Oliver West
Oliver West (102!) lived with his wife Hattie at their home on Texas Avenue since 1965. Before Katrina the couple's daughter stayed there often to help care for them. Mr. and Mrs. West were at Hattie's house during the storm. Due to the substantial amount of damage to the house, as well as dealing with the aftermath of Katrina, the Wests were taken to a long-term care facility as a temporary arrangement until their daughter could come back to care for them. Unfortunately being separated from their family and absent from their neighborhood denied them the opportunity to sign up for assistance, such as for FEMA benefits.
The home flooded as a result of roof and wall damage caused by a tree that fell on it. A wall in one of the bedrooms caved and the interior of the home was destroyed. The case was presented to HCLTRC with high priority due to the age and health of the couple. After doing an assessment on the property HCLTRC and HCRN deemed that the home was not repairable or safe for habitation. Most of their contents were destroyed too.
HCRN demolished the house on January 5, 2007. Mrs. Hattie West passed away the very same morning. She was about 80 years old. Currently Dessie West, Oliver West's granddaughter is taking care of him at her house that has remained unrepaired itself since Katrina. Dessie has focused all of her energy on getting Oliver West back inside of his own home where she will continue to care for him.
Currently, Mr. West lives off of his pension. He has no emergency funds. He does not have insurance.
The client is requesting financial assistance for buying materials that volunteers will use to build him a house.
The Evans family
The Evans are currently residing in a FEMA trailer. They have been in a trailer for 2 years. The Evans have no means to repair their home. Mrs. Evans is currently battling cancer, is unemployed, and having severe emotional complications. There are currently insufficient funds available that will allow for this home to be adequately repaired from the damage done by Katrina. Mrs. Evans is trying to finish her nursing degree after years out of school. These pictures illustrate the homes current condition as of 01/01/2008
