HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Kelvin and Beccalyn Torres are the first to receive help under the RISE UP initiative, through which the metal roof of their family home in Dededo will be replaced.
The home is owned by Kelvin Torres’ mother, who is off island for medical treatment. Kelvin and Beccalyn Torres have four children together and share the home with Kelvin Torres’ brother’s family, which also has four children.
“It has impacted us so much where everything caved into our home so it wasn’t livable and it still isn’t livable. We have mold all over the place,” Beccalyn Torres said.
The family has done what they can to clean up after the storm. Many of their belongings sit in a pile, waiting to be discarded. Each day has been a challenge.
“Every day since the typhoon hit, we look at our home and are like, gosh, how are we going to do this? We try to stay as positive as we can, try to make our kids as comfortable as we can, but you know, like everyone says, day by day, one step at a time,” Beccalyn Torres said.
Since Typhoon Mawar, finances have been a strain on the family. Beccalyn Torres said that Kelvin Torres hasn’t been able to work.
“The big part is financial. Thankfully, we don’t need to pay for this assistance and that’s what we need. We need help to pick up because we don’t have money saved aside to be doing all of this so we are really thankful,” Beccalyn Torres said.
The RISE UP program repairs residential metal roofs damaged by Typhoon Mawar.
“The damaged roof must cover indoor living space completely enclosed by walls. Living space includes facilities for cooking, eating, sleeping and sanitation. Outdoor kitchens with a damaged roof covering will qualify to the extent that it covers the dwelling’s only means of cooking and storing food,” said the Joint Information Center.
The Torres family learned about the program online on Thursday and by Saturday their home qualified for the roof repair.
“It really means a lot. What we did is we actually saw it online and we watched the RISE UP and we took advantage of it. Went to the mayor’s office, did the application and the person helping us was really great about giving us information and how we can go about doing it. With this help, we just wanted to share to the people, … if you guys need the help, come out. They’re here to help us too. They should be able to help us out more,” Kelvin Torres said.
The Torres family estimates it may be two to three months before they can return home.
Members of Task Force West park military vehicles at the residence of Beccalyn and Kelvin Torres as part of the RISE UP program in Dededo on Saturday, June 10, 2023.
