Janet Jackson visits shelter for Harvey victims at GRB in downtown Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Janet Jackson and Mayor Sylvester Turner visited the shelter for Harvey victims at the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston.

Houston is the second stop on her 56-city State of the World Tour, set for Saturday night at the nearby Toyota Center in downtown Houston.

Janet is dedicating her concert to those affected by the hurricane and is donating proceeds from the show to local flood relief charities.

"Just to realize she's kind, loving, concerned - you can tell she has great character like her late brother, Michael," said a woman named Jackie staying at the shelter.

There are 1,600 guests at the GRB shelter and another 1,584 at the second mega-shelter at NRG Park. Every family at a shelter has a story - for one family originally from Congo, it includes eight mouths to feed.

"One week and a half," says young Elise about the time his family has been at the GRB. He interprets for his mother Fiada who explains what her family needs.

"A house, a hotel," said Fiada.

As a few thousand remain at shelters, one of the biggest challenges is getting them out of the shelter to temporary housing. They have FEMA vouchers, but can't find any vacant hotels accepting them.

"Even though she has a voucher in hand, there's no place for her to go," said GRB volunteer Kelly Banks. She says she's called every hotel on the list.

There is also a need for daily volunteers at the shelter.

"As residents are leaving, they think the GRB is shut down and it's not. There's still a need for volunteers," said Banks.

The family from Congo prepares to go back to school on Monday, but their departure from the shelter is still unknown.

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