Hurricane Harvey victims feeling abandoned after 8 years without aid

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Eight years after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area, some families are still waiting on federal aid to fix their damaged homes.

Some applied for the funds through a program run by the Texas General Land Office (GLO); others through programs run by state and local governments.

"I walk through here, and I look up at the ceiling and see sheetrock there, and you can't plug anything in without it shooting sparks and stuff. I am tired," Jackie Williams, whose Sharpstown home was severely damaged back in 2017, said.

Williams saw a path through after Harvey when she found out she qualified for aid through the GLOs CDBG-DR funded Hurricane Harvey Homeowner Assistance Program.

Brittany Eck, a spokesperson for the GLO said when Williams first applied for the program Houston and Harris County got the funds directly from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD put the GLO in charge of ensuring federal compliance and that the local governments use the funds on time.

Eck said ultimately the GLO took over the program completely. At that point, they said Williams needed further assistance gathering federal documents for application.

"I can't tell you how many trips we took," said Williams.

Williams application process soon became belabored by other factors according to Eck.

A permit to repair Mrs. Williams' home was denied by the Houston Floodplain Management Office according to Eck because it sits on a flood plain. That was compounded by the fact that the home was both in a historic neighborhood and in a homeowner's association jurisdiction. Eck said, "these factors necessitated a custom build, which means architectural planning, engineering, additional environmental assessment, historic design approval, and HOA consent for the plans."

For Williams and her husband, it has simply felt like disappointment. She said they have gone as far as filling out desired floor plans to identifying hotels for their temporary stay. Williams said they were even told to start packing at one point in 2023 because construction would begin soon.

She said now the couple mostly just gets phone call updates.

"Maybe once a month, possibly twice telling us, why the project can't go farther," Williams said.

Williams and her husband James are not alone, while many are still waiting for assistance.

There have been multiple programs for Harvey victims led by state local governments.

Many of which have been tumultuous.

The City of Houston was previously forced to give back $45 million in federal assistance because previous administration officials failed to meet project deadlines.

In a city council meeting Wednesday, Mayor John Whitmire called it, "a total breakdown."

Separately from Williams' situation, HUD began investigating the GLO for how they distributed an estimated $1 billion in mitigation funding. According to Eck mitigation funding is for infrastructure projects.

That investigation has now been sent to the US Justice Department, for further review, according to this notice obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

HUD alleges the GLO purposely rejected proposals for repair projects in places like Harris County because the money wouldn't benefit a high enough percentage of the population.

Instead, HUD said smaller communities that were primarily white and rural got their projects picked up because percentages of those helped would be higher.

HUD further contends the GLO violated the Fair Housing Act.

In a statement sent to ABC13, the GLO said:

"For years, the political activists embedded in HUD by the Biden Administration have made false discrimination claims against the GLO, which have been disproven repeatedly. Last time HUD sent this political stunt to the DOJ, the fake claims were rejected for lacking substance - in less than 48 hours. The fact is, the HUD-approved plan overwhelmingly benefited minorities, and there simply was no discrimination. No other state has performed as efficiently and effectively as Texas in providing disaster recovery and mitigation funding to communities and residents. Our only goal is to serve those we are supposed to serve and do it well."

HUD's political appointees tried to submit this to the DOJ previously and was rejected (within 48 hours) for lack of evidence. The math doesn't support the baseless claims of discrimination as more than two-thirds of the beneficiaries of the highest-scoring projects are Hispanic and Black residents. The facts are simple. We followed HUD's requirements in developing the criteria, HUD approved the plan, then we administered it according to HUD's approved plan.

As for Williams' situation, Eck said the local permitting process and the HOA approval process has created a lot of bureaucracy and delay.

"We are currently trying to get approval from the City of Houstons Office of Preservation on plans that meet their requirements," Eck said statement.

Williams fears for her; the help will come too late.

"I've had a stroke, and I have congestive heart failure where they will just find me (passed) out," said Williams, "can I see my house before I die?"

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