SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Wednesday was move-in day for the Menjivar family in San Diego’s Southcrest neighborhood.
They don't have all the furniture or appliances just yet, but Edgardo Menjiver said this is all they need for the holidays.
“Thank God for giving me all the little things. I'm so happy. Believe me, I'm so happy,” Edgardo said.
The family has spent the last nine months without a home, living in hotels and their garage after the Jan. 22 floods destroyed most of their belongings.
“You can come in. We changed everything -- walls, roof, insulation, floors -- because everything was gone,” Edgardo said.
Edgardo said the repairs are almost complete, just in time for Thanksgiving.
“I was talking with my wife. We don’t have a turkey this year. But it’s OK; we’re happy, that’s the important thing,” said Edgardo.
“You have a place to stay,” said ABC 10News reporter Perla Shaheen.
“Exactly,” Edgardo replied.
But not everyone on Beta Street is celebrating this year.
"Life to me is just life now. I don’t look forward to anything anymore," said Jerry Hernandez. "I don’t. It hurts.”
Jerry used to live on Beta Street in Section 8 housing. He was relocated soon after the flooding but said the experience worsened his spinal cord injury.
“We sat in that cold freezing water for 5-and-a-half hours. I felt something lock in my back. I said, ‘Something’s wrong.’ Ever since then, my hip pain started,” Jerry said.
Jerry can barely walk now. He said he has a slipped disc, causing him unbearable pain. Despite all of that, Jerry and Edgardo can agree on one thing.
“I’m thankful that he kept us here. I'm thankful, that I am,” Jerry said.
“Bend my knees and tell God: Thanks for giving me another chance," Edgardo said. "Thanks to god my family is with me."
They're both grateful to be alive.
