Hurricane Harvey Home Damage

 
On Sunday morning, August 27th, my Sister woke up to 1.5 ft. of water in her downstairs and I awoke to the photo above on my phone. She was stranded at home alone and panicked; her husband was at work and her daughter had spent the night a friend’s house (in the same neighborhood). She checked to make sure Addison  was safe, and then made sure the power was turned off (at the request of her older and wiser sister), to prevent electric shock. Jana took as much as she could upstairs and waited to be rescued, which she was (her pets as well), hours later by The Ponders Family. They reunited my Sis with her daughter and took them to their home where they stayed until they could safely make it to our Mom's house in Liberty. Jana’s husband Aaron was trapped at work but water finally receded enough for him to join them the next day.

They did not have flood insurance, like most of the people affected and the damage is not as bad some who lost everything. However, the damage is substantial and all of their appliances on the 1st floor were damaged; kitchen, laundry, etc. While they were home today, checking out the damage, two men appeared out of nowhere to offer assistance; they helped cutout all the bad sheetrock and carry their heavy king mattress upstairs so that the floors downstairs could be dealt with. They said they were “paying it forward” because one of them had almost bought a home in this neighborhood just weeks earlier and felt blessed that he and his family had decided to buy elsewhere. If that’s not angels’ from God, I don’t know what is.

I know there are so many ways to giveback for the masses of people touched by this storm. The people of Texas and this great Nation are really stepping up and helping out those in need. So many have nothing to return to and I’m thankful that my sister’s home is not beyond repair. She has filed with FEMA but the agent assigned to her neighborhood (Legand's Bay in Baytown, TX)  is now busy with Beaumont so it might be awhile before she hears anything. Every little bit helps, is kind and very much appreciated!

Thank you,

Laura Joffe