Three months after the Hurricane Harvey made landfall, the Texas Coastal Bend is still far from back to normal. The Category 4 storm delivered winds of 130 miles-per-hour that batteredAransasCounty communities, and many residents there are still without housing.
The Texas coastal towns of Rockport and Fulton shared all the destruction and misery Hurricane Harvey brought. They also share a boundary line, where you鈥檒l find The Shack Seafood Restaurant and Barbeque Smokehouse.
Harvey ripped off the eatery's roof. That repair work still needs some finishing touches, but the Shack is back open, customers are flowing in and they all seem to want to talk about one thing: the storm.
Loretta Patterson, a waitress at the restaurant, shares her story as easily as pouring sweet tea.
鈥淲e had a picket come through our house 鈥� a fence picket. Through the back 鈥� into my house 鈥� out the front. Like a missile. Lots of water damage,鈥� said Patterson while swiping through images on her phone of her damaged home.
Patrick Garza, the Shack鈥檚 owner, said for many hourly workers in the area, there was no point in staying put.
鈥淚 lost four out of my kitchen. 鈥� Their apartments were destroyed and there鈥檚 nothing to rent. You can鈥檛 rent a place here,鈥� he said.
Meanwhile, a tent has city sprung up on State Highway 35 leading into Fulton. At the entrance there鈥檚 a large hand painted billboard with the U.S. and Texas flags. It reads: 鈥淩ockport Relief Camp,鈥� 鈥淗ot Food Hot Coffee,鈥� 鈥淒onations and Supplies,鈥� and 鈥淔ree Help.鈥�
鈥淚 used to have the absolutely gorgeous 3-1/2 acres covered in fantastic live oak and grass,鈥� said Sam McCrary, owner of the property.
She said it looks a lot different now.
鈥淥ur d茅cor is early mid-century junk yard,鈥� she said.
There鈥檚 an organized chaos here. Open boxes of donated food and cooking equipment are stacked on tables that sag under the weight. There鈥檚 a dining room table under one tree heaped with donated used shoes. One tent canopy is called the office 鈥� that鈥檚 where there鈥檚 internet access, stacks of papers and written on a board is 鈥淟ights out at eleven鈥� in big bold letters. There鈥檚 also a food truck where most of the cooking takes place and on the door is a handwritten sign that says, 鈥淪am for Mayor.鈥�
That鈥檚 because, after the storm, McCrary saw how people鈥檚 lives were 鈥渢urned completely inside out, upside down and backwards,鈥� she said.
She hadn鈥檛 planned to set up a relief camp at her house but she realized somebody had to do something.
鈥淧eople had lost homes; they weren鈥檛 going to have a place to sleep. We knew that there were going to be people who weren鈥檛 going to have access to water or food 鈥� especially hot meals,鈥� she said.
For eight weeks, McCrary said she provided more than a thousand meals a day.
鈥淧eople started coming to get supplies: pick up tents and sleeping bags and cots. ... They were getting kicked off the beach. They couldn鈥檛 camp there. So we just decided to just pitch your tents out here in the front,鈥� she said.
McCrary said the population has dwindled to about 35, but was up to 80. Some guests are children who run around the camp, chasing chickens and riding bikes.
But McCrary plans to fold the relief camp on Dec. 5.
鈥淲e鈥檝e always required people to have jobs,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 charge anyone to stay here, eat or for supplies, so they should be ... able to get on their feet.鈥�
But go where? That鈥檚 the problem. It鈥檚 the one Maria Gomez faces too.
鈥淚 lost everything. I lost my house and everything,鈥� she said, after coming out of the Rockport (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Disaster Recovery Center.
鈥淚鈥檓 still at a FEMA hotel. I鈥檓 trying to find, I鈥檓 telling them, even a trailer or something. There鈥檚 nothing really out there. They gave me a list of potential apartments but they鈥檙e all full. And so it鈥檚 hard,鈥� she said.
More than 47,000 people are still homeless after Harvey and are living in hotels paid for with FEMA vouchers. On Monday FEMA announced they are extending those vouchers to Jan. 16.
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