How To Help Houston After Harvey
As Texas reels from Hurricane Harvey, people around the country are looking for ways to help Houston with the recovery process.
Natural disasters like this have a pattern of bringing out the best in people, but inevitably scam artists also come out of the wood work. They attempt to profit by encouraging you to donate money to help the victims of Harvey and then they take that money for themselves.
If you’d like to give but aren’t near the disaster area, a good rule of thumb is to give money, not things. Eventually, the victims may have a use for the clothes, towels, coats, toiletries, etc. that you’d like to send, but right now, money is what’s most needed. Here’s a list of reputable places you can donate to to help Houston flood victims:
- All Hands: This nonprofit says it’s in contact with emergency management officials, and as soon as they’re granted access, they’ll move into the affected area.
- Global Giving: This fund will provide relief to survivors in the form of emergency supplies like food, water, and medicine in addition to longer-term recovery assistance to help residents recover and rebuild. All donations to this fund will exclusively support relief and recovery efforts from this storm.
- Direct Relief: This organization committed an initial $200,000 in cash and made available its entire current inventories of more than $100 million to support medical relief and recovery efforts in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey
- United Way of Greater Houston: The flood relief fund will be used to help with immediate needs as well as long-term services like minor home repair. Visit their website to donate or text UWFLOOD to 41444.
- Charity Navigator recommends donating to the Houston Food Bank and the Houston Humane Society to support affected people and animals.
To avoid being scammed check out tips from the Federal Trade Commission. And remember you need to be wary of charities that spring up suddenly in response to current events and natural disasters. Even if they are legitimate, they probably don’t have the infrastructure to get the donations to the affected area or people.