Hundreds of thousands of Houstonians are still without power following Hurricane Beryl hitting the city on July 8, and many people are still struggling to find food and shelter. To combat the devastation, the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance has announced the Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund to help people impacted by the storm.

“Many in our community were still recovering from the impact of May’s severe weather when Hurricane Beryl struck, creating an even larger setback for those who are disproportionately impacted when disaster strikes,” said Amanda McMillian, president and CEO, United Way of Greater Houston, which partnered with the Greater Houston Community Foundation to form the alliance. “This fund allows us to lift up the most vulnerable who have been impacted by Hurricane Beryl to ensure they can not only recover from the immediate crisis, but also helps them along their path towards long-term recovery.”

The fund will help provide assistance with utilities, housing or rental assistance, crisis counseling, access to senior services, information on food pantries in the community, and more. The easiest way to receive information on aid is to call the 211 Texas/United Way HELPLINE (or 877-541-7905) or visit 211Texas.org. The hotline is available 24/7.

A Comprehensive Needs Assessment tool has been launch to gather information on what resources are currently required. However, it is currently difficult to use and confusing to navigate. Hopefully, it will be updated soon to make it more user friendly, especially to frustrated people dealing with damage from the storm.

Despite this, the alliance has gathered significant data on which parts of the city most need shelter, food distribution, cooling stations, and more. As the city still struggles to regain power in many areas, let alone deal with flooding and wind damage, these resources can provide significant relief.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has official declared Houston a federal disaster area. The alliance fund is designed to supplement the federal dollars now being made available through FEMA and other resources.

“Following Beryl, I know Texans are concerned about power outages and extreme heat," Biden posted on Instagram last week. “That’s why we’ve moved generators into the community to help reduce impacts of power outages and are staging water, meals, and tarps to keep families healthy.

"I give you my word: We’ll be with the people of Texas for as long as it takes to recover.”