One Month Since the Storms in TexasIt’s been one month since the devastating winter storms in Texas. While the ice may have melted the storm has not passed and the effects of the crisis are still very much relevant and need is still high. Hear from a local voice, Samaira Sirajee '15, who discusses what happened in Texas, how she leveraged her connections to support her community, what she learned, and the power of mutual aid. Who is Samaira? I am a 2015 Penn alum who works in K-12 education. Currently, I live in Houston and am the Founding Assistant Principal of Operations at KIPP Mosaic Primary School, a brand-new KIPP campus in Southwest Houston. I live with my husband, Jonathan Lym, who is also a 2015 Penn alum, our two guinea pigs, and our dog. We are expecting our first child together in August! What have you been doing to help your community in light of the historic storms? The storm was a very traumatic experience for me and my family. We went days without electricity, water, warm food, internet, and cellular service. However, I knew that we were one of the lucky ones who didn't suffer any long-term consequences of the storm (e.g. no damage to our home, we live in a more affluent community that restocked its grocery shelves quickly). It became apparent to me that that was not the case with many of the families who attended our school. In the aftermath of the storm, KIPP gave us a few days as a staff to check-in with all 260 of our school's families. Our teachers made note of which families needed help and our Leadership Team got to work figuring out the best way to assist these families. From this experience I learned that by taking the time to ask and understand what each family needed prior to jumping into "help mode", we were able to identify patterns and address the issues more thoroughly and using a more tailored approach. I have a tendency to jump into "help mode" prematurely, which can lead to wasted resources or help that is superficial. How you were able to leverage your connections to do for parents and families and what you learned? Coincidentally, over the past few months I have been working to make connections with community organizations in Southwest Houston that serve the same families we serve. At the time I was making these connections, I didn't realize how soon I would need to call on their support. The Houston Food Bank chose our campus as one of its food distribution sites. Over the course of two days, they were able to distribute fresh produce and water to over 1000 Houston families. A local faith community donated dozens of blankets that we were able to make available to our families. We opened up our campus, which had running water, for families to fill large containers with potable and non-potable water. However, the biggest lesson for me came from a fundraiser I was conducting with my personal connections. The wonderful, Valerie de Cruz, reached out to me during the storm asking how I was doing and how she could help. She suggested that she might be able to find a few Penn alums who would be willing to donate to Houston families in need. This suggestion sparked an idea and made me realize that there were probably many people outside of Texas who wanted to help but didn't know the most impactful way to do so. I made a post on my personal Instagram page asking for donations from my family and friends that would go directly towards assisting the families at our school who needed it. Many of our families needed help making unexpected repairs to their home from burst pipes, restocking their fridges after everything spoiled, paying higher than normal electricity bills, finding drinkable water since most of the water was on boil notice, etc. I was expecting a few hundred dollars to help a few families. However, in just a few days, I received close to $4,000 in financial donations. I was truly overwhelmed with the generosity of my friends and family and knew this amount could help us have a greater impact on more families. Because I live in a more affluent community, I was able to use some of the donations to buy many of the supplies our school's families were having trouble getting access to at their local stores (e.g. bottled water, cleaning supplies, medicine for children, diapers, etc.) and I drove around delivering these supplies to families. From the teacher call notes, I was able to identify 11 families who had suffered severe damages to their homes and were in need of financial assistance. With the remaining funds, I was able to give cash payments to these 11 families ranging from $300-$450, which helped pay for plumbers, handymen, groceries, car repairs, etc. From this experience I learned that by taking the time to ask and understand what each family needed prior to jumping into "help mode", we were able to identify patterns and address the issues more thoroughly and using a more tailored approach. I have a tendency to jump into "help mode" prematurely, which can lead to wasted resources or help that is superficial. What are you taking away from this experience and what should we, non-Texans, know or do to help? There is still a great need in the community in the aftermath of the storm. Unfortunately, many insurance carriers are not covering the damages that many homes sustained. As a result, many families are having to pay out-of-pocket, even after suffering from lost wages from not working the week during or weeks after the storm. Many are still paying off large utility bills. Because many families were forced to shelter with others during the storm, many have contracted COVID and are having to deal with the aftermath of that. This has been a horrific experience for many, on top of the pandemic. Non-Texans can help by staying informed, donating to mutual aid funds in Texas, and advocating for stricter regulation of electricity companies who are seeking to profit off of these traumatic events. Organizations to check-out and support!
What happened in Texas?
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