HOLIDAYS — READY OR NOT
Many families still grappling with post-Harvey stress
Dashing out into the hallway, Charde Wilson clutched her 4-year-old son tightly as he grasped his tiny arms around her neck while she trudged up the stairs to higher ground. The murky water rose below her, and the endless rain continued into the dark night.
When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, it was difficult to imagine the monstrous devastation the storm would cause. Wilson, 30, remembered how a typical rainy evening turned into a night that changed everything for her and her son, Lavell Thomas.
“I went to bed early, and it was lightly raining,” she said. “While I was sleeping I felt like something just hit me with this get-up-now feeling.” Nearly three months after Harvey struck the region, many Houstonians still are facing daunting challenges from finding a new home to getting another job. One of those many obstacles is coping with the persistent stress of struggling post-Harvey while preparing for the holiday season. Wilson understood that firsthand as she spent weeks desperately searching for a new place to live with her son.
Organizations such as Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston are bringing faith and civic leaders together for an event — “The Impact of Harvey on the Holidays” — on Dec. 7 to provide advice on how to help those still coping.
The Rev. Gregory Han,
director of Interfaith Relations at Interfaith Ministries, helped organize the coming event, which is being hosted by his organization. “The Impact of Harvey on the Holidays grew out of experiences with faith communities and our experiences coordinating over 10,000 volunteers in the weeks following Hurricane Harvey,” Han said.
He said some of the focus on the countless people affected by Harvey unfortunately has faded.
“Resources and responders have gone home or moved on to the next need, whether it was Florida, Puerto Rico or the fires in northern California,” Han said.
He and others affiliated with Interfaith Ministries recognize that besides religious celebrations or holiday-related activities, the season can pose other challenges.
“There’s an overall expectation that people should be happy and festive and merry that transcends religion,” Han said. “There’s an expectation of gift-giving. All of these pressures will be amplified by the losses that Harvey caused.”
Han hopes the gathering of faith and civic leaders will lead to an outpouring of advice and support for congregations trying to endure the dual pressures of Harvey and the holidays. Topics such as financial struggles, emotional stress and home repairs will be included.
Religious and mental health organizations will attend, too. Linda Burger, CEO of Jewish Family Service, will be a panel speaker at the event. Burger understands the problems still confronting the community after the unprecedented storm.
“This year (for the holidays) the sadness and depression may be magnified due to the greater sense of loss,” Burger said. “The place where one normally celebrates the holidays may have been flooded. The items that tie one generation to another may have been destroyed by water.”
Burger added that many people are still residing in places with no kitchen access as in hotels or other temporary locations which could hinder someone from preparing a holiday meal.
To ease pressures many families face, Burger said Jewish Family Service is helping with weekly support groups for adults and children.
“We make sure their basic needs are met — shelter, food and clothing,” she said. “We help them to re-frame what the holidays mean to them and how to think of new traditions, new opportunities to celebrate in modified ways.”
Burger also encourages the more fortunate to invite those who are struggling into their home for a holiday meal, gift-giving or other gestures to show them they are not alone.
Janet Pozmantier, director of the Center for School Behavioral Health at Mental Health America, will attend the Harvey event and hopes it will increase the “take action” mindset of helping people. Pozmantier suggests altering holiday celebrations this year in ways that aid the coping process.
Even as the community and organizations provide help, Houstonians like Wilson still carry the lingering memories of Harvey engulfing the city.
Wilson recalled pulling herself out of bed that night and stepping out of her apartment into the hallway to see rising water coming from the parking lot.
“The water was at the edge of the stairwell. I freaked out,” she said. “I realized I only had so much time before the water was in my apartment.”
To Wilson’s relief she encountered a neighbor in the stairwell who lived in an apartment above her. He told her she could take refuge with him and his family.
She ran back into her apartment and quickly grabbed her son who was still sleeping in his bed before the flood waters seeped into their home.
Nearly 12 hours later Wilson, her son and the other residents were finally rescued from the apartment.
From the shelter at the George R. Brown Convention Center to staying in a hotel with funds provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Wilson and her son finally found a new apartment in Stafford almost two months later.
Wilson said many helped her get back on her feet and basically start over.
“Who hasn’t helped me?” she said enthusiastically. “From the U.S. Army Reserves, FEMA, friends, family, social media, American Red Cross, my church — the list goes on.”
Another Harvey survivor who is gracious for the help she has received is Marcelle Downer.
“We have received help from so many individuals,” she said. “It has been truly inspiring to see people from the community step up to help us at a time of need.”
Downer, 31, was eight months pregnant when the flood waters forced her and her husband Joshua Downer, 31, to evacuate their home in the Willowbend neighborhood by boat. Their home suffered such severe damage that they are still living in a small apartment until repairs can be made.
Houstonians like Wilson and Downer though are thankful for being where they are now, considering the circumstances they survived. The coming holidays will bring challenges yet joy for them both.
“The holidays this year are bittersweet,” Downer said. “It will be our first Thanksgiving and Christmas with a new baby, and we are saddened to not be in our home for these special moments.”
Downer said their financial situation will make it difficult to celebrate the holidays this year. They had put most of their money into gutting their now uninhabitable home. Moving expenses along with replacing lost belongings will make their holiday celebrations low-key.
Still, Marcelle looks forward to visiting with family out of town this year for the holidays. She and her husband plan to extend their family visit this year to help cope with their current living circumstances.
As for Wilson, she hopes to host Christmas celebrations in her new home. Though she is now living in a smaller, one-bedroom apartment she still plans to cook for family and close friends to show her appreciation.
Wilson, who retired from the Army in December 2016, learned from her time in the armed forces that you have to adjust.
“I know this isn’t the end of the world,” Wilson said, “and I have so many great things ahead of me.”