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Texas GLO accused of ignoring Harvey victims, they say they've gotten little to no financial help

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Published  August 26, 2022 12:03am CDT
Hurricane Harvey
FOX 26 Houston

Texas GLO accused accused of ignoring Hurricane Harvey victims

FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace explains why some victims are still waiting to fix their homes post-Harvey.

HOUSTON - "We never seem to recover from one disaster before another one hit," said Doris Brown with the Northeast Action Collective. "And this practice has gone on long enough."

Northwood Manor Subdivision is known for flooding.

RELATED: Port Aransas growing 5 years after Hurricane Harvey

"If it rains, I'm staying home, because I can't get back in," said resident Ronald Bemry.

"If it rains just 20 to 30 minutes, if you're out of the neighborhood, you can’t get in. If you're in the neighborhood, you can't get out," said resident Lottie Minor. "My home has been flooded three times."

"We got hit with one of the most destructive storms in our nation’s history. 50% of those damages were in the city of Houston," said Jay Kleberg, Democrat candidate for Texas Land Commissioner. 

WATCH: FOX 26 Houston team reflects on Hurricane Harvey

Kleberg points out a HUD report found the General Land Office, or GLO, discriminated against Black and Brown communities by not awarding them mitigation funding.

"In the city of Houston and Harris County, the General Land Office doesn't seem to care much about this community, and in others, is paying special attention," Kleberg said.

Some residents say all they've gotten from GLO is the runaround.

"I'm tired of seeing my people in the northeast section of town the Black and Brown communities discriminated against," said Brown.

RELATED: Home repairs continue five years after Hurricane Harvey

"All I asked for was repairs and the repairs do not exceed $65,000," said Minor. "I'm just asking for my house to be repaired, so I can live comfortably."

"I cried 10 minutes ago, because it's like we're living in a different country. What are we doing? The money is there," Kleberg said. "I've been in these homes. They're not asking for a handout, they're asking for what they are owed."

"People are still suffering five years later, how can this be?" Brown said.

RELATED: What happened to Hurricane Harvey relief money

GLO says Houston/Harris County missed out on much of the funding, because it was too slow to rollout programs and missed required benchmarks.