Network Status • Pittsburgh Electric, Base Infrastructure, & Continuing Solutions Coordination
A moment's restored electricity; and complexities of achieving stability
Here’s the current situation.
We have regained electrical service for the moment.
We don't know if the electrical service will persist, because many are reporting their power going out again after having been restored.
Flickers and brownouts are keeping us watchful, especially considering the consequences to our most vulnerable community members.
There are also additional complications for those of us who have severe electrical sensitivities, with a list of very difficult physical health effects that return all at once with the electric.
I'm being hit pretty hard by that personally, and others as well, after the increased physical intensity of the past 8 days.
We're continually reevaluating the current situation — electrical and otherwise — reshifting priorities moment-to-moment based on what we have and what we need.
We had just purchased a large stock of special safe medical food (1, 2) before the electrical outage, 70-80% of which has spoiled over the course of the past week without refrigeration, leaving us with only a small amount of what's needed.
That alone is a loss of about $1500 from the investment represented by multiple hard-won food purchases leading up to the outage; with no excess financial buffer for replacing the spoiled food.
The small remaining amount can now be refrigerated if the electric stays on… but we have been noticing spoiled portions of food as we go, and it may not all be edible.
There might be a week or so of that food for us here, maybe longer, depending on what food we’re able to purchase and individuals' needs going forward. More than that one medical food is needed for different individuals.
Some tasks or supports you may think would now be possible with electrical service restored are not accessible for us because of the heavy nature of what all our bodies have been through; severe physical conditions exacerbated by the strain.
Collaborators I rely on are also struggling significantly with communications because of unmet needs that compromise physical and cognitive capacities.
The outage and road blockage from the storm damage has caused a very significant income interruption for a key collaborator who had been working diligently to fund our base digital infrastructure online — keenly necessary for our function — and this collaborator cannot continue to do so in the same way as before.
We're charging up batteries and preparing as best we can for if the electric goes totally out again.
We've also moved the little bit of remaining food from the cooler to the freezer for as long as we have electric to run the freezer.
We're doing our best to begin to remedy various toxic messes that commonly accumulate during storm damage and utility outages. There's a lot.
We celebrate with love for those who regain normalcy when electric is restored after an outage (💖!) — and — we must communicate as clearly as we can that normalcy is not yet accessible for me and many others because of the compounded events that have occurred.
What can you do right now?
It’s true, funds help a lot.
But I want to emphasize that even if you’re not able to donate funds, there’s a really important thing you maybe can do:
Simple ongoing dialogue, conversational support, and outreach communications in this circumstance facilitate all other solutions.
Even if you don’t know what else you could do, please reach out to be in conversation with us.
Any person who coordinates consistently with us in Telegram Messenger to dialogue solutions brings significant additional stability to our energy and function — and need not be in Pittsburgh to do so.
This is because Telegram Messenger has the disability aid supports we’ve built in with the Intuitive Network AAC; and lets us communicate most consistently and successfully by far.
Contact points on any other platform (though slower and less reliable) can help a lot, too, if you absolutely cannot be in touch with us on Telegram.
Please reach out by what means you have.
The smallest messages exchanged, words of encouragement, signal boosts, outreach support, gifts, and funds for food-and-emergency-supply are changing the game for us in subtle ways that are also huge. You are giving us big strength.
Those of you who have supported us in the ways you can are working miracles in the midst of this very potent initiatory experience. 🕊️🌿
Thank you.
What happens next?
You, me, and all of us together have collective power to transform the most daunting challenges into magnificent blessings.
Nope, not hyperbole. We’re doing it. :-)
The more you stay tuned in with us, the more you’ll see and experience it.
The Intuitive Network architecture is a living system we’ve built over the past ten years to optimize this process, and you’re helping us demonstrate it.
If you’re following along and still wondering how to help, remember that your presence works wonders.
We’re preparing more next steps now.
Every message, share, and donation helps keep us connected and moving.
I’ll bring the next post here as soon as I can.