Grammy Award winner and Houston native Megan Pete, who goes by Megan Thee Stallion, is working to keep the lights on for senior citizens in Texas.
On July 18, the six-time Grammy nominee announced that her nonprofit, the Pete and Thomas Foundation was partnering with local nonprofit Bread of Life Inc. for the Emergency Power Program. The program will distribute generators to seniors and their families to ensure they won't be without power after extreme weather.
As detailed by ABC13, millions of residents in the Houston area lost electricity after Hurricane Beryl pummeled Texas on July 8.
At the time of the report, at least 14 deaths in Harris County had been attributed to the Category 5 storm. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences found that 50% of them were heat-related and happened to people aged 50 years and older as a result of power outages, as the news outlet reported.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, older adults are particularly vulnerable to heat because their bodies can't adjust as well to "sudden" temperature changes. Chronic medical conditions and prescription medications can also impact their responses to high temperatures.
Disaster resilience zones (explained here by the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and clean energy technologies such as solar panels are among the solutions helping communities access cool areas or keep the lights on during or after storms.
Some citizens may need additional assistance, though, which is where the nonprofits are stepping in with the Emergency Power Program.
"We want to expand our support of the most vulnerable people in the city, and Hurricane Beryl, the derecho, and other storms have highlighted that our seniors are in dire need of assistance," Bread of Life executive director Rudy Rasmus said in a statement, per ABC13.
Last year, the United States experienced a record number of billion-dollar disasters, and according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Texas was hit the hardest.
Extreme weather does occur naturally. For example, the La Niña weather pattern is expected to contribute to a more active hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean in 2024. However, rising global temperatures (primarily linked to pollution from dirty fuels) have supercharged our storms.
If hurricanes rapidly intensify, they can also catch people unaware.
The partnership between the nonprofits intends to ensure seniors don't have to worry about the life-threatening loss of power in the event of dangerous weather.
"Our goal is to provide generators to our most vulnerable seniors ahead of storms or other events that knock out power, so there is no interruption in service," Rasmus said in a statement published by Pete's nonprofit on Facebook.
"It's been painful to watch the elderly population in Houston suffer without electricity during these devastating storms," Pete said. "... We need to do our part to provide our elders with the best resources possible to withstand future emergencies."
As of July 18, the nonprofits and community partners had distributed 10 generators. The Pete and Thomas Foundation says on its website that it will share more details about the program soon.
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