Displaced and in disarray
This turned out to be good karma because a few hours later she learned that the
"I just don't know how to use it," Barrientes said. "I'm not sure when or how it will come in."
The problem is she doesn't know where to go.
She is not alone. Many others are in the same situation in
Barrientes, 27, lives in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment next door to her sister on
Both homes were hit hard with broken windows and mildew starting to set in with much of their furniture and personal belongings ruined.
Five months pregnant with her fourth child and living on limited means, Barrientes and her older sister are at a loss for what to do next.
Barrientes' husband works construction, but because of the evacuation, he was out of work for several days.
Like many families, they spent what little they had evacuating town.
They left the day after Harvey hit because there was no electricity or drinking water.
The sisters know they need to leave the residence because it's unsafe.
Her landlord,
For now, the stay-at-home mom is sleeping in the living room on a donated mattress with her children, who are 8 and 4 years old and 6 months old.
Another challenge is when the family came back to check on their pets, they got into a car accident in town.
On their second trip home, their van broke down in
They didn't get her name, but thank God that she stopped after so many kept driving past.
Now that they are back home, they are at a standstill. They are supposed to vacate the apartment by Sunday.
"It's stressful. It really is," said
They said they feel overwhelmed but are thankful for the food a local church has been dropping off.
"This is the worst situation I've ever been in,"
Rural needs
Children are sleeping on mold-covered couches, on bare floors and in cars in
He said two women from out-of-town went door to door and found a man who had suffered a stroke.
Another team found that a tree had cut a trailer in half with a family of five still huddled inside.
He hesitated before giving yet another example of hardship -- other volunteers saw several unclothed children running around days after the storm.
"We've just been hearing these nightmare stories," he said, shaking his head. "That was pretty sobering."
One of the only stores in town was closed because of substantial hurricane damage and many people who were already poor are surviving on material donations that steadily stream in to local churches.
Donors from Coleman and other businesses, sent in gallons of gas. Two volunteers from
McMichael said they serve up to 1,000 hot meals a day because of
The church also has an indoor area where people can come in and grab necessities such as baby items and bedding.
"There were a lot of people who were just trapped and lost everything," he said. "These people are hurting."
His wife of 30 years,
A nurse from
It's been just over one year since she had a liver transplant that saved her life.
Now she's worried her persistent cough is because of the mold in her home.
"It scares me. I can't take chances," she said.
Her daughter and 76-year-old mother will help her clean out the home, which sustained water damage in the living room and bedroom.
Mendez said there was a hole from when a tree fell through her roof, but she's thankful that her ex-husband patched up the damage.
It's for this reason that the
Housing authority
She said the maintenance director had planned and arranged to have a contractor on standby. Two days after the storm and they were already placing tarps on roofs and cleaning up debris.
"We were very fortunate," she said. "It could have been a lot worse for us."
The housing authority has 321 units designated for the public housing program and another 258 vouchers for Section 8 housing.
Some of those families in the Section 8 program may be displaced because those apartment complexes, like
Hilbrich said those 16 or so residents that they've heard from still have vouchers issued and will be looking for new homes.
She said they are trying to give people direction and help connect them with other properties that may have vacancies.
"Everybody has really gathered to help out," she said. "Our staff has been in every single apartment."
Flood zone
She works as a cashier at
"When they passed, I just stayed here," she said.
For the next two months or so, she'll likely stay with her sister in
Thankfully, she has insurance and is dealing with recovering from both flood and hurricane wind damage.
Still, the family will have to pull out and replace all the baseboards and bring a water hose in the house to clear out the mud.
"I'm gonna need a vacation after this," she said.
Even though her home will probably see another flood, Casal would probably not move because she's on a limited income.
That's why she turned down the buyout program during the last major flood.
"It would be really hard," she said. "The prices they were doing it for wasn't even enough for a down payment on a home."
Related coverage
Day 1: Here comes Harvey
Day 2: Brace yourself
Day 3: 'Prayers protect us'
Day 4: 'We thought we were going to die'
Day 5: 'At least God let us live'
Day 6: 'It's the luck of the draw'
Day 7: 'Everybody will pull together'
Day 8:
Day 9:
Day 10: The Long Road Ahead (w/video)
Day 11: Residents rely on families to rebuild
Day 12: For some, normal still far away
Day 13: Church offers refuge for devastated town
Day 14: Victims find hardship, opportunity (w/video)
Day 15:
Helpful information
Where to get water, gas and other supplies
Helpful information after the storm
Updates on city services
Additional coverage
City: Water cloudy but still safe to drink
Residents still without power 2 weeks after Harvey
Foot Center begins shoe drive for Harvey victims
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