Hurricane Harvey victim gets $18K in relocation assistance from Texas GLO
HOUSTON - Fifty inches of rain in four devastating days, Hurricane Harvey buried much of greater Houston in water and desperation.
Houstonian Wanda Cross remembers. "Some of the other apartments, people was on top of the roof," said Cross.
The great-grandmother working two jobs survived the flood water, only to be forcibly ejected from her apartment home by the City of Houston, which used federal relief money to buy and shut down the flood-prone rental property.
"You going to send me this letter and tell me I'm going to have to move, you know and that was not cool at all," said Cross.
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The City Housing department promised Wanda and hundreds of others a share of $40 million re-location dollars to ease the transition, but over the next two frustrating years, very few received a single penny.
Desperate and soon to be homeless, Wanda says she was abandoned by her Housing Department caseworker.
"She ignored all my e-mails. When I said I was angry. I cried a lot and I prayed a lot. I'm serious. I was giving up," said Cross.
Enter Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham who last year was stunned to learn hundreds of evicted Houstonians were left-high-and-financially-dry.
Buckingham partnered with newly elected Houston Mayor John Whitmire to seek out the "short-changed."
"We have been searching for them as soon as we found out about this situation and it is so exciting to locate these individuals and give them the help they need," said Buckingham who successfully petitioned HUD for a two-year extension to distribute re-location benefits.
Wanda Cross now has $18,000 reasons to be grateful the Land Commissioner launched her crusade for just compensation. "I said praise the Lord. I'm sorry y'all, but that's what I said, praise the Lord! There is a God!"
Wanda had a message for Buckingham and Houston's Mayor. "Keep up the good work, for people like us, for us little people. I'm serious," said Cross.
The City Housing Department purchased and condemned four complexes including the Spring Village Apartments, the Appian Way Apartments, the Monticello Square Apartments and the Biscayne at City View.
Residents who were relocated, but never obtained financial assistance can call the GLO's recovery hotline at 1-844-893-8937.