HOUSTON, Texas — Hurricane Harvey has left its mark on the coastal city with devastation everywhere, individuals left homeless, displacement abounding and more. This also applies to the LGBTQ community.
The city’s LGBTQ counseling and community agency, The Montrose Center, has created the LGBTQ Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief Fund online contribution page with the hopes of raising $500,000 in an effort to provide the necessary dollars for aid for those affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Monies raised will go toward providing the necessary care the community needs during this difficult time.
The fundraising page stated: “With more than 35,000 clients in core programs, we are already learning of staff and community members who have lost everything. The LGBTQ Disaster Relief Fund will be used to help individuals and families begin to rebuild their lives through counseling, case management, direct assistance with shelf stable food, furniture, housing and more. The center’s dedicated case management team is on call to help homeless youth, seniors, people living with HIV, hate crime survivors and those devastated by the storm.”
The Victory Institute shared in an email: “The flooding from Hurricane Harvey will impact LGBTQ Houstonians for years to come. And one of the many lessons we learned from Hurricane Katrina is that LGBTQ disaster victims were not always treated fairly in shelters and in receiving other emergency services.” And, community members, organizations, agencies and others from across the U.S. have been asking constituents to lend a hand.
Visit the center’s fundraising page at bit.ly/2vyqaP3 to learn more and to make a contribution to LGBTQ “family” who have been decimated by this horrific storm.
info: montrosecenter.org.