Sandra Baldo (SB) age 55, is a Hurricane Rita survivor from Rye, Texas. She describes a horrible childhood growing up in foster homes in California and moving from state to state in her early adult life. SB describes moving to Houston when her mother was ill and then relocating to Rye, Texas in 1999. After hearing about Rita’s approach, SB evaluated with her blind sister-in-law, traveling to Nacogdoches, TX and then to Monroe and Bastrop, LA, where they found a room when the storm hit. She returned to Rye to find her house damaged and looted, then moved in with various family members trying not to overstay her welcome as she did not get the financial assistance from the government that would allow her to get her own place. Life for SB has been a struggle, something she continually experiences with FEMA, construction companies, and licensed contractors. She feels angry, abused and forgotten. SB thinks that the government is so busy taking care of other countries that they forgot to take care of their own. She is surviving one day at a time in Houston with her youngest son and his daughter. The old saying for her is true. "What don't kill you will make you strong."