UAW Local 651 members, from left, Ken Davenport, Tony Jackson, Alex Leafi, Allen Jupree, and Tony Loik form an assembly line to unload a truck full of bottled water at Hasselbring Park Senior Community Center in Flint. Flint UAW Local 651 donated three truckloads of water to the senior center.
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Yusuf Bauswell describes his efforts to help other Flint residents receive drinking water on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at his home in Flint. Mr. Bauswell and more than 50 members of his the production company he founded, Team 810, to voluntarily distribute bottled water to elderly residents who cannot get to distribution centers. "This is Flint," Mr. Bauswell said, adding, "We won't run out of people need help."
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Flint resident Audrea Crawford holds out her city water bill after stopping at a distribution site to pick up a case of bottled water. Ms. Crawford says her bill of $428.81, which was due on Dec. 21, is far too high for water that cannot really use.
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Darryl Matiere, Sr., an Air Force and Air National Guard veteran, emphatically denounces Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder to fellow Flint resident Audrea Crawford (not pictured) after both came to one of the city's fire stations to pick up a case of bottled water.
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Jacquana Simbler of Flint holds a photograph of the inside of one of the water filters she and her husband installed on their faucets four months ago. Ms. Simbler said that her husband and their four children had installed filters on their faucets about four months ago, but were still concerned about the water, which the city had stopped purchasing from Detroit and instead began sourcing from the Flint River in 2014. "If this is what it's filtering, can you imagine what was getting into the water before?" she asked.
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Zarieah Hamlin, 13, left, speaks with her mother, Jacquana Simbler, of Flint after the pair, along with Zarieah's sister Saniyah Gladney, 8, went to pick up bottled water from a distribution center. Ms. Simbler said that her husband and their four children had installed filters on their faucets about four months ago, but were still concerned about the water, which officials have cautioned residents against drinking.
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Dayvion, 14, right, peers back at his mother, Trina McNeil (reflected in the window), as she speaks with a reporter about her frustrations. Residents in the city of 99,000 people are warned not to drink the tap water directly after high levels of lead were detected in drinking water across the city.
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Residents of Flint pick up cases of water from a distribution center at a fire station. Each person is limited to one case of water per day.
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Flint's Water Treatment Plant is located along the Flint River at 4500 N Dort Hwy. The city of 99,000 people is facing an ongoing water crisis after high levels of lead were detected in drinking water across the city.
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Army National Guardsman William Benoit, right, leaves a Flint resident with bottled water, a filter, and a water testing kit as the National Guard goes door-to-door.
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An abandoned home in Flint has had its windows covered with old photographs
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Genesee County Sheriff's Office work detail member Jermaine Kidd, left, hands bottled water out to other distributors as they go door to door.
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Tobias Lee, 66, wore a Flint hat after picking up a case of bottled water at the Hasselbring Park Senior Community Center.
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UAW Local 651 members, from left, Tedd Sain, Ken Davenport, Tony Jackson, Allen Jupree, and Anita Brown form an assembly line to unload a truck full of bottled water at Hasselbring Park Senior Community Center. Flint UAW Local 651 donated three truckloads of water to the senior center.
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Flint resident Mildred Jackson, 75, center bottom, helps unload cases of bottled water at the Hasselbring Park Senior Community Center. Flint UAW Local 651 donated three truckloads of water to the senior center.
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UAW Local 651 member Jared Hawley, center top, and Flint resident Mildred Jackson, 75, center bottom, unload cases of bottled water at the Hasselbring Park Senior Community Center.
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Former Investigator for the City of Flint Ombudsman's Office Anita Brown, now a volunteer with Flint UAW Local 651, left, listens to her former boss, Brenda Purifoy, speak about the challenges Flint has faced as local control was taken by a state-appointed emergency manager from inside the Hasselbring Park Senior Community Center. Both women were on hand to volunteer at the community center to help deliver bottled water to local residents.
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UAW Local 651 members distribute bottled water to Flint residents.
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The Flint River flows beneath bridges connecting the north section of the city with downtown Flint.
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The Flint River flows beneath bridges connecting the north section of the city with downtown Flint.
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Cars drive along Saginaw Street in downtown Flint.
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The Flint River flows beneath bridges connecting the north section of the city with downtown Flint.
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Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Director of the Pediatric Residency Program with Flint, Michigan's Hurley Medical Center, compiled data that showed the number of children in Flint with elevated levels of lead in their blood had doubled after the city stopped purchasing its municipal water from Detroit and instead began to draw drinking water from the Flint River in 2014. Her findings played a large role in forced the State of Michigan to acknowledge and take action on the issue, though many children in Flint have already been lead poisoned. Dr. Hanna-Attisha is hopeful, however, that with early intervention and treatment can help children in the community. "I am an optimist. I think we can flip this," Dr. Hanna-Attisha said. "There is no cure for lead, but there are things we can do to help all children at risk for development disorders."
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