"As darkness settled around us and the temperature got lower, I had to think fast to save my 2 daughters. I had a fireplace, now I just needed fuel. I wound up burning my bed frame for the wood it contained. The fire from that fed us for 2 nights as I cooked eggs and sausages in a skillet on top of the wood.​

"I haven't showered since last weekend, trying to help conserve so Austin Water can bring more water back online for my neighbors. My parents, in their 60s and caretakers to my 93 year old grandma who has dementia, diabetes, COPD and more, have been w/o water to their home for 2 days. They have been collecting snow to flush toilets."

"I had to evacuate my children through the stair that were almost instantaneously freezing and also try to assist all guests who were trying to make their way to the safety of the lobby. Not only did we suffer as a family we suffered as workers who couldn’t get to a store to purchase food or food items."

"I was searching for hours for three days all over my neighborhood without any luck. I was one of hundreds roaming trying to find food. The snacks that I did find were gas station snacks that I waited two hours to pay for. The line was hours long in sub-zero temperatures, in the middle of a pandemic."