SAN DIEGO — It has been seven months since the January 22 storms that tore apart hundreds of southeast San Diego homes.
Months later, families are at varying stages of rebuilding. However, some San Diegans impacted say far too many are still don't feel at home.
The San Diego Housing Commission has helped displaced families with financial assistance on the road to recovery but funds are limited and time is running out to apply for help.
The SDHC is still accepting applications for financial assistance for families who participated in the county's emergency temporary housing program.
The deadline to apply is August 31.
Families who are getting benefits from the Housing Commission also have another deadline approaching.
Applicants have until September 30 to secure housing to access funding.
Azucena Valladolid is the executive vice president of rental assistance with the San Diego Housing Commission.
"We don't have records for how many families were impacted in totality from the floods,” Valladoild told CBS 8. “It's hard to tell what the need is if people are not engaging."
Not every family whose home was impacted by the flood chose to stay at a hotel provided by the County's Emergency Temporary Lodging Program. Some decided to stay with friends, and family or found other accommodations.
Some, Valladolid said, expressed hesitation to engage with the application process due to immigration status. But she said SDHC is not considering citizenship on flooding assistance applications.
As of August 14, the SDHC has disbursed about $1.3 million in assistance to support 137 families with housing assistance payments, hotel expenses, moving costs, and security deposits.
"The county sent us a list of families for our program. That list contains 359 families. So far only 269 of those have applied for financial assistance through our program. So there's about 90 families that have not engaged with us."
Maria Martinez is one woman whose family has been hit hard in the flood aftermath. She was one of three people rescued from rising flood waters by her younger sister Ana Ramirez during the January 22 storm.
"When my sister came to get me the water was up to my shoulders, and I was afraid because I don't swim,” Martinez explained. "It's hard to be in a hotel for a long time just waiting for the house to be fixed."
Ramirez continued her heroic efforts by ensuring her entire family had a room provided by the county's hotel program.
"She's my baby sister but she's been doing more things than me and I'm a lot older than her," Martinez said with a chuckle.
However, in the frenzy of the application process, Ramirez says that all of her relatives' hotel rooms were under the name “Ana Ramirez.”
That leaves Martinez, Maria’s sister, falling through the cracks of eligibility.
"They helped my brother because he has a hotel room under his name,” Martinez explained. “But since I didn't have any under my name because my sister was taking care of everything, they don't want to help me.”
Valladoild says the SDHC is working with The Logan Heights Community Development Corporation to find the remaining 90 families and connect.
SDHC expects to use all available funds.
“Families who did not participate in the county’s Emergency Temporary Lodging program and were impacted by the floods, the biggest point of contact to reach out to is 211 San Diego," Valladoild advised.
Martinez says she's holding on to her faith as she and an unknown number of other flood victims are left wading through bureaucratic red tape while continuing to adjust to a new day-to-day. All the while, hoping to one day, rebuild.
"I sleep on the couch at my mom’s house. They're going to repair her house but it will take time. I wish someone would repair my house so I can go back to having my own space."
WATCH RELATED: City of San Diego responds to growth in storm channel that led to January floods