Many times, people have no choice but to live in unsafe conditions. World Renew DRS is able to find and help people who have respiratory and other health issues because they are living in damaged, waterlogged homes and can’t afford to move.
Although many families who have the resources are repairing their damaged homes, trustworthy electricians, plumbers, and carpenters are hard to find, and scams are common after a disaster.
- Linda moved out of her ex-boyfriend’s damaged house, but he kept her belongings and is charging her for storing them. When Linda found a garage apartment to rent, her landlord wanted her to pay $900 a month in rent and cook and clean for him. Linda didn’t have any options. World Renew volunteers helped Linda and reported her situation appropriately.
- The Smiths earn about $20,000 a year, and they received $5,000 in federal assistance after Hurricane Harvey damaged their home. The estimate to repair their home is $187,000, and they expecting twins in the next few months.
- After losing all of his belongings in the hurricane, Alejandro, who lives with physical disabilities from a construction accident, was evacuated from his home for two months. When he returned, his landlord refused to make repairs to the home. Alejandro has nowhere else to go, so he is trying to pay to fix his rental from his disability check. World Renew DRS volunteers talked to Alejandro while assessing needs in his neighborhood and connected him and his landlord to the local recovery organization for help.
- Newer homes in the hurricane area that are at risk of flooding must be built on 9-foot stilts, but not all existing homes have been raised to flood level. One home that was already on stilts still had a foot of water in it – that is 10 feet of water! Homes that have to be raised up and repaired are very costly to fix. Many families who are in this situation also have to replace all of their belongings.
