AUSTIN, Texas — As the Central Texas community works to recover from the recent winter storm, Austin-area organizations are coming together to put all the resources people need in one place.
The City of Austin is opening Multi-Agency Resources Centers, or MARCs. Resources available at the MARCs include assistance for getting debris taken away from your home, financial information about how to recover, charging stations for your electronics and mental health support.
"This has been a difficult time emotionally for our community. People have experienced stress, anxiety and the uncertainty has also brought along the trauma of the storm Uri that happened two years ago," said Marisa Malik with Integral Care. "When we're struggling emotionally, it's important to reach out for help. Our emotional help is just as important as our physical help."
There are currently plans to run the MARCs for the next few days. Organizers will reevaluate what people need after that.
On Thursday, a MARC will be at North YMCA, located at 1000 W. Rundberg Lane. The center will be open from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On Friday, a MARC will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center, located at 500 E. Cesar Chavez St. On Saturday a MARC will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Austin Community College Riverside Campus, located at 1020 Grove Blvd.
Adrienne Sturrup, director of Austin Public Health, said the City used data to decide where to put these MARC pop-ups and that data from the last storm told officials that the centers needed to be in multiple places.
"Our whole community is feeling the effects of this disaster, but we also know that national data shows that our Black and brown communities, who are often less resilient, feel the effects of these disasters long after the rest of us have our lights back on and have returned to our day to day," Sturrup said. "And so we will continue to provide support to our communities. That's why we're here in this fantabulous neighborhood. It's important. We have the data that shows that there is greater need here. And so we will be in this location and other locations that reflect that need in that data."
The City has also created a "virtual" resource center that can be accessed online 24/7. Visit AustinTexas.gov/Recovery for more information about the in-person and virtual MARCs.