HOUSTON – Dozens of people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey gathered at Houston City Council chambers Thursday to talk about their housing needs five months after the storm.
"After so much water started coming into the yard, the house started sinking. Virtually sinking,” Malbrth Moses said.
Moses still doesn't have permanent housing and said he is currently staying with his fiancée.
A group of Harvey victims have since banded together to form a coalition called “Houston Rising.”
The group said they fight for equity for thousands of people still piecing their lives together after the storm.
Dozens of members attended the Texas House of Representatives Urban Affairs Committee hearing chaired by State Rep. Carol Alvarado on Thursday to talk about their problems that ranged from not having enough money to being able to pay for repairs to the perils of living out of a motel for months at a time.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner attended the meeting and spoke about the financial challenges of recovery. Turner was critical of Gov. Greg Abbott’s reluctance to tap the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
"If Harvey doesn't qualify for the rainy day fund, then what does? The challenge I would pose to you all and to the Legislature (is to) give people a definition and the criteria by which the rainy day fund will be activated so everyone will know. And if we know that we will stop asking for it,” Turner said.