Tajuana is a single mom of three – Brodrick (5), Mykala (8), and Todrick (10). When Harvey hit Houston the waters rose 4.5 feet at their house in Trinity/Houston Gardens. Tajuana and her family headed for safety at the Convention Center where they stayed for 5 days. Now, they’ve signed a short-term lease for a one-bedroom apartment where they’ll stay until their home is rebuilt.
Tajuana is an UBER driver and her car was wrecked in Harvey. She’s waiting for insurance to replace her vehicle, but in the meantime it means that she hasn’t been able to work. Without money coming in, Tajuana hasn’t been able to replace any of the creature comforts of home. In particular, the family needs mattresses.
“Every night Tajuana lays out all the clothes they have on the floor to give the kids somewhere softer to sleep,” said Maddie McElhenny, ARC team member in Houston. “So, we headed to Mattress Mack’s to remedy the situation.”
Mattress Mack is a Houston celebrity. In the days following Harvey, Mattress Mack opened up his store (Gallery Furniture) to house those impacted by the flood. There were about 500 people living in the showroom for a few days! With our $500 budget we weren’t sure what we could do for Tajuana and her kids, but we went to Mack to see if he could help.
A queen and three twin mattresses – what should have cost $2,000 or more – Mack gave to us for $500!
A good night’s sleep is so important. And thanks to Mack we were able to get Tajuana and her kids up off the cold, hard floor and sleeping comfortably again. It’s one less thing Tajuana has to worry about.
Tajuana said, “It will make a whole lot of difference. We lost everything. I’m still waiting on FEMA for things like clothes. And we have been sleeping on the floor.”
