane.
“My sister Cindy was flying in from
Seattle, and my Baltimore band mates too, so I was really initially disappointed. But then I thought we can help — it’s what we do,” she said.
Before coming to Dallas, she organized a benefit concert in Baltimore.
SONiA is scheduled to go on stage at Poor David’s at 7:55 p.m. and play a 25-minute set. A number of others who were scheduled to perform in Kerrville will be in Dallas for the benefit including Sam Baker and Grace Pettis.
Celebration Community Church
“We have been told by those working directly with groups and individuals that the best way people can help right now is with WalMart or similar gift cards that can be used for basic necessities,” Celebration Community Church pastor, the Rev Carol West said, “Any small amount helps.”
The church, located at 908 Pennsylvania Ave. in Fort Worth, is collecting the gift cards to send to Houston for distribution.
“Thank you for helping Celebration help others,” West said. “It is what churches do.”
Northaven UMC donation drive
Northaven United Methodist Church, 11211 Preston Road in Dallas, is holding a donation drive Saturday, Sept. 2, beginning at 10 a.m. to help evacuees being housed at shelters across the DFW area. They are asking for donations of bottled water or sports drinks, personal hygiene items, baby food, diapers, blankets, non-perishable food items and snacks, clothing, etc.
Contact the church at 214-363-2479 for information on simultaneous donation drives in Arlington and Denton.
Senior Source
Senior Source is collecting senior-specific items such as incontinence pads, briefs, walkers and denture care items for senior citizens who have been displaced by the storm. Senior Source is in touch with senior groups in the Houston area and will get the resources into the right hands faster than other relief organizations may. Items may be dropped off at Senior Source at their office at 3910 Harry Hines Blvd.
For the animals
A number of people have created fundraising pages for specific relief causes.
For example, Nonnie Ouch, a lesbian from Arlington, is raising money to help animals displaced by the hurricane.
“I’m raising money for Friends For Life Animal Rescue and Adoption Organization — Houston. Every little bit helps. This cause means a lot to me, and I believe that we can make a difference together,” she wrote on Facebook.
Friends for Life is a no-kill shelter that rescues, medically treats and places animals in loving home. Donations can be made through her Facebook page.
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Damage is done
The Montrose Center office seems to be OK, as is the main Legacy Community Health Center in the Montrose area of Houston.
However, Legacy’s Santa Clara office on the east side of the city has sustained water damage, according to Houston resident Ron Guillard. Houston’s Legacy Community Health Center is not related to Legacy Counseling Center in Dallas.
Resurrection MCC, located along White Oak Bayou, was also flooded.
Early in the week, the church canceled all meetings, rehearsals and classes through Sept. 1 because of flooding on nearby roads.
On Thursday, Aug. 31, they posted pictures on Facebook of cleanup activities in the building that included ripping out carpet and sheetrock, which has been recommended in houses to prevent formation of mold.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 1, 2017.