Housing after Harvey (w/video)

Oct. 25--Laurie Avila, 43, said she never expected to be living in a tent in her front yard.

The Guadalupe River swelled in the days after Hurricane Harvey, flooding the mother of two's aging home in Greens Addition and filling it with mold. To save her family from the health risks of mold exposure, Avila made a new home by pitching a tent in her front yard.

"It could be worse -- we could be living like in the streets," said Avila, who shares the tent with three other family members and two dogs. "But it's still a pain."

Daily activities like getting her daughter ready for school, using the bathroom and cooking are exponentially more challenging, she said.

Avila is one of many struggling to find housing in Hurricane Harvey's aftermath. So far, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has received 19,280 applications for financial help from Victoria County residents, while more than 6,800 households have qualified to live in hotels paid for by the federal agency after being displaced.

Victoria's school district has identified 687 homeless students -- nearly triple the normal amount at this time of year, according to school officials. Local real estate professionals and charity workers say the lack of affordable housing is now at a crisis level.

"It's truly been heartbreaking for everyone," said Nancy Garner, a real estate agent who has worked in Victoria for the past 30 years.

Of the 1,000 or so units Garner oversees, about 30 percent of residents' leases were terminated, she said. Property owners terminated residents' leases who lived in units that needed to be rebuilt. They tried not to move residents out of units with just moderate damage, she said.

In the past, "I've told several people that the word catastrophe was overused," Garner said. "But we truly know what that means now."

She tried to move as many displaced tenants as possible into vacant units, she said. She also tried talking with local and federal officials to create temporary housing -- but to no avail, she said.

"I want to make sure my residents know how important they are," she said through tears.

Harvey's hurricane-force winds and torrential rains hit some parts of Victoria worse than others. In Bloomington, one of the poorest parts of the county, Carl Dube of the Mennonite Disaster Service said volunteers have worked on about 150 homes in the area.

Some of those homes and trailers were barely livable before the storm, he said.

"Hurricane damage was only (the) final blow to already fragile houses," said Dube.

That situation is all too familiar to Cindy Sullivan, 64, who lives in a 1970-model mobile home in a trailer park south of the city. Sullivan, who lives off $755 in Social Security payments each month, said she's struggling to come up with more than $6,000 needed to replace her roof after Hurricane Harvey ripped it apart.

"I've had so many people telling me, 'Oh we'll help,'" she said. "And then I tell them I don't have money, and they treat me like a plague."

For now, she's relying on a two-by-four to prop up her kitchen ceiling, which continues to sag as the days go by. She avoids the kitchen because she's worried she'll bump the piece of wood, and the ceiling will come crashing down, she said.

The trailer was given to her and she doesn't have proper ownership papers, which means she couldn't get help from FEMA, she said. Although she's worried about how she'll find cash for repairs, she's more worried about some of her neighbors -- at least three of them lost their homes entirely, she said.

"I know I need help, but they need more help than I do," Sullivan said.

More than 6,800 households qualified to live in hotels paid for by FEMA, which means homes were uninhabitable or inaccessible, according to FEMA's website. Still, figuring out exactly how many residents were affected has been a hot topic for Victoria's City Council members, who discussed housing problems and displaced residents last week.

"Is it 27 families or is it 2,700 families?" Mayor Paul Polasek said. "I don't know."

A week later, Polasek said there could be hundreds of residential properties that people can't live in, but FEMA identified only 22 homes that were destroyed.

But FEMA's number of destroyed homes may not paint a clear picture.

Jann Tracey, an agency spokeswoman, said inspectors designate homes as destroyed, but the designation can be misleading.

"It is the county that determines which homes are considered, not FEMA," Tracey said.

However, local emergency officials haven't collected that information. Nonprofit leaders, though, say they expect the number of destroyed homes to be far greater.

"That number is going to be in the hundreds," said Ginny Stafford, who works for Mid-Coast Family Services.

Along with shelter and family services, Stafford's organization provides financial aid to help people pay for rent and deposits. So far, the nonprofit has helped 39 families who lost homes during Hurricane Harvey, she said.

Another 200 households are on the waiting list, Stafford said.

"The problem is there's no place for them to go," she said.

