For the fourth straight Thursday disaster case managers were on hand in Rockport to meet with people who are still suffering from the physical and financial effects of Hurricane Harvey.
“I’m hurting trying to pay this, pay that, and live,” Rockport resident Billy Charles “B.C.” Stockton said. “It’s not easy.”
Stockton was the first person to meet with a disaster case worker at the Rockport Aquarium Education Center Thursday morning. He walked away hopeful that the applications the experts helped him with will bring in more money, so he can finish fixing his storm damaged home.
“It went good,” Stockton said of his meeting with a disaster case manager. “I was really pleased that people would help me.”
Agencies like the Red Cross and Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi held face-to-face meetings with a handful of people Thursday exploring possible grants or aid money that could be available to them. A group called Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. talked about the legal services storm victims could be entitled to.
“We can really read some of the FEMA letters and [Small Business Administration] letters and figure out the language exactly. We can tell them exactly what that means, give them deadlines, dates like that, and send them in the right direction,” attorney and T.R.L.A. member Brittanny Perrigue said.
Disaster case managers will return to the same facility in Rockport next Thursday. They’ll be available from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Stockton’s home is partially repaired. He has a new roof, air conditioner, and front door. But, he has an estimated $37,000 in foundation damage that he says Harvey’s winds caused by rocking his house so badly. His floors are bare concrete after ripping up the carpet because of mold.
There are other problems as well, and he says the $3,000 in insurance money that he has left won’t cover the costs to fix them. That’s why he’s so hopeful that meeting with a disaster case manager will pay off.
“I’m 81-years-old,” he said. “I think I deserve a little help. I don’t want a lot. Just enough to get me over the hump.”
