COVID-19 is walloping Houston, but there are ways to fight back
Houston is at its best when things are at their worst — which, to state the obvious, is now.
Emergency rooms are overflowing. Jobs have blinked out of existence. There’s no end in sight.
So, Houston: It’s time to rise to our crisis. It’s time to buck each other up, bail each other out, and build the city that we want to be, once we’re on the other side of this thing.
This list of 14 things you can do is just a starting point. There are, by my count, eleventymillion others, all of them urgent.
Babysit for a nurse. Check on your next-door neighbor. Or tackle something bigger by joining up with people — with your mosque, your church, your PTO, the barflies at your favorite ice house. (Barflies especially: With the bars closed, they’ve got the time.)
If you’re out in the world Help on the front lines:
Medical Reserve Corps volunteers often swing into action during disasters. The group — a mix of doctors, nurses, paramedics and people with no medical training — might provide medical help at a hurricane shelter or bolster the staff at a hospital or clinic that’s slammed.
They’re working now at Harris Health testing sites. Lay volunteers register patients, help with logistics and act as runners, while medical professionals oversee the swab tests.
“Here in the middle of the COVID response, we definitely need more of them,” said Angelina
Fontenot, volunteer director for Harris Health. “They’re unsung heroes. To our community, they’re the face of the medical response.”
While demand for their services is sky-high, many of the group’s usual volunteers are out of the game. Though the corps normally welcomes high school students and retirees, for the COVID-19 activation, it’s added a minimum age of 18, and asked that those over 65 or who might
be at high risk stay home.
To volunteer, register online ( www.texasdisastervolunteerregistry.org) or email MRC@phs.hctx.net.
Give blood: COVID-19 shutdowns have radically reduced the number of blood drives at schools, businesses and religious organizations, leading to blood shortages across the U.S. Houston-area donors are urged to book an appointment at any of Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s 17 neighborhood sites (giveblood.org; 713791-6608); or at the MD Anderson Cancer Center Blood Bank, ( www.mdandersonbloodbank.org, 713-792-7777).
Deliver food: “‘Spontaneous volunteer’ is not a dirty word” declares Crowdsource Rescue’s website — which is maybe what you’d expect from a ragtag organization born out of matching guys with boats to people who needed rescuing from hurricane floodwaters. These days, the group matches elderly people who need a food delivery with volunteer drivers who’ll pick it up at the Houston Food Bank for a no-contact drop-off. Demand, says co-founder Matt Marchetti, has been up in the last couple of weeks, and a stay-at-home order could increase it even more. Sign up at crowdsourcerescue.com.
Do whatever the Houston Food Bank needs: In mid-April, more than 200 members of the Texas National Guard helped the nation’s largest food bank meet skyrocketing demand. Now, though, those National Guard members are leaving — and the Food Bank needs help (preferably regular help) sorting and distributing its goods. Individuals can register at houstonfoodbank.org for one of three shifts — 8noon, 1-4 p.m. or 6-9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Other options are available for small groups; some Sundays; and for working offsite.
If you’re sheltering at home
See that Houston
counts: After the U.S. Census Bureau stopped knocking on doors this spring, it fell to Houstonarea organizations to finish the job. So far, the city’s response rate is only a little over 50 percent — meaning we stand to lose out, big-time, on our fair share of state and federal resources, as well as voting power in the legislatures. Through Houston in Action, you can make phone calls or send texts to people in the neighborhoods most at risk of being undercounted.
Buy a stranger a night
of safety: COVID-19’s pressure has made family violence more frequent and more severe. “Our domestic violence calls have spiked,” says Chau Nguyen, spokesperson for the Houston Area Women’s Center; and she notes that the Houston area has recently seen five shootings in five days. A $50 donation will cover the cost of someone’s night in an emergency shelter or hotel room. (hawc.org) Buy rice for a family: In association with Houston Food Bank, OCA-Houston, which serves Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, is buying bags of rice and other necessities for its monthly food drives. A $100 donation will feed a family of four for two weeks. (ocahouston.org)
Do Sudoku virtually:
Sheltering in place means that the elderly and disabled residents of Goldberg B’nai B’rith Towers are deprived of their usual activities — and would be delighted to share their puzzles and paintings with you. Sign up at volunteerhou.org. Buy socks and underwear for a kid: A family struggling to buy food can’t replace outgrown undies or socks with holes. The United Way’s Project Undercover aims to ensure that K-12 kids have fresh, new underpinnings as they return to school. The project’s website, unitedwayhouston.org/ projectundercover, will send you to its Amazon wish list. Buy a backpack full of school supplies: Whether kids return to classrooms this fall, they’ll still need crayons, pencils, notebooks and other essentials. This year, the YMCA’s Operation Backpack aims to provide the basics to 30,000 Houston-area students. $12.50 will supply one child. Donate at ymcahouston.org, or at H-E-B stores. Have your kid make a
drawing: Or write a poem, record a song or make a video. The Texan-French Alliance for the arts will ensure their work reaches someone who could use a lift: a healthcare worker, a nursing-home resident, or a hospitalized patient. (For details, see volunteerhou.org.)
Foster a pet: With normal operations suspended at local animal shelters, the need for temporary homes is high. If you’re fond of a particular breed, look up its rescue group in your area. For a broader spectrum, check out Mutts & Meows Rescue on Facebook or email muttsandmeows@mail.com. Sew masks for the
homeless: The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County urgently seeks donations of masks for shelters’ clients and front-line staff. (volunteerhou.org) Buy a gift for a stranger: Social isolation is rough on people with addictions or mental health conditions, and to make matters worse, many of The Women’s Home clients and tenants have lost their jobs. An Amazon gift list on thewomenshome.org makes it easy to buy little things that’ll brighten life for those women and their kids. Packets of flower seeds! Dr. Seuss books!
Nail polish! Those bright, small kindnesses won’t fix the mess we’re in. But they’re a start.