A local juvenile justice center that houses 105 children in North Texas spent three days without running water or heat this week. The Lynn W. Ross Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Worth is just one of many correctional facilities throughout the state that struggled with harsh conditions when a winter storm passed devastated the Lone Star State power grid.
The juvenile center lost power on Sunday and fully regained heat and power on Thursday, a correctional officer said. At the height of the storm, the coldest room in the juvenile center had a temperature of 27 degrees Fahrenheit, the agent said. The children were unable to contact their families until Wednesday.
One of the parents said he also stayed in the dark. Justice center officials never notified her of the disruption, she said, and only learned of the problems by talking to her daughter on the phone Wednesday.
“If you have a problem with your facility and you keep someone’s child, that facility, whoever the authority is. I don’t care who they are. They should have picked up the phone,” Joyce said. Pipkin, 16 – an old daughter is housed in the juvenile center. “All single parents should have been notified that there is a problem.”
Juvenile center officials did not return CBS News messages for comment.
The deadly storm destroyed power in the millions and left inmates with few resources to protect themselves from the cold. Some were forced to skip meals due to scarcity and run out of essential supplies, while others took care of clogged toilets that could not be washed due to plumbing problems.
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Krish Gundu, executive director of the Texas Bail Project, said the backstage disaster was the “culmination of a system designed to punish” some of the most vulnerable members of the community. “We could have avoided this growing public health crisis by taking a smart approach to depopulating our prisons.”
Jimmy Weidman, an inmate at the Victoria County Jail, said his facility has not had running water since Tuesday afternoon, causing his toilet to flood. “It’s nasty here. Our dresser is full of feces right now. I’ve been asking them four or five times to throw a bucket so I can throw it in there and wash it,” he said.
“We’re urinating in the shower, where we’re supposed to take a shower – go figure.”
Weidman said the facility, which has more than 370 people detained, gives each inmate four bottles of water each day, which they drink and use for hygiene. However, he said he has not been able to shower since he lost access to running water.
According to Jeremy Desel, a spokesman for the state Department of Criminal Justice, nearly all of Texas ’correctional facilities, along with 100 offices, were affected by the severe weather. Thirty-two facilities lost power and ran on generators. Another 33 had low water pressure or lost water from external sources. As of Friday, power was restored at the 106 facilities, Diesel said.
Harris County Jail, the third largest facility in the country, has about 9,000 inmates. The prison has experienced intermittent electrical outages this week, along with the loss of water pressure, said Jason Spencer, a spokesman for the county sheriff’s office. When buildings lost energy, they relied on safety generators. But for several hours, Spencer said, there was a period when generators also lost power.
“The toilet and water had been turned off for 24 hours. The sinks are dirty. It’s nasty. It’s not right, it’s like we’re not even human,” said Eric Harison, a 38-year-old inmate in prison. “For the first three days, we basically tried to stay in place and stay in bed to stay warm.”
According to Spencer, all the power and pressure of the water recovered on Friday.
Harris County conditions forced some correctional officers to work up to 4 p.m. on a single shift and spend the night, which is normal in emergency situations, according to Spencer. “It was a real trial for our staff and for the people we had within reach. They dealt with many obstacles in their effort to maintain a comfortable environment and did a very good job considering the challenges they face. ‘they faced’.
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For months, the Fort Worth juvenile center faced a shortage of blankets, leaving children with little protection from the cold, the correctional officer said. Due to the shortage, some received “suicide blankets,” which are reserved for children at risk of suicide.
“We need more blankets. We can’t understand why they won’t buy them,” the officer said.
A couple from Northwood Church in Fort Worth heard of the shortage of blankets on their parish’s Facebook page and immediately looked for ways to help, buying enough blankets for each child at the facility. But officials rejected the blankets, citing safety protocols and saying the additional blankets were not necessary.
The juvenile center did not answer questions about the donation.
“It’s the instinct of mama bears if you feel children are suffering. I’ll do whatever it takes to improve them,” said the church member who asked to remain anonymous. Instead, the couple donated blankets to local shelters for the homeless.
District Judge Alex Kim congratulated his efforts. “It makes me warm my heart that they will come together to seek resources to help children who were in custody and who could not help themselves.”
Kim, who toured the facility Wednesday, explained that prison officials must be cautious about all materials inside the facility. “All items that enter must go through an approval process to ensure they cannot be harmed by the supplies that are supplied to them.”
While Kim released nine minors who she believed posed no risk to the public or to them, only prison administrators can approve or reject the donations that are accepted.
“They could have handled it better. Just check the generators, have blankets and have safety heating systems,” said Trent Loftin, a criminal defense attorney in Fort Worth.
“I think the system just crashed.”