By Jane Dean, Red Cross Volunteer
Almost eight weeks after Hurricane Harvey caused the largest flooding event in U.S. history, communities are still continuing to recover.
Shelter populations have steadily decreased, while federal, state and nonprofit programs are supporting housing solutions. To help in the immediate aftermath of the storm in Texas, the Red Cross has provided shelter to people who lost everything, sent emergency response vehicles to drive through communities to deliver food, meals, snacks and relief items, and has had volunteers providing emotional and spiritual support in addition to health services for those in need.
As of October 9th, the Red Cross has also authorized payment of more than $190 million in direct financial assistance to help more than 477,000 Texan households.
During my recent deployment to Texas as a Disaster Health Services volunteer, I met Trina, a resident of one of those 477,000 households. This is her story.
When the floods came, Trina’s home was destroyed. She was lucky enough to be able to stay with a good friend. Each day since, she has been going back to her home to try and clean up a little each day.
We met Trina at the school where she works, to assist her with her medical needs. Trina expressed she was having a very hard time focusing and she still could not believe everything that had happened. She couldn’t think straight and was doing her best to just keep going one day at a time.
Trina was so very grateful that the Red Cross was able to help her with funds to replace her medical equipment. Finally, she had one thing she no longer needed to worry about.
Trina was also grateful to her friends, who had been helping her get through a very difficult time. She realized she is better off than most, and was surprised and thankful the Red Cross was still able to help her.
