Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Devona Robinson (43, far left) stands with her family and neighbors (L to R) Khaleed Levett (21), Majanae Chambers (30), Kennedy Asante (20), and Kemari Johnson (27) in a park across the street from the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. The group was evacuated from the second floor of their apartment building by a civilian rescue boat, which took them to a bus that shuttled evacuees to the Red Cross shelter. “Katrina, Rita, and Ike, they were something, but Harvey… he was something different. I’ve got a survival mind, but it just didn’t kick in when Harvey hit, I just panicked.” “I feel depressed — I was homeless, and had just moved into my apartment for six months. It’s stressful.” “My advice? If they say get out, get out. Material things are replaceable but your life is not. I almost learned that the hard way this time.” On the shelter: “They have been amazing, nothing but nice. They’ve bent over backwards, went over and beyond, they’re a blessing.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Yasin Sensaliver pauses in the hallway at the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Sensaliver, an immigrant from Turkey who evacuated from his apartment near Hobby Airport in Southeast Houston, has been staying in the shelter since Sunday March 27. He requires a motorized wheelchair to get around, so when floodwater started to rise inside his room on the night of the storm, it rendered his wheelchair useless, and he was trapped on his bed. He frantically tried calling 911 several times, but they were inundated with calls. He thought he was going to die alone in his apartment, and called his best friend to say he loved them, and to let his family in Turkey know. But then he heard a neighbor shouting his name from outside his door. The neighbor broke through a window to get into the apartment, and then carried Yasin upstairs to the second floor of their building. By that point the water had risen above the roofs of the cars in the parking lot. Yasin and his neighbors sheltered in an empty apartment that night until the following morning, when the US Coast guard came through their neighborhood with boats, and helped them to escape. “The water kept rising and rising, halfway onto my bed, and that’s when I started having panic attacks… I called my best friend and said I thought I was going to die. I told him “If I don’t make it I love you. Tell everybody I love them.” “I tried calling 911 but they were so flooded, so busy with calls… I knew by looking outside that the only way anybody would be able to get to me was with an airlift.” “I lost everything. I was actually supposed to go back to work tonight, but I don’t even have my scooter.” “Houston wasn’t ready for this, they underestimated the power of this hurricane, they weren’t ready.”

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Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Gabrielle Lee (16) holds her cat Aurora outside the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Gabrielle woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday when the cat cried out — it was standing in floodwater that was rising on her bedroom floor. She and her mother stayed in the apartment in Dickinson, a small suburb of Southeast Houston, for the next few hours, frantically gathering up mementos and valuables and stacking them atop cupboards in the kitchen. As the waters continued to rise, Gabrielle decided that they needed to seek higher ground. They rode out the remainder of the storm in an upstairs neighbor’s apartment. The following day, they were evacuated by airboat to a dry stretch of highway, then rode a bus to a local shelter. They were relocated to the Red Cross shelter in downtown Houston on Monday, September 28. “Oil and gas was draining out of everyone’s cars, and the sewers were backing up, so no one wanted to walk out into the water.” “There were jet skis in the water going by, and helicopters over us, people were taking their own personal boats and coming out to rescue people… anything that could float on water to pick people up.” “I’ve been trying to be strong, because in a time like this, you’re allowed to cry but to be strong is best. I just know that things will get better, and after this big, bad storm, something good is gonna come out of it.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Felicia Abshire (29) stands with her husband Allen Abshire (30) and their children (L to R) Jacob (10), Abel (7), Felicity (8), and Aterah (1) in the hallway at the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. As the storm hit, the Abshires’ house quickly began to flood. The family of six left their home in North Houston in the pouring rain to stay with Allen’s aunt in her two-story home nearby. When her house also began to take on water, everyone moved upstairs to the second floor. They came to the Red Cross shelter for basic necessities like food, clothing, and pampers for the baby as they try to figure out their next steps. “We’ve lost everything, but I’ve raised my kids to be strong.” “Even though we had it, we didn’t spoil them so they’ll be ok.”

