RANDALL COUNTY, Texas (KVII) — The city has opened a multi-agency resource center to help families in the recovery process.
John McGinnis and his family were just a few of the many people who lived in the heart of one of the flood areas and had to evacuate their homes Thursday morning.
“It started coming in about midnight last night, it hadn’t come in the house until then,” said McGinnis. “We decided to grab the kids and hold them up high and walk out of the water.”
McGinnis’ family is able to stay with a friend for the time being.
But while there are many services at the center, some people still have to wait a bit longer.
“Today, looks like it’s more for residents, and I am lucky enough to where my residence hasn’t been affected,” said Broome Optical co-owner Lisa O’Brien. “So, it wasn’t as much information as I would like but I know that now my contact information is at least in the pool of things to be answered and addressed when it can be answered and addressed.”
That includes several agencies such as the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Food Bank and many more.
” We’ve got ways for them to sign up to get calls about housing and utility assistance, we’ve got food assistance, we have assistance for kiddos, little ones with diapers, formula, clothing that kind of stuff,” said AISD VOAD Homeless Liaison Kimber Thompson. “We have assistance for them to sign up with AISD for families in transition apartments to provide assistance with clothing, hygiene and food.”
While McGinnis said the important thing is he and his family are safe, the focus now is finding a new place to live.
“I still have two jobs, one of them has been closed for a week due to the flooding. We have the ability to pay rent and things like that,” said McGinnis. “So, just getting out of the old house and into the new.”
The M.A.R.C. will be open here at the Happy State Bank Event Center attached to Randall County Fire Station 1 until 7 p.m. Thursday night and reopens Friday morning at 8 a.m.