JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A husband and wife from Jacksonville who traveled to Texas to help those devastated by Hurricane Harvey are battling their own devastation after Hurricane Irma wrecked their Sans Souci home.
Erick and Reanna Negron jumped at the chance to make a difference in Texas after Harvey. Over Labor Day weekend, they made the nearly 12-hour trip to Beaumont, Texas, with a box truck filled with supplies. Their group went door to door and handed out goods to people impacted by the storm.
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"Something got into me on that Wednesday night, and I just wanted to go help,” Erick Negron said.
But the Negrons never imagined they would find themselves in a similar situation.
"Just getting back from there, and seeing all that devastation alone, just you know, touched my heart for them. And then to come here and have the same thing happen,” Reanna Negron said.
During Irma, the Negrons' roof was basically peeled off, allowing rain to pour inside their home. Part of the walls, a door and parts of their roof now lie in a pile on their front lawn.
Pieces of insulation are strewn all over the house, the ceilings in different rooms are caving in and black mold is growing inside. Just about everything the family owns is in a storage unit in the driveway.
"Our whole life has pretty much been destroyed. Pictures, records, files, furniture, everything we ever owned. Our kids' toys,” Erick Negron said.
Erick Negron said if his children had been in their bed during the storm, the ceiling would have collapsed on them.
The family is currently living in a hotel, and the Negrons aren't sure when they can move back into their home, but they expect it will be at least six months to a year.
In the days since the storm, people have been offering the same support to the Negrons that they offered to hurricane victims in Texas.
"We've gotten a lot of help from the people, and the people are great. Jacksonville is great,” Erick Negron said.
The Negrons said it's clear that the worst in Mother Nature has a way of bringing out the very best in human nature.
“It's not going to change our heart to help,” Reanna Negron said.
The Negrons are currently looking for a house to rent until they're able to move back into their home.
They said their home was insured, but expenses are adding up, and a friend of theirs created a GoFundMe account to help the family.