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Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Michael Past (26) stands in a park across the street from the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. After floodwater stopped rising in their apartment on the East side of Houston, Michael and his family waited for four hours, hoping that it would subside. The following morning when the National Guard came through their neighborhood in boats, they accepted the fact that things weren’t going to dry out any time soon. Michael, his girlfriend, and their three children (ages one, three, and six) climbed into a boat that took them to a nearby school which was being used as a makeshift shelter, despite taking over two feet of water on the ground floor. Everyone at the school was eventually evacuated by helicopter and made their way to the Red Cross Shelter downtown. “No one was prepared for this. Even the people who are supposed to be prepared were caught off guard.” “I’ve been saluting the army and national guard since I’ve seen them — they saved my family’s lives.” “I’m just thankful for my life. The rest of the stuff can be replaced.” “The best feeling I had was getting on that helicopter. Watching that water down below was such a relief.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Dawn Carter (46) was homeless before Hurricane Harvey, but had weathered the storm at a friend’s place near White Oak Bayou close to downtown. When they needed to make space for evacuated family members, Carter came to the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter operated by the Red Cross. Dawn has been totally impressed by relief efforts, and the positive approach that many of her fellow evacuees have taken to dealing with their current situation. “I’m almost blessed to have gone through this, just to see this kind of love, this kind of community.” “Don’t lose faith in yourself or others because that’s when it gets bleak. Despite the circumstances we all have a safe place to stay right now.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Tiambri Wade (29) and her partner Antonio Gipson (25) sit in the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Tiambri and Antonio and were woken up by the family’s puppy, who was standing on the floor in six inches of water and whimpering. In the next two hours, as they called 911 over and over, the floodwater rose over their knees. By the time they made the decision to grab their two children - ages four and six - and flee leave their house in North Houston, the water was rising so quickly that they were forced to leave the puppy behind. The family of four spent six nights sleeping in a relative’s car, and finally decided on Saturday that they would try the shelter. Tiambri was reluctant because she doesn’t want her kids to get sick from all the germs that might be in the shelter, but they have no other place to go. “We’re just walking around trying to figure out what we can…” “It just wasn’t something you could prepare for, because even with all the water, all the extra food, all the perishables we bought, all the things we set up high, we never expected to walk out into five feed of water with two babies on our necks and bags of clothes and food, with no one there and no one in sight, just flooded cars.”

