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West Street Recovery

West Street Recovery

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What we’re up to

DONATE TO FREEZE RECOVERY

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We've got the most beautiful volunteers cooking th We've got the most beautiful volunteers cooking the most beautiful food! Our extended family of residents, volunteers, staff, and community members have all been working together scouting water, cooking hot meals, delivering supplies, mucking houses, digging trenches and learning to fix broken pipes. To our volunteers, old and new- thank you and we're so happy to have you here! @alexandrasmither @mitti_pao @raehaight @vuhulife @isabellabzevallos @hannahhasaheadache @triangle08t Love, west street
Hi all, it's been a hectic week!! The city, especi Hi all, it's been a hectic week!! The city, especially Northeast Houston where we work, is in extremely rough shape. Some blocks such as Lavender St. in Liberty village have breaks in every single home. We're receiving many requests for repairs, sadly many more than we have capacity for right now. We want to be clear that we are prioritizing homes of the families and community we have been working with since Harvey, but will do our best to connect others with resources. WSR has already done intake for 63 homes with broken pipes, and our list is growing by the day. Of these approximately half have serious plumbing issues and about a quarter will need almost their entire systems replaced. Right now we have a team of 6 plumbers on 30-40 open pipe repair projects. We've coordinated mucking for a number of homes with water damage, and distributed over $5000 of cash aid. With @northeast_ac and HFSC we have also served over 500 hot meals for families w/o water for cooking and cleaning. We're gearing up and sending love for the long journey ahead.
This disaster is still unfolding - more damaged an This disaster is still unfolding - more damaged and leaky pipes will reveal themselves as water pressure slowly returns to the city. Drinking water, plumbing supplies, and labor are extremely difficult to secure right now. West street is a relatively small team but we are doing our best to address the immediate needs of our community, with lots of help from incredible volunteers 💕🙏 Again, we cannot emphasize enough that both the disaster and the recovery is a long term process. The damage from each disaster accumulates, and it's always the same communities that are hit the worst, again and again. We believe the best way forward is ground-up, community led organizing to build community power and resilience.
**EDIT: If you only have Venmo, please send to @ b **EDIT: If you only have Venmo, please send to @ ben-hirsch-4 West street is starting the long rebuild/recovery process. Many of our community members have structural damage from burst pipes and subsequent flooding. We just bought $4k of plumbing supplies, and are trying to get more (Felix has been waiting in line at the warehouse since early this morning). If you have the capacity, we're accepting donations (link in bio too). If you're in Houston, we need volunteers - please DM us! With love, West Street.
Right now west street's priority is to take care o Right now west street's priority is to take care of our community residents and minimize the harm of another climate disaster. Sending our love, this recovery will be a long one.
We're honored to be one of eight incredible organi We're honored to be one of eight incredible organizations around the country (#3 on the map 😉) to receive the @river_network Technical Assistance Grant. Together @northeast_ac and WSR will conduct a community research project to gather evidence on flooding, its impacts, what's making it worse, and connections to climate and racial justice. This is another opportunity for us to strengthen and practice our grassroots, ground-up, community-led processes to build community power. The River Network aims to promote increased community resilience in the face of a changing climate and to advocate for water equity in local decision-making - so very much up our alley. Check out their page: @river_network
WSR formed while the traumas of Harvey were still WSR formed while the traumas of Harvey were still unfolding; as we witnessed government abandonment we began to imagine building a response that did not replicate the conditions that left people so vulnerable in the first place. At the end of that first whirlwind month, WSR co-founder Leah helped document our experiences in our first zine, "a window propped open". Read more about the zine and our backstory in this month's blog post, up now on our website. And sign up for our newsletter to receive next month's (link in bio)
At our current rebuild, West Street is placing a At our current rebuild, West Street is placing a heavy focus, not just on resident inclusion in the reconstruction of the home, but also having an experienced person to train residents on skilled tasks. @cobbalot is teaching one resident to properly measure, cut, and nail in siding for for an outdoor laundry space. 'Each one, teach one' @shortyoleskool1 says. Training residents to be their own solution is our vision for a #justrecovery
The Houston Abolitionist Collective just dropped a The Houston Abolitionist Collective just dropped a powerful new zine on re-imagining the way we address harm and care for our communities. In other words: why we need abolition, and why we need it urgently. Gather your homies around the (virtual) campfire for “Imagine a Houston That Keeps George Floyd at Home, Alive, and Safe” - or join HAC's live reading this Saturday at 4 PM CT. Visit HAC's website www.LiberateHTX.com (link in bio) to read the full Zine, register for Saturday's event, or join HAC.
Myrtala Trystan, climate activist and Harvey survi Myrtala Trystan, climate activist and Harvey survivor, has a message for Mayor Turner: Climate action is about the survival of communities like hers. So why are oil companies like BP and Shell leading Houston's climate and disaster resilience efforts, while frontline communities w/o millions of dollars to buy Turner's ear are left out to dry? Link in bio to read Myrtala's op-ed in the Houston Chronicle. We're happy to see so many of our west street family featured in media lately. Much of our work at West Street is about bringing voices from the edge to the center, based on the conviction that those on the frontlines of (both everyday and "500-year") disasters are best positioned to identify the dramatic changes needed for a truly just recovery.
This week Ms. Sandra Edwards was featured on ABC13 This week Ms. Sandra Edwards was featured on ABC13 News' coverage of the deadly cancer cluster that has been killing children and families in Houston's Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens for decades. Entire families are dying to cancer from exposure to creosote, a carcinogenic toxin, from the nearby Union Pacific rail yard. Union Pacific denies responsibility and has given little more than "thoughts and prayers" to residents. For years residents have fought for action from the company, city, and regulatory agencies. “We have to be the voice for the people who are not here,” resident Verna Harrison said, “because they’re gone, and there’s a whole lot of them gone.”
Tomorrow night, watch the amazing Doris Brown (WSR Tomorrow night, watch the amazing Doris Brown (WSR staffer, NAC cofounder) and Alice Torres (Harvey Forgotten Survivor Caucus cofounder) featured in the Houston documentary Again, Together. The film screening will be followed by a panel on environmental racism in Houston. 7-8 pm Thursday, don't miss it! Link to register in bio.
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Upcoming Events

West Street Recovery Events
Check out WSR Upcoming Events and Volunteer Opportunities on our Facebook page.

Volunteer With West Street
Volunteers needed for rebuild, case management, admin, & other fun stuff. High need for skilled work & Spanish speakers. More info  

Contact Us

Call: (832) 356-6073

Email: connect@weststreetrecovery.org

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