Report: Victoria 4th highest in renters seeking assistance

Jan. 06--Community leaders are trying to identify just how many households are in need more than four months after Hurricane Harvey.

But this hasn't stopped the Victoria County Long Term Recovery Group from helping survivors.

After going through several lists, members identified at least 1,200 families in need of assistance.

During the holidays, Gulf Bend Center's Lane Johnson led a small team through the process of contacting survivors who have asked for help after the hurricane.

Some have since received enough through insurance or other relief programs, but others are still hoping for relief.

"I know there's more families out there," said Chairman Mark Longoria.

But finding concrete information is proving to be difficult, he said after Friday's weekly meeting.

The group requested data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency yet still hasn't received clarity on the number of households affected in the county.

This information will be crucial to apply for future funding, Longoria said.

The group currently has $9,670.17 in its account.

Member Ginny Stafford of Mid-Coast Family Services asked FEMA representatives for an update about their hotel voucher program and how long it will be available.

FEMA spokesman Robert Howard said in an email that as of Thursday, 91 survivor families from Victoria County are currently in hotels as part of the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.

FEMA reports there have been 19,651 valid registrations since the storm hit in August; 7,320 applicants in the county have been eligible for the agency's individual and household program; and almost $12.3 million in grants has been provided.

A survey conducted by the Episcopal Health Foundation and Kaiser Family Foundation published last month reports almost half of affected Texans said they are not getting the help they need to recover.

The foundations ranked the top 20 zip codes in the disaster areas of renters requesting housing assistance and found Victoria's 77901 ZIP code to be the fourth highest.

Victoria ranked 11th highest for applications from homeowners requesting housing assistance.

The local long-term recovery group's agencies are still getting calls every day for assistance.

Dolly Stokes, executive director of the Victoria County United Way and the group's treasurer, said the unmet needs committee is being presented with some of the hardest-hit cases.

Stokes said the group's agencies were able to help families that were in need of electric heaters during the cold snap because their windows were blown out from the storm.

"What we really need is the replacement of long-term housing," Stokes said.

The Golden Crescent Habitat for Humanity and the Mennonite Disaster Service have been working on rebuilding cases for several weeks now.

This month, the Rio Texas Conference, in partnership with the United Methodist Committee on Relief, will start to rebuild homes damaged by Harvey.

Longoria said the group's committees are getting more organized each week, and he's hopeful more community members can get involved in recovery efforts.

The outreach pastor at Faith Family Church said he believes the recovery process will take at least two years in Victoria.

Longoria said he still has a tarp on the roof of his home and, like many others, still feels the effects of Harvey.

"There are still people struggling and needing the support," he said.

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