Disabled veteran's claim rejected by FEMA
It's a number almost as staggering as the 33 trillion gallons of water Hurricane Harvey dumped from sky - that is, nearly half of those who've applied for disaster relief from FEMA have had their claims rejected.
Kay Kaiser is among those who feel kicked to the curb. A disabled U.S. Army veteran battling life threatening Lupus, her apartment near Highway 45 and 1960 took on water from the storm and not long after spawned potentially toxic mold.
"Mold and mildew because I was watching it grow and I was unable to do anything about it due to my own medical issues I was dealing with," said Kaiser.
But both FEMA inspectors and her landlord concluded the health-threatening mold could be cleaned up.
Without the resources to bust her lease, Kaiser was forced to stay and by November was hospitalized for nine days.
Meantime, FEMA denied all her claims for relief.
"I am a fighter from being in the military. You just kind of keep going and that's what I did," said Kaiser.
A patriot who'd served her nation, Kay Kaiser appealed, giving the country a second chance to serve her in time of need.
Again, FEMA said no to the disabled vet.
"They have not served me at all. They have not served me," said Kaiser.
Stephanie Duke with Disability Rights-Texas says FEMA's is leaving far too many of our state's most vulnerable citizens without support when they need it most.
"If you are on fixed income or low income you don't have the means to remediate or even if you don't have the physical ability to remediate your stuck in a home which has conditions you are taking substantial risk to stay in with a health impairment," said Duke.
Disability Rights Texas says it has resources to aid disabled Harvey victims in Harris County file an appeal if their claims have been rejected by FEMA.