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Following Hurricane Harvey, volunteers helped local residents load supplies in Victoria. Marina Gonzales, who is from Victoria, took a van full of supplies to her hometown.
Located off the Texas coast, the town of Victoria was devastated by Hurricane Harvey’s path.
Not only is Victoria home to more than 60,000 people, but it is home to Marina Gonzales, a wind energy curriculum development specialist at Western Texas College (WTC).
Shortly after Harvey’s impact, Gonzales knew that she couldn’t stay in Snyder. Within three days, Gonzales collected donations, loaded up a van and headed for the coast.
“I was originally planning on just going to Victoria, but I ended up going to Refugio too,” Gonzales said. “Robert Thompson (WTC’s director of correctional officer training in-service) has a brother who is a firefighter in Refugio, and he needed help.”
Thompson connected Gonzales to the Refugio Fire Department, and through approval of WTC President Dr. Barbara Beebe, Gonzales was able to load up a WTC utility van with donations collected by WTC and College on the Square from the community.
“Everyone backed me on going,” Gonzales said. “It was cool because there was a need, and people were helping me meet that need.”
Once Gonzales reached Refugio last Thursday, she helped firefighters distribute supplies. The following day, Gonzales found herself in Victoria distributing food.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” Gonzales said. “Street signs were on the ground everywhere, utility poles were broken into three, and trees were snapped. The mosquitos were the worst. You couldn’t stand outside without getting bitten.”
That day Gonzales went to her childhood school, Dudley Elementary School, where she packed and handed out about 40 sack lunches.
“The day before I got there, my friends bought pizza for 168 people at two slices per person and handed them out,” Gonzales said. “We knew there was going to be a huge need.”
On Saturday, Gonzales and her friends handed out about 260 meals, including sack lunches, enchiladas, beans and rice.
“My friend’s apartment still had electricity, so we used her kitchen to cook, then distributed meals at the school,” Gonzales said.
On Sunday, they handed out supplies, including diapers, wipes, formula, water, snacks, clothing, inflatable beds, sheets and supplies to make meals.
Despite the need in Victoria and the surrounding area, Gonzales said that the people’s spirits were still lifted.
“Everyone was so grateful and respectful,” Gonzales said. “It’s sad because it felt like it was never really ‘this happened to me,’ but more of ‘let’s rebuild.’ It was positive. They were all checking in with one another. The Victoria community and Dudley Elementary were sticking together, and it seemed like there was this thing to help each other.”
The community was so helpful that teachers and school administrators were working to get the school ready for classes and local businesses and organizations opened for people to use electricity and distribute donations.
“Everyone was helping every day,” Gonzales said.
When Gonzales initially decided to make the trip to Victoria, she didn’t know what to expect. But she’s glad to have had the opportunity.
“I wanted to do this, but I didn’t know if it would actually take off,” Gonzales said. “Supplies came in so quickly, and everything worked out. I want to let people know that it’s not too late to get involved. Have courage to put yourself out there and try to help out.”