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Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Yawer Alnaqeeb (43) stands with his son Ali (5, left) and daughter Ranya (7) outside the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Originally from Iraq, Alnaqeeb and his family immigrated to the United States one year ago from Dubai. They settled in Katy, a western suburb of Houston that was badly flooded by the the hurricane. One day after the storm, their neighborhood was mandatorily evacuated. The family boarded a military boat, transferred to a high water truck, and were eventually dropped off at a local school that was being used as an emergency shelter. They eventually got a ride from a volunteer to a friend’s apartment in downtown Houston and have been staying there for the past few nights. Yawer heard that there were resources available at the Red Cross shelter, and his family came to meet with FEMA agents and pick up food, clothing, and supplies. “In this situation, I feel bad because I lost my property, my car, and other things. But at the same time, I am happy because I live in a community with nice people around me. They’re caring, and rush to help people during this hard time. I’m grateful, really.” “I’m a hard worker, that’s my nature, so with a little assistance I can move on.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - LaTonya Wells (35) sits with her sons Maleak Rozier (6, on left) and Messiah Godfrey (5) outside the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. LaTonya was evacuated from her home in the Lakewood district of Houston by National Guard responders on Saturday September 26. She and her sons have been staying in the Red Cross shelter since then. “It was scary [for me], but it was really scary for my boys. It was scary thinking about where everything is going, everything you’re losing, how you’ve gotta start over. I’m just glad to be alive, but also wondering how I’m gonna start back over. Where do you begin?” “I’m distraught, sad, but also happy at the same time. I have faith in God that He’s gonna work everything out, and everything is gonna be ok. As long as I can see [my boys] smile I’m gonna be ok. To know that they’re ok, then I’m ok.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Stephine Lopez (34, second from right) her son Julius Lopez (1, in stroller), mother Lucia Lopez (52, center), sister-in-law Yuridia Espinoza (22, second from left), and niece Jade Espinoza (7, far left) pause in the hallway of the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. The family live near one another in Jacinto City and Galena Park, in the suburbs of East Houston, and traveled to the Red Cross shelter for food, clothing, and necessities four days after Hurricane Harvey swept through their neighborhoods. As Stephine and her husband drove their family out of their rapidly flooding town on Saturday night, they became trapped by rising waters. Their van was picked up and moved by the strong current, and Stephine thought that her family was going to drown. Her husband was able to force a door open, and the van quickly filled with water and dropped back down to the pavement. They tied their youngest children to his chest using blankets and towels, and they made their way out into chest-deep water and waded toward safety. “The water kept rising and rising, and we had the children, so we tried to evacuate to higher ground… I’ll never forget the visual of my husband walking through the dark water with the children, thinking we weren’t going to make it.” “Being so poor, we only lost a little but it feels like a lot.” “Right now I feel so many emotions, but I can tell you that I’ve never seen so much devastation in my life. I’m on such high alert, there are so many things going on.” “You see this stuff on TV but you never see it in real life.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Brandy Hernandez (19) sits on a bench outside the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Hernandez just arrived in Houston three weeks ago from a homeless shelter in Denver, and had been staying alone at an acquaintance’s apartment during the storm. With no money, few friends, and nowhere to go, she stayed in the flooded apartment for several days after the skies had cleared. On Thursday August 31 she caught a ride to the Red Cross shelter. “I stayed at the apartment during the storm while it was flooding, because I had nowhere else to go. I didn’t have anyone that would be able to pick me up, so I stayed there on the bed and kept all my stuff on the bed and waited.” “I’m feeling really messed up. Now I’m back to being by myself and finding somewhere to live.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Mike Henschel (60) sits outside the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Henschel has been homeless in Houston for the past three years, and has slept in the Red Cross shelter since Sunday September 27. He plans to stay at the GRB Center until they close it down. “I still feel displaced, even though I’m homeless and I live on the street. It’s like a fog almost. Things just don’t seem normal.” "I can feel everybody’s tension — they’re worried. I’ve been homeless for a long time, 12 years. Some of these people are just becoming homeless [due to the storm] and I can imagine how they’re feeling.”

Houston, TX - August 31, 2017 - Andre Palm (42, right) sits with his wife Deandra Palm (37) and son JaMari Walker (5) inside the George R Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston, which is being used as an emergency shelter for local residents who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey. As their house in the Lakewood area of Northeast Houston quickly flooded, Andre gathered up the few sentimental objects he could, like dried flowers from his grandmother’s funeral, and stacked them up high. By the time he and his family tried to leave the house, the water had risen too high and it was too dark to see clearly, so they waited until daybreak in waist-high water. The following morning, a neighbor came by their house in a fishing boat, and Andre, Deandra, JaMari, his three siblings, and Deandra’s mother all climbed aboard. The family eventually transferred to a pontoon boat, then a semi truck which dropped them off on a dry stretch of road. They spent the second night sleeping on the floor of a convenience store, eating whatever they could find on the shelves as they waited for rescue. They made their way to the Red Cross shelter on Monday September 28 and are trying figure out what to do. “I slept on the ground for only four hours, but it gave me a newfound respect for people who have to do it all the time.” “It was a good thing it was raining so hard, because it hid my tears from my kids.” “I lost my house, my truck, everything, but I have my family and that’s all that matters.” “The thing I’ve always heard is home is where the heart is, and I didn’t really understand that until I’d lost everything… as long as we’re together, we’re home.”

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