(Courtesy photo)
By CATHERINE DONNELLY
Special to the PRESS
More than six months after the tornado touched down on May 13, devastating Laguna Heights, the 20 remaining families challenged by home insecurity received good news about upcoming aid from four different sources that have come together to solve this situation.
On November 21, Cameron County Commissioners approved an application for $171,120 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to pay for construction materials needed to rebuild six houses demolished during the tornado. The Salvation Army reached into their reserves to provide an additional $75,000 for the project.
The funding is part of a collaborative effort between Cameron County, the Salvation Army, Mennonite Disaster Services Volunteer Construction Teams, and Point Isabel School District to provide permanent homes for the Laguna Heights families who lost their housing due to the catastrophic weather event.
The Salvation Army is working with Ron Hoover RV & Marine Center in Donna, Texas, to acquire 14 previously owned trailer homes, which will go to families who lost theirs in the tornado. That’s not the end of the non-profit’s responsibility. There are a lot of moving parts to each family’s needs.
“We have to make sure that each individual family can afford the lot fees to keep their home on,” said Alvin Migues, Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services Director. “The Salvation Army and the families themselves are searching for affordable lots close enough to their jobs so that they will be as stabilized as possible.”
Part of the funds will be used for construction materials for the residential housing damaged or demolished by the tornado. The Mennonite Disaster Services Volunteer Construction Teams is sending a team of 20 workers from all over the US and Canada to repair and reconstruct six homes. Point Isabel School District will provide $4,000 to each of the eight families with children attending school here to assist with the recovery efforts.
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