Texas RioGrande Legal Aid: ‘Being a disaster survivor is a good enough reason to appeal late’

Brittanny Gomez grew up in Hampshire, Texas — a town small enough to be described as a four-way stop near Beaumont. She had a bayou in her backyard. She survived Harvey, Rita, and Ike.

She knows what it looks like when a disaster exposes what was already there.

“Disasters do not change the circumstances of low-income people,” said Gomez, supervisory attorney and disaster benefits team manager for Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. “They exacerbate them.”

TRLA is a nonprofit civil legal aid firm serving 68 counties across central and southwest Texas, from the Hill Country to El Paso and down to the Mexican border. Its services are free to low-income clients. Gomez manages a mobile team of paralegals and attorneys who specialize in disaster response — a division born out of Hurricane Katrina, when thousands of Louisiana evacuees arrived in Houston and San Antonio needing help recovering documents, appealing FEMA denials, and clearing property titles.

In Kerrville, TRLA maintains a permanent office at the Doyle Community Center, open during standard business hours. The team also staffs the Kerr Together long-term recovery hub at 98 Coronado Drive on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Following the July 16 flood — which damaged an estimated 1,500 homes countywide — TRLA has handled a surge in landlord-tenant disputes, FEMA appeals, and property title issues. Many of the hardest cases involve heir property: generational homes passed down without formal probate, leaving families without a clean deed when federal programs demand proof of title.

“Being a disaster survivor is a good enough reason to be able to appeal late,” Gomez said. “They denied you because they said you didn’t own your home? Let us work on that with you and see what we can get.”

The team also advises survivors receiving SSI, disability, or other means-tested benefits on how to report disaster assistance without losing their eligibility. They fight contractor scams and predatory debt collection in the months after disaster strikes.

Gomez urged all residents — including renters and undocumented individuals — to report their flood damage on state assessment forms, emphasizing that the information is not shared with law enforcement or immigration authorities. It is used solely to calculate the level of federal assistance the region needs.

TRLA is hosting a community open house Monday, Aug. 17, from 2 to 6:30 p.m. at the Doyle Community Center. Flood survivors can access free legal information, meet case managers, and receive clothing donations and gift cards.

Walk-ins for emergencies are accepted at the Doyle Center office. The telephone hotline — (956) 996-8520 — is available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The online portal is trla.org.