Cheryl Johnston of the Golden Crescent Habitat for Humanity said her agency has received another 69 inquiries for help -- about 65 of which were severely damaged homes.

"We don't have immediate housing," Johnston said. "And I think that's a need."

Some of the families Johnston worked with were forced to stay in homes deemed unlivable by FEMA because there was nowhere else to go, she said. Meanwhile, others were told they could live in homes that were ruined by the hurricane.

Lacey Baladez knows that all too well. She was eight months pregnant with her second daughter when Harvey ravaged her trailer home in Bloomington.

Although her home wasn't deemed destroyed, she didn't feel safe raising her unborn child and 5-year-old daughter in a home covered in black-colored mold.

On top of the mold, there were holes in the floor, and the entire trailer was leaning. Most of her belongings, including her furniture and clothes, were soaked.

Baladez, her husband and their daughter moved in with her parents because they had nowhere else to go, she said.

"It's still our home," Baladez said. "And we have nothing to replace it."

Back in Victoria, Avila's family has cleared out soaked drywall and insulation and is waiting on FEMA or hoping to find another way to pay for construction materials.

Once that's done, they'll move back inside, she said. Meanwhile, she's trying to stay positive about sleeping in the tent.

"Mine is like the presidential suite," Avila said. "I got that air conditioner, and I got my cable in there."

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: Guadalupe floods parts of Victoria

Day 9: Texas Zoo evacuates animals (w/video)

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: FEMA frustrates Harvey victims

Day 16: Displaced and in disarray

Day 17: Disaster for humans means catastrophe for pets

Day 18: Nature interrupted (w/video)

Day 19: 'It was like we had been bombed'

Day 20: Students returning to school feel weight of Harvey

Day 21: International Crane Foundation loses office after hurricane

Day 22: Ranching structures, cotton mostly damaged by Harvey

Day 23: Port Lavaca struggles back after Harvey

Day 24: Refugio: 'We're trying to get back to normal'

Day 25: Nonprofit leaves people lost after Harvey

Day 26: 'We are human beings like everyone else'

Day 27: Refugio schools find way to reopen

Day 28: Bloomington schools begin year in different classroom setups

Day 29: Methodist church serves those in need after hurricane

Day 30: Scientists measure damage to endangered species' habitat (w/video)

Day 31: Medical community feels impact of Harvey

Day 32: Harvey's speed leaves many in harm's way

Day 33: After Harvey, Seadrift couple forced out of home

Day 34: Bloomington Elementary School educates students in FEMA dome

Day 35: School districts share issues with state, US senator

Day 36: VISD students observe See You at the Pole

Day 37: Expectant family struggles after Harvey (w/video)

Day 38: Woodsboro pulls together after Harvey

Day 39: Housing options slim for displaced families

Day 40: SBA approves more than $500M in disaster loans

Day 41: Hunger greater in Crossroads post-Harvey

Day 42: 'Harvey broke me'

Day 44: Goliad baby born as hurricane swirled toward Crossroads

Day 45: Mother recalls 'scary' birth during Harvey

Day 46: Harvey devastates homeowners without insurance

Day 47: Officials have no details on housing relief

Day 48: Harvey impacts couple's 2 Victoria businesses, Rockport home

Day 49: Crews begin repair work on historic McFaddin church

Day 50: Hurricane, flood force Jaguars to make adjustments

Day 51: Texas Zoo thanks Vickers students for donation

Day 52: Seadrift women helping people affected by hurricane

Day 53: Mold creates big problem for homeowners

Day 54: Crossroads public agencies deal with FEMA challenges

Day 55: Special delivery

Day 56: Texas Gulf Coast mayors discuss Harvey aftermath

Day 57: Tenants sue after Harvey eviction

Day 58: Nonprofit directors face difficult fundraising decision after Harvey

Day 59: VISD applies for waivers to reduce Harvey burden

Day 60: Victoria's relief efforts lacked coordination, leadership

Day 61: Popular restaurant battles back from Harvey

Day 62: City looks to buy sprinkler controls for $160K

Helpful information

Where to get water, gas and other supplies

Helpful information after the storm

Updates on city services

Additional coverage

Deadline for disaster unemployment assistance extended

Damaged McFaddin church to be strengthened

___

(c)2017 Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas)

Visit Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas) at www.victoriaadvocate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.