A locally run juvenile justice center that houses 105 children in North Texas has been without running water and heating for three days this week. The Lynn W. Ross Juvenile Detention Center in Fort Worth is just one of many Correctional facilities across the state that struggled with adverse conditions when a winter storm devastated the electrical network of the Lone Star State.
The youth center lost power on Sunday and fully recovered heat and energy on Thursday, said a correctional officer. At the height of the storm, the coldest room in the youth center had a temperature of 27 degrees Fahrenheit, the official said. The children were unable to contact their families until Wednesday.
A father said she was also left in the dark. Justice center officials never notified her of the interruption, she said, and she only learned of the problems by speaking to her daughter by phone on Wednesday.
“If you have a problem at your institution and you are holding someone’s child, that facility, whoever the authority is. I don’t care who it is. They should have answered the phone, ”said Joyce Pipkin, who is 16 years old. The elderly daughter is staying at the youth center. “Every single parent should have been notified that there is a problem going on.”
Youth center officials did not return messages from CBS News for comment.
The deadly storm wiped out the power of millions and left prisoners 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 dealt with clogged bathrooms that could not flush due to plumbing problems.
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Krish Gundu, executive director of the Texas Bail Project, said the disaster behind bars 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 an intelligent approach to depopulating our prisons.”
Jimmy Weidman, an inmate at Victoria County Jail, said his facility has not had running water since Tuesday afternoon, causing a flood in his bathroom. “It’s awful here. Our toilet is full of feces now. I have been asking them four or five times to bring a bucket so we can dump it there and flush it,” he said.
“We are urinating in the shower, where we should take a shower – you will understand.”
Weidman said the facility, which holds more than 370 people in custody, is giving each detainee four bottles of water a day, which they drink and use for hygiene purposes. Still, he said he hasn’t been able to bathe since he lost access to running water.
Almost all correctional facilities run by Texas, along with 100 offices, have been affected by the harsh climate, according to Jeremy Desel, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Criminal Justice. Thirty-two installations lost energy and worked with generators. Another 33 had low water pressure or lost water from external sources. On Friday, power was restored at all 106 facilities, Diesel said.
Harris County Jail, the country’s third largest facility, houses about 9,000 prisoners. The prison suffered intermittent power outages this week, along with loss of water pressure, said Jason Spencer, a spokesman for the county sheriff’s office. When buildings lost power, they started using backup generators. But for several hours, Spencer said, there was a period when generators also lost power.
“The bathroom and water had been turned off for 24 hours. The sinks are dirty. It’s just disgusting. It’s not right – it’s like we’re not human,” said Eric Harison, a 38-year-old prisoner. “For the first three days, we basically tried to stay in place and stay in bed to keep warm.”
All energy and water pressure were restored on Friday, according to Spencer.
Harris County conditions forced some correctional officers to work up to 16 hours in a single shift and spend the night, which is standard in emergency situations, according to Spencer. “It was a real test for our team and for the people in our care. They dealt with many obstacles in their effort to maintain a comfortable environment and did a very good job considering the challenges they faced.”
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For months, the Fort Worth youth center faced a lack of blankets, leaving children with little protection from the cold, the correctional officer said. Due to scarcity, some received “suicide blankets”, which are reserved for children at risk of suicide.
“We need more blankets. We can’t understand why they don’t buy them, ”said the official.
A couple at Northwood Church in Fort Worth heard about the lack of blankets on their parish’s Facebook page and immediately looked for ways to help, buying enough blankets for each child on the property. But the authorities refused the blankets, citing security protocols and saying that extra blankets were not needed.
The youth center did not answer questions about the donation.
“It is Mama Bear’s instinct if you hear that the children are suffering. I will do whatever it takes to make them better,” said the church member who asked to remain anonymous. Instead, the couple donated the blankets to homeless shelters.
District Judge Alex Kim praised his efforts. “It warms my heart that they would come together to find resources to help children who were detained and who could not help themselves.”
Kim, who visited the facility on Wednesday, explained that prison officials must be cautious of all materials entering the facility. “Each item that arrives needs to go through an approval process to ensure that they are not harmed by the supplies provided.”
Although Kim released nine young men he thought were not a risk to the public or to themselves, only prison administrators can approve or refuse accepted donations.
“They could have handled it better. Just check the generators, have blankets, backup heating systems,” said Trent Loftin, a criminal defense lawyer in Fort Worth.
“I think the system just failed.”