By Bianca Graulau | St. Petersburg WTSP (Channel 10)
The lack of affordable housing has Hurricane Maria evacuees scrambling to find a place to live.
Ana Cirilo left Hurricane Maria-ravaged Puerto Rico after almost a month without electricity or running water.
“It was very difficult for me to be there after the hurricane,” she said.
She left the nursing home where she was staying to come to Clearwater, Fla. She has been staying at the Woodspring Suites since October thanks to FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.
But that aid ends Saturday, which means Ana and some 2,300 other Puerto Ricans staying in hotels will have to check out.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” Ana said.
She says she has been searching for a place to live since she arrived in the Tampa Bay area, but she had to get in line behind thousands of Floridians waiting for affordable housing.
“They tell me they have waitlists, and the wait is two or three years long,” Cirilo said. “I can’t wait that long.”
As the FEMA deadline approached, her only option was a local shelter.
“At my age, being on the street, homeless, it wasn’t going to be easy,” she said.
But God answered her prayers, Cirilo said. She was referred to Catholic Charities who might be able to put her up in another hotel until she finds an apartment she can afford.
“For me, that is a blessing from God,” she said.
Now, she waits for that call.
Article last accessed July 3, 2018 here. A print-ready PDF is available here.