Displaced Residents Plead for More Help

Residents forced out of their homes for good in one of the hardest hit areas of Dallas are pleading for more help.

A group of men and women huddled together on a sidewalk along Brockbank Drive passed out slices of pie and sandwiches wrapped in aluminum paper.

Others walked away with clothing items for themselves or family members.

Neighbors in and around the Southwind Apartments said they can only count on each other right now for help.

"We do feel ignored," said Mireya Trejo.

Ignored and unsure of where to go now.

They can no longer return to their units.

Trejo, who is seven months pregnant, says she was driving home as the EF-3 tornado headed straight for her second floor unit with her kids inside.

The winds ripped her roof right off.

"I was in the car and everything was crashing into me. I literally thought I was going to lose my life," she said through tears. "I'm just glad that we're here and we made it through. I didn't think I would survive and be with my kids again. But I thank God for giving us another opportunity."

Help she says is what they now need the most.

"To come and help us not feel abandoned here," she said.

Displaced residents from in and around Dallas have been seeking help at the Bachman Recreation Center at 2750 Bachman Drive in Dallas.

Latoyia McDonald and her mother drove in from Richardson where their apartment which suffered some damage.

"It's kind of like we're living Harvey all over again," she said.

McDonald was forced to flee the Houston-area after Hurricane Harvey.

"And when I finally get the opportunity to come back home and be closer to family here comes a tornado to help me relive Harvey all over again, just without the water," she said.

Crews at the Southwind Apartments were seen rushing to place tarps on the badly damaged building.

The apartment complex recently changed owners, leading to confusion for residents now seeking help.

"We've been trying to find help," said Trejo. "We've been calling numbers, they're telling us to get ahold of the owners and they're just bouncing us back and forth."

Countless families are grateful to be alive, grateful for each other even as they face an uncertain future.

"My mom's friend got us a few nights in a hotel but from there we don't know where we're going to go," said Trejo.

Some families had been staying at a shelter set up at the Bachman Recreation Center.

As of Thursday, it is open only from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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