Storm Victims Back Home or in New Housing

Nearly every family forced to turn to the Red Cross for shelter during February’s unrelenting rainstorms is either back home or has found new lodging, the agency’s chief said Wednesday.

The only person without long-term lodging is a woman whose Ventura apartment was destroyed, Executive Director Ann Sobel said.

In addition, “her check for two months rent from FEMA was apparently lost in the mail,” Sobel said. “I’m looking into that right now.”

Even without the money, Kathleen Michaelson expects to move into a new apartment Friday.

“It will be my easiest move,” said Michaelson, who lost nearly all her possessions when her Cedar Street apartment building collapsed Feb. 23.

She has received help from the Red Cross with food and lodging, and has been told to expect the arrival of a delivery truck from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul on Friday with furniture and clothing.

Michaelson is one of dozens of people the Red Cross found emergency housing for during February, Sobel said.

“We housed 20 families in Ventura County, mainly from Port Hueneme and Cedar Street in Ventura,” Sobel said. “We found housing for 50 people who were evacuated from the Cedar Street apartments alone.”

Five Red Cross emergency shelters were opened for up to three nights around the county in mid-month, providing overnight housing for 100 people, she said.

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“And we’re ready to go again, if need be,” she added.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a private Catholic charity, has assisted 36 people in Ventura County in the past month, working alongside the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Josie Cabiglio of the charity.

On a federal level, FEMA has issued 394 grants to Ventura County applicants for housing since Feb. 9, spokeswoman Patti Roberts said. The grants are worth a total of $599,659, she said.

About 53,000 Californians have applied for some type of state or federal assistance with rent or home repairs since Feb. 9, Roberts said.