More than a year after Hurricane Harvey.
More than a year after applying for assistance from FEMA.
More than a year after hiring a contractor to make repairs.
And 2 weeks after asking the Troubleshooters for help, a Beeville couple is calling what happened to them today, a miracle.
And just in time for Christmas.
Do you believe in miracles ?
Maria Berdan does now.
“This is like a miracle. Right before Christmas. I mean, it’s a miracle. Diosito is powerful. He’s great,” she told the Troubleshooters as she watched a repair crew work to put a new floor in her home.
Berdan remembers applying for assistance from FEMA after Harvey did what it did to her Beeville home.
“I went to Corpus. I went to Aransas Pass. I went to Beeville. I went everywhere asking for help,” she recalled.
But she says no one ever contacted her, so she forgot about it.
Before Harvey, she had paid a contractor named Jesus Ramirez to make her home wheelchair adaptable for her husband, a retired Navy Seabee, now disabled by a stroke.
She also had Ramirez install a new laminate tile floor.
Berdan wound up paying him more than $70,000. part cash. part credit cards.
But in Harvey’s aftermath, the floor began buckling, to the point there was a big hole in the middle of the house.
And that’s when she says she called us for help.
And shortly after our story aired, Maria Berdan got a phone call from someone she believes was from FEMA.
“Ms. Berdan, you’ve been approved to get your roof and your floors done.”
And then this morning, this crew from R&D Roofing and Remodeling showed up.
“When did, in your heart, in your mind, did you believe, this is legit ? This is like really gonna happen ? I didn’t till this morning.”
But how did R&D Roofing and Remodeling of San Antonio get involved ?
Well, they work with a company called Rebuild Together San Antonio, one of the largest home repair non-profits, according to executive director Kent Gerstner.
“It’s kind of a Texas thing. This is what we do. Something happens, we pick up our boot straps, get on it, and do everything we possibly can to help.”
Gerstner explains that his company was contacted by an organization working with FEMA.
Rebuild Together San Antonio then brings homeowners, contractors, and volunteers together to get the work done.
“People are gonna see this and go, hey Andy, what’s the name of that company in San Antonio ? I’m gonna call them. But they shouldn’t call. That’s actually the worst thing that could be done,” Gerstner advised.
“If you’ve already filled out an application somewhere, you’re in the system. Just allow patience to happen please.”
Mrs. Berdan says R&D Roofing and Remodeling told her they’d be done with her job in 3 days.
That Christmas Eve.
The man with Rebuild Together San Antonio told us that if more people ‘volunteered’ for just a few hours at a time, the jobs could be done quicker, and probably less expensively.
As always, whenever you need our help, just send us an email at troubleshooters at k-z-t-v -ten-dot-com.
