Some of the North Texans hit hardest by last month’s winter storm are now finding themselves victims of a different kind – a shortage of housing.
Stanley Montgomery’s two-bedroom apartment on Fort Worth’s east side is a disaster zone.
The ceiling caved in from broken water pipes, and he said his floor looked like a “swimming pool.”
He’s moving in with his girlfriend across town but would like a place of his own.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
He can’t find one.
“There just aren’t any vacancies,” said community activist Roger Foggle, who’s trying to help Montgomery and his neighbors at the Reserve of Bellevue Apartments. "Right now housing is the issue. These people need somewhere to live."
The lack of housing in a growing city was a problem long before the storm.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Now, with people displaced from storm damage, it's even worse.
"We just need for the complexes in the city who have vacancies, contact these apartment complexes and let them know you have vacancies,” Foggle said. “They're trying to help these people get housed."
Montgomery says he doesn't blame anyone.
"It's frustrating on one hand and then the other hand, I just put it in the Lord's hands,” Montgomery said. “That's the way it is."
According to one survey, the average two-bedroom apartment in Tarrant County costs more than $1,000 – with the price tag going up because of increased demand.
