February 26, 2021: The disaster that has unfolded across the South and particularly in Texas over the past couple of weeks is anything but natural. It’s a catastrophe of manmade proportions—the perfect storm of climate crisis, structural racism, unchecked capitalism, and political leaders who are more accountable to the corporations and millionaires who fund their campaigns than the constituents they purport to represent.
Though national attention has moved on, Black, brown, and low-income communities are still suffering. It is no accident that our communities bear the brunt of these crises each and every time. A legacy of racist policies, from segregation to redlining, have gotten us here.
We demand accountability and action from elected leaders who failed in their duty to protect constituents, including those who were already struggling just to get by and who have been hammered hardest by the pandemic. PWN endorses these #JustRecovery demands from Grassroots Global Justice Alliance.
To our members and community across the Gulf region and the South, and particularly in Texas: We see you and we have heard you. PWN members are dealing with major catastrophes, like collapsed roofs and broken pipes that have destroyed your property. Still more of you dealt with medication interruptions, still do not have drinkable water when you open the tap; are facing outrageous electric bills; and lost precious food supplies that you can’t afford to replace. On top of all that, too many folks are contending with impending eviction or astronomical rent increases in the middle of this devastation. We are here with and for you.
PWN asked for help, and our community nationwide answered. We have raised nearly $5000 to assist women and people of trans experience living with HIV in Texas and the Gulf who are facing hardships due to the winter storm. We are so grateful to our community for coming through, and will be working hard to distribute those funds to PWN members impacted by the Winter Storm in need in the most expeditious way possible.
If you are able, please contribute whatever you can. The need is enormous and has not dissipated just because the lights are back on. All funds raised through this page will go directly to support women and people of trans experience living with HIV in hard-hit areas during this incredibly difficult period of recovery.
When it comes to our elected leaders, we refuse to accept excuses, and we will not allow them to just move on. The policies they have put in place or allowed to continue–like energy deregulation—must change. This winter storm comes on the heels of a series of cataclysmic hurricanes that have hit the same region. These extreme weather events are caused by manmade climate crisis, and they will continue and get worse. Hurricane season is less than 100 days away. We will hold our elected officials accountable and will organize harder than ever to tear down the destructive, racist policies that leave our people vulnerable to the worst that every new catastrophe brings, from the pandemic to this winter storm.
If you are a resident of Texas, please consider joining the Texas Strike Force. We are already organizing to hold our leaders accountable, and we need your voice.
We will get through this together—and we will continue to love and take care of each other.
For lots of useful tips and resources for safety planning and disaster preparedness, please visit this page.
