Harvey flooded my brother's house

My brother Carlos (next to me in the pic above) lives in southeast Houston, TX near Hobby airport with his wife Angie and their son Xavier. Their house flooded with 4 inches of water Saturday night from hurricane Harvey. Carlos applied for FEMA assistance and contacted his insurance company to file a claim on Tues. 8/29. Their insurance claim was denied on Wed. 8/30 because “renter’s insurance does not cover floods” – apparently there is a separate renter's flood insurance policy - We've never even heard of renter's flood insurance.   This is our grandmother's home - it has never flooded before.  Carlos’ car also sustained water damage, but he’s confident his car insurance will cover that – Angie’s car was not damaged.

Carlos and his family have spent the past week removing all flooring from their house. Some of the furniture can be salvaged, but some of it has to be replaced. They will have to remove several inches of drywall around the perimeter of the house and the baseboards fairly soon, too – he’s not sure when he’ll be able to get a contractor in to replace the drywall that has to be removed. All of these expenses will be out of pocket unless their FEMA application is accepted – and even if it is, there is no telling how much or how quickly they will receive any assistance.

To add insult to this unexpected financial burden, my sister-in-law Angie was laid off 3 weeks ago from her job of 8 years. They had health insurance through her previous employer – their Cobra premiums are $1,400 per month to cover all 3 of them. (Carlos has a contract position which does not offer health insurance). They are in a position of having to choose between health insurance or repairing/replacing what they’ve lost due to the hurricane.

Any money contributed will immediately go toward repairing/replacing his flooring and paying for any drywall work that needs to be done. If anything is left over, it will go toward replacing the furniture they were not able to salvage.  I know I can’t completely eradicate my brother's financial burden, but I’d really like to help ease the pressure right now for the damage to his home. As you can imagine, the stress and uncertainty is overwhelming.

If you are able to help my brother and his family in any way, we would all be eternally grateful.  Even if you are unable to contribute financially, please considering sharing his story and sending prayers and good thoughts his way.  Carlos' goal is to get his house back in order quickly so he can reach out and help others who are also suffering from this same nightmare.

Thank you!

Kristen Fierros
Beaverton, Oregon

***Please note, GoFundMe requested the following questions be answered and published on this page:

1. Who you are and where you’re from
Kristen Fierros - Beaverton, Oregon

2. Your relationship or contact to the parties you're raising funds for:
Carlos Fierros is my brother

3. How the funds will be spent (be specific as possible):
The funds will go toward replacing the entire flooring in Carlos' house, the drywall (and insulation if needed) and the replacement of damaged furniture.

4. Your withdrawal plan to get the funds from the campaign to the ultimate beneficiary/ies:
Carlos Fierros is the only person who access to these funds - he is set up through GoFundMe as the beneficiary of this account (I only manage the page).