I Don't Believe That This is Rocket Science

The story below was printed in Saturday's (December 27) Brownsville Herald. The photos are by Daniel Lopez. The Brownsville Community Development Corporation has done a marvelous job of providing low-cost housing for thousands of families in our area. But there are hitches every now and again, that have nothing to do with BCDC and everything to do with the way we treat poor people in general (suspiciously and without much mercy). In this case, the 68 year old woman for whom a new house was built had to live in a shack because the light company (a public utility that became privatized in more ways that I can figure) simply couldn't be bothered to hook her up. Despite the fact that she is ill, older, and that it has been a cold December.

She is our neighbor, living five houses down the block.

When we moved into our home, we had no trouble getting our electricity turned on. But then again, we had some money.

IN THE DARK
Residents receives new home, but has no electricity yet By Kevin Seiff

Maria D. Garcia had been waiting for months for her Christmas present to arrive: a new home courtesy of the Brownsville Community Development Corp.

Garcia was one of 10 Cameron Park residents who received new homes this fall from BCDC after the organization received a federal grant.
“If you give a person a decent place to live they’re going to be able to do decent things with their life,” said BCDC board member Father Mike Seifert.
But as the holidays neared, Garcia was still living in a makeshift shanty, waiting for utilities to be installed in her new home. Winter came, and the cold sliced through gaps in Garcia’s plywood walls. Child Protective Services told her it was an improper place to raise her two 15-year-old grandsons.
For six weeks, Garcia waited for services. TXU Energy placed an installation order which was pushed back by AEP, the local electricity provider.
“We did everything right. We put in the service order,” said Sophia Stoller, a TXU spokeswoman. “(AEP) has their reasons for moving the date.”
The BCDC home is now complete. But until utilities are installed, the corporation will not allow Garcia to move in. Of the BCDC grantees, she is the only one who has not yet been able to move into her home.
“We call every other day,” said Garcia’s daughter Adriana. “They get annoyed, but what can we do? We want my mom to have something.”
After a cold front came to Brownsville, Garcia’s children took her to their homes in Austin and San Antonio. “We couldn’t let her stay here,” Adriana Garcia said. “Everyone was getting sick.”
AEP is expected to install the services at some point next week.
“It’s too bad,” Seifert said. “It would have been a great Christmas present.”
ksieff@brownsvilleherald.com