77-year-old woman says she can't afford repairs after man smashes 8 of her home windows
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Sammye Hughes, 77, has spent nearly a month living with tarps on her home instead of windows.
On Aug. 5, around 10:45 a.m., a 20-year-old threw multiple objects, including a car battery and wrench, through eight of her home's windows, and it was all caught on the neighbor's security cameras.
"Scared me to death because all I could see from my bedroom was something flying across my living room," Hughes said.
According to the family, the suspect is the child of the girl, who Hughes' son is dating. He was arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief and is currently out of jail on bond.
But Hughes, who lives on a fixed income, says she can not afford homeowners insurance or the $8,000 to replace the broken windows. So, Harris County Precinct 7 Victims Assistance Coordinator Michelle Lewis connected Hughes with Harold Aiken, the director at Aging in Place Home Repair, a local nonprofit based in Fort Bend County.
"There are hundreds of cases of low-income seniors not finding resources," Aiken said.
Aiken said his organization could not directly assist Hughes because it does not serve Harris County. Still, he worked to contact more than 20 nonprofits and government agencies in Harris County that provide home repair or emergency services to low-income families. Aiken said all of them either did not respond or had nothing to offer.
"People are not handling emergencies or their funds are depleted for the year already," Aiken said. "And the automatic response says no more intakes are possible at this time."
"They're supposed to have money to help seniors and help people who have been victims," Hughes said.
So even though she needs help and is going to the right places for it, Hughes is stuck with eight holes in her house, covered with tarps.
"We should look at how the system is working and what agencies are receiving money, and how that's being spent," Aiken said. "Is it all on overhead? Like, how much is actually getting trickled down to the folks we're trying to serve?"
