SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - As the county officials took over the voucher program for flood victims, frustrations mounted for one family.
It was utter confusion for flood victim Xochitl Delgado when she arrived at a San Ysidro hotel Tuesday afternoon, three weeks after a flood of heartbreak.
Cellphone video showed the scene inside Delgado's rented home in Logan Heights that day, as chest-high water claimed nearly all the belongings of her family of six, including her 3 children, ages 5, 8 and 17.
The family didn't have renters insurance.
One of her kids' schools provided more than two weeks of hotel vouchers at a motel in Mission Valley.
Then, on Monday, with the county taking over the voucher program for flood victims, Delgado says she got a call from the county, informing her that the only option for a month-long hotel stay was in San Ysidro. She had requested a hotel in central San Diego or La Mesa, near her workplace.
“Now she has to figure out how to get the kids to school in time and make it to work on time … It adds more to the stress,” Delgado's mother, Sandra.
The added cost for gas is also painful.
“More money out of my pocket that I don't have, especially because we've lost everything, and we have to start over,” said Delgado.
Sandra herself will have to look for separate housing, since she has several cats. She says the county told her the vouchers for there partner hotels won't allow for pets.
Still, Delgado and her kids did get approval for a voucher. Delgado showed ABC 10News the text from the county, with the name of the hotel, Hotel Primera and a San Ysidro address.
Hours before check in, when Delgado went to the property, she was told by some workers on the property, the hotel was shut down.
A former manager for the hotel told ABC 10News it was closed up and boarded up last June.
“Just tired and can’t think straight … Just checked out a hotel my kids were comfortable in and came to nothing,” said an emotional Delgado.
Delgado say the county worker helping her said there were other flood victims mistakenly sent to the same hotel.
Delgado was then directed to some studio apartments next to the closed hotel.
When she heard reports of squatters and criminal activity plaguing the shuttered hotel, she called county officials and requested a different hotel for her children.
“Frustrated and drained. Just want a safe space for my kids,” said Delgado.
She says county workers told her they are working on a solution.
ABC 10News reached out to a county spokesperson for a response and are awaiting a statement.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help the Delgado family find permanent housing.
