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Love Thy Neighbor: Operation Hydration ATX

$5,252.90

Raised of $20,000.00

51

Supporters
26% Funded
  • Love Thy Neighbor: Operation Hydration ATX
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Campaign Description

Here at the Austin Area Urban League (AAUL), we recognize that temperatures continue to rise and heat waves are inevitable. To think that our fellow citizens don’t have access to water is unacceptable.
 
We have discovered that a lack of access to potable water for drinking, as well as other daily necessities, is a common issue for our unhoused citizens right here in the Austin area. Reporting indicates that 100% of the Unhoused Community Council (UCC) from the AAUL Helping Our Members Effectively Stabilize (H.O.M.E.S.) model members surveyed said they face barriers to accessing clean water daily.  

  • At least 15 liters of potable water per day is the UN’s minimum standard of water access that every human should have in a humanitarian crisis.  
  • The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men. About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women.  
  • The minimum amount of water for most urban residents to have a sanitary, healthy lifestyle is 50 liters a day according to the handbook outlining standards applicable to humanitarian crisis responses by NGOs, governments, and UN agencies. 
The AAUL found that the predominant issue with accessing water was the travel distance required to get to clean water or its access points. Many of the places homeless neighbors can access water in the city are water fountains and water bottle filling stations in parks (if they exist) and in other areas not on the eastern side of the city, and not in proximity to most encampments. 

Most resort to accessing risky clean water options like creeks, rivers, streams, or any source they can access. Traveling can be difficult for homeless neighbors because if they leave their encampment sites, they risk having their belongings stolen. Many also have disabilities that hinder their mobility. Some have at least one disability. Age is also a factor; more than half of respondents surveyed were 54 years or older.  

Water access barriers have been further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic as many coffee shops, restaurants, other shops, and access points where homeless people could previously access water have closed. 

You can make an immediate difference today by donating to this initiative. Please join us in helping some of our most vulnerable citizens beat the heat!   

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