FEMA officials request delay for holidays

BROWNSVILLE - Federal Emergency Management Agency officials planning to go home for the holidays want a federal judge to delay hearings on a lawsuit filed by 14 families still waiting for home repair assistance since July's Hurricane Dolly, family attorneys said.

Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid says FEMA wants the case delayed until early January even though families have been living in dangerous and substandard conditions for nearly five months.

The case was filed Nov. 20 and TRLA had asked for a hearing as "early as possible because these families are still living in damaged homes, or living in other people's homes," TRLA spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said.

FEMA spokeswoman Debra Young in Washington said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Jose Gonzales of Harlingen is one of the 14 plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The 50-year-old is a quadriplegic and lives with his wife, Marcelina, on an annual food stamp allotment of $756 and $7,644 in supplemental security income because of his total disability, the lawsuit states.

Gonzales' home was modified by a nonprofit organization with a wheelchair ramp, an enlarged bathroom and widened doors, the lawsuit states.

FEMA denied Gonzales' claim in an Aug. 5 letter, the lawsuit states.

"Mr. Gonzales went to the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center in Harlingen and asked a FEMA worker why he had been denied," the lawsuit states. "The worker told him that his damages were not caused by the hurricane but rather were due to deferred maintenance and that he should already be used to living in a home in these conditions."

TRLA attorney Jerome Wesevich said, "FEMA should be giving these families' holiday plans as much consideration as they are giving their own."

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of La Union Del Pueblo Entero Inc., a nonprofit membership organization made up largely of farm workers who live in Texas, Arizona and California, the lawsuit states. LUPE, founded by labor organizer Cesar Chavez, is based in San Juan.

"In response to Hurricane Dolly, LUPE held meetings with officials and affected Valley families to help them respond to flooding, utility restoration and other damage to housing," the lawsuit states.

About half of all applications for home repair assistance in the Valley were denied, many on the basis that the homes were not properly built in first place, the lawsuit states.

FEMA policies discriminate against low-income families who are legally eligible for disaster assistance, TRLA states in the lawsuit.

The family of Alejandro Alvarado of Lozano has lived in their house 38 years and have a total annual income of about $20,000 for a family of five, the lawsuit states.

Dolly caused structural and roof damage to the Alvarado home, blowing off shingles and boards that covered holes in the roof and in the side of the house, allowing water to enter, the lawsuit states.

The hurricane shook the house and caused large cracks to appear in the walls and ceiling.

A contractor estimated it will cost $3,300 just to repair the roof of the Alvarado home, the lawsuit states. The family has no insurance or other funds to make repairs.

On Aug. 12, FEMA sent the Alvarados a letter stating they had "insufficient damage."

Congress allows each eligible family up to $28,800 in total disaster relief services, including home repairs, but FEMA does not offer those benefits equally to low-income families, the lawsuit states.