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I always give to the Green Party first and then to other wor - f E o Reboot, Make thy causes. — John Andrews y t r G 3 a 1 I can’t sit by and see wrongs and not do P 0 A n anything. I couldn’t justify having a kid if I e 0 e 2 P r wasn’t going to try and fix the world. When Ballot G C I’m around my Green friends, I feel like e 5 D h N 7 t there’s hope. Green values encompass n f 0 o o 5 E everything that’s important, and give us t n See story page 4 7 g o i an avenue to fix the problems in our soci - x E n t i a o h ety. — Dani Liebling c i B R s l b a O u Visit www.gp.org/donate to make your contribution. Thank you! W G p P “Be Seen Being Green” Green Pages editorial board new merchandise at our online store Deyva Arthur, GPNY The editorial board of Green managing editor Pages is resoonsible for the content of this quarterly publi - Chris Blankenhorn, GPIL ca tion. 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Prospective members should Send submissions to: #WeAreGreen provide information on their ex - perience in writing, editing or de - [email protected] Order at gp.org sign to [email protected]. 2 Features GREEN PAGES • Summer 2017 Caught in the hurricane Texas and Florida Greens tell their stories Compiled by Deanna Dee Taylor, Green Party of Utah This segment of a series focuses on stories asleep because you don’t want to wake up of Green Party members who lived through trapped in a residence filled with water. On two of the most catastrophic Atlantic hur - the very last day Hurricane Harvey was to ricanes since 2005, Hurricane Harvey in impact our area, it looked as if the Bayou Texas and Hurricane Irma in Florida. was going to breach its banks near the area close to me. That has never happened be - Hurricane Harvey in Texas fore. People have lost everything here. They Joy Davis , a Green from Houston, re - have lost their jobs, cars, homes, family calls the buildup to the hurricane. “Housto - members, and their lives. Our death toll nians began to prepare for Hurricane Har - keeps rising. People have been reported vey. Our Governor, Greg Abbott, told people missing, they are still finding bodies that to evacuate. Our Mayor, Sylvester Turner, were swept away, and trapped in homes. told people not to evacuate and to shelter Evacuees rescued in Dickinson and the sur - in place. We went out and purchased sup - rounding area were flown to Dallas. There plies to carry us over through the storm. The were over 9,000 Hurricane Harvey evac - shelves had already begun to look bare. We uees in the George R. Brown Convention were able to purchase our essentials. Water Center alone. NRG Stadium was also turned went from $3 –5 per case to $17 –42 per case. into a shelter.” Luckily, I had stocked up on water days be - fore. Gasoline prices went up as well. In the People have lost event you did not stock up before the storm, you were pretty much unable to get anything everything here. They unless your neighbor had what you needed. have lost their jobs, cars, In some cities, residents were told to write their names and social security numbers on homes, family members, Texas National Guard Soldiers respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. (Photo by Staff themselves in case they needed to be iden - and their lives. Our death Sgt. Tim Pruitt) tified after the storm.” toll keeps rising. the ground helping communities with dis - port each other. “I met more neighbors. We aster clean up in Columbus, Texas and the were six days without electricity and keeping The worst was not over, according to surrounding area. She stated how some res - mom cool became so much better since a Davis, after the hurricane passed. In the idents thought that she was with FEMA com - neighbor with electricity and a cord let us cities of Houston and Katy, for example, one ing to help them.” plug in an a/c. Another neighbor with a gen - of the reservoirs began overflowing into the A week after Harvey, Houston remained erator let us plug in our fridge and a fan. I neighborhoods. “The decision was then in survival mode. “The roads were opera - hate to think where we’d have been without made to release the waters from the reser - tional but some areas were still underwater,” them. We may have been without electricity, voirs, intentionally flooding the homes that said Davis. “People were gutting their homes but we were far from powerless.” were nearby, to prevent the dams from fail - and needing cleaning supplies. They were ing. So, if you survived without any damage throwing everything out on the streets, but during the hurricane, your home was now it was just sitting there. The debris had not going to be intentionally flooded within cer - been picked up and it was foul smelling and tain areas.” becoming toxic. They were going to send What positive things arose from this de - the evacuees that were currently at the struction? Davis describes how the com - George R. Brown Convention Center to munity rallied to help. “I witnessed every day Northwest Mall but changed their minds people step up and help their communities. even though portable toilets had been set People have been traumatized but are work - up there. The Red Cross came under a lot Joy Davis worked with other Greens to get ing through that to help their community the of criticism here for staying in five star hotels needed supplies to neighborhoods not get - best way they can. The Cajun Navy from costing close to $200 a night. They claimed ting proper or timely government assistance. Lou isiana saved so many lives. Companies a portion of their website that had an area sent massive trucks in to rescue people and that distributed financial assistance to Har - During the storm, however, evacuations transport them to shelters. Mosques opened vey evacuees had crashed. However, the do - became mandatory. “The flooding was cat - their doors to evacuees, Gallery Furniture nation portion of the site was still up and astrophic. Highways were submerged up to turned its store into a shelter. Hilton Furni - running. People that were in the shelter the highway signs on the overpasses and our ture was transporting people in their com - came out with how the Red Cross handled roadways looked like rivers. It was not ‘all pany trucks to shelters. Harris County Greens donations that were received and a King - Joni Leviness, who stayed to take care of her hands on deck.’ People were calling 911 to like myself and my son Victor Mendoza of wood Representative that is on our City mother through Hurricane Irma in Florida, be rescued. Their calls went unanswered or the GPUS Youth Caucus began to organize Council went viral telling people not to do - links the global environmental crisis to capi - they experienced long wait times.” Davis de - clothing drives. They went from residence nate to the Red Cross. School started back talism. scribed how Houstonians turned to social to residence picking up clothes from those while some of the children and teachers had media to use apps like Zello, sending out willing to donate to the hurricane evacuees. lost everything.” Leviness reflected on how to move for - emergency requests for rescues because They knew something else had to be done When asked about what the future may ward from this experience and what it water was coming into their homes, forcing because access to Houston was extremely hold for Houston, as rebuilding efforts com - means to be Green, “I was trying to think how them to climb onto the roof to survive.