Rural Victoria County fights for help after Harvey

Nov. 19--BLOOMINGTON -- People who live in rural parts of Victoria County don't want to be forgotten.

Danny Garcia is one of them. Now a county commissioner, Garcia grew up in Bloomington, where Hurricane Harvey ripped corrugated metal roofs from janky homes, sent trees crashing onto trailer houses and soaked the ceiling of the local Dairy Queen -- one of the only eateries in town.

The hurricane's winds and rains had no mercy for those already struggling to put food on dinner tables or repair deteriorating homes.

Without outside help, Garcia fears some of the town's residents won't be able to piece together lives broken by Harvey.

But Garcia doesn't want that to happen. Last week, he pleaded with Bloomington's school board to consider selling land -- 4 acres that could be developed into homes for people who need them.

"It's a long shot," Garcia told school board members. "But if I didn't stand up here and ask, I don't think I could live with myself."

Feelings of frustration and exhaustion have filled the days following Hurricane Harvey as some people try to start over without savings or home insurance. But despite the devastation, some see Harvey as a mixed blessing -- an opportunity to rebuild stronger than before.

"We've put the word out that we need help," Garcia said. "And people are really stepping up to help us improve what we've known for so long."

In a part of Victoria County known for a lack of resources and poverty, people joined together to form a group dedicated to helping their neighbors rebuild. Instead of waiting for federal or state help, residents are taking recovery into their own hands by organizing volunteer efforts, boosting support programs and literally going door to door to check on each other.

The group of local residents meets once a week with local leaders, nonprofit workers and volunteers from out of state. Attorneys and financial experts also joined Garcia's army of volunteers, who are now donating their time to oversee legal requirements and contracts needed to pave the way to build homes for the people who need them.

"It's about disaster relief, but it's also about trying to make this place a better place," said Cody Shugart, an area resident who helps lead the group. "There's a lot of work to be done out here -- even without the disaster."

The group

Over the course of a night, Hurricane Harvey displaced about 35 percent of people in Garcia's precinct -- including himself, Garcia said.

Immediately after the storm, Garcia began driving around, making sure residents were all right and directing them to churches where they could find cases of water, bug spray and clean clothes.

Shugart lives about a mile from Garcia -- his "country neighbor" because only vacant land separates the two homes. After the storm, Shugart ran into Garcia, who asked him whether he wanted to become part of a group aimed at helping the town rebuild, Shugart said.

Garcia "worked the whole time -- I admired him for getting out and checking on people," Shugart said. "He kind of inspired me that we can do stuff as a community."

In a region notorious for low political participation, local residents have showed up at a meeting room at St. Patrick's Catholic Church every week for the past two and a half months. The meetings offer residents a chance to voice their own frustrations and concerns with recovery -- not rely on case workers or government officials to speak on their behalf, Shugart said.

"The biggest thing is getting the community fired up," he said.

The plan

In exactly 11 days, Theresa Martinez's life will start to return to normal.

Since Aug. 27, she has been either serving food, distributing supplies or helping people sign up for disaster relief programs at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. But at the end of this month, she will return to her normal job and clear out the piles of donated clothes, boxes of travel-sized toiletries and cleaning supplies from the church's community center, which must close temporarily for repairs.

Although the center has served as a lifeline for those in need of air mattresses, diapers and clean underwear in the first weeks after Harvey, Martinez said most people now have a more pressing need: housing.

"We need to start rebuilding," Martinez said.

Martinez also has been attending the recovery group's weekly meetings, where planning how to build new homes and repair damaged ones are the hottest topics. Another focus is how to strengthen homes that were falling apart even before Harvey.

Although it's still early, the group's plan is to divide people who need help into two groups. One group of extremely low-income people -- for example, seniors barely scraping by on Social Security -- will receive no-cost repairs from charities, including the Mennonite Disaster Service, which has committed to volunteering in Garcia's precinct for more than two years, Garcia said.

Another group of people who could afford an inexpensive mortgage could potentially enter a homeownership program -- an opportunity that didn't exist before Harvey, he said.

Ideas are still being thrown around, but Garcia is hoping to work with Golden Crescent Habitat for Humanity to develop a program. If it works out, potential homeowners would physically help build the homes, which would be offered to homeowners via loans with low interest rates, Garcia said.

That's where the land owned by the Bloomington school district comes into play. An engineer estimated about 16 to 20 homes could be built on the 4-acre site, Garcia said.

Now, the difficult task is figuring out which legal requirements the school district has to follow to sell the land -- obstacles Garcia thinks he can overcome, he said.

"Quit thinking about how it's not going to work," Garcia said, "and think about how to make it work."

Bloomington residents like Martinez, too, are praying some sort of housing project will work out.

Months after Harvey, new families show up every day at St. Patrick's Catholic Church to scour the aisles of donated shoes, bottled water and cleaning supplies for belongings they lost in the storm.

Although the center will soon close and Martinez will start repairing her own home damaged by Harvey, she can't help from worrying about the people in need. From a woman seeking shelter in a tent to a family with three kids living in a trailer missing part of a roof, people need homes -- and they need them soon, she said.

"Nothing fancy," Martinez said. "Just something that you have to call 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: 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

Day 63: Housing after Harvey (w/video)

Day 64: City looks to help with hefty water bills

Day 65: Men's shelter, soup kitchen closed because of Harvey

Day 66: Watt routes almost $1M to Crossroads' hungry

Day 67: Recovery group seeks members, community leaders

Day 68: Habitat volunteers help Harvey victims rebuild

Day 69: Lawmakers, counties to discuss Harvey response

Day 70: Oyster season opens after Harvey; new rules adopted

Day 71: Crossroads leaders talk storm damage to lawmakers

Day 72: Symphony to open concert season after Harvey delay

Day 73: Harvey recovery group works to measure unmet needs

Day 74: City considers ways to shore up water system

Day 75: County officials: Mobile homes need more oversight

Day 76: Recipient of state honor persists despite Harvey setbacks

Day 77: Heroes, lessons emerge in Harvey's wake

Day 78: Harvey, budget shortfalls challenge local leaders

Day 79: Salvation Army traditional holiday meal to continue

Day 80: City water had no bacteria despite Harvey outage

Day 81: Leaders still don't have Harvey recovery details

Day 82: Devereux officials remain hopeful despite hurricane damage

Day 83: Bloomington students, district still feel impact of Harvey

Day 84: Officials consider waiving school accountability ratings

Day 85: FEMA center in Cuero to close Nov. 22

Day 86: Zoo to spread its wings again

Day 87: Recovery group urges residents to apply for FEMA

Helpful information

Where to get water, gas and other supplies

Helpful information after the storm

Updates on city services

___

(c)2017 Victoria Advocate (Victoria, Texas)

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

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.