SAN DIEGO — Lisa Sheffield is currently staying at a temporary shelter at the Ramada Inn in National City.
It's just one of the hotels across San Diego County that’s being used to house flood victims. Sheffield and her family are among of the 400 people The Harvey Family Foundation is paying to stay in a hotel after their homes were damaged in the Jan. 22 flood.
She said she wonders if the city ever had a plan for a disaster like this.
"What's going to happen when there's a bigger storm,” she questioned.
Sheffield and her family live in Spring Valley. Their home is uninhabitable after the storm so they’ve found temporary housing at The Ramada Inn.
"We're still surviving. Every day is a new struggle. Right now, we have housing but every week, we have to check in.”
Sheffield says she’s grateful to have a roof over her head and a clean place to stay but they can’t wait to get back home because they’ve been through so much in the last three weeks.
“You can't recall the last 24 hours because so much is going through our minds about housing, food, beds. My husband and my son are both disabled," she says. "It's a struggle. It's a struggle to know what's going to happen next week and still work on the house and housing to move into a home while the original house is getting repaired."
The County of San Diego says so far, they've identified more than 900 people who need a place to stay after the storms. We reached out to county officials before 9 a.m. Friday for an interview so they could explain exactly what they're doing to support those residents.
They did not make anyone available.
In a statement, a spokesperson said they've been working with the San Diego County Office of Education, The Housing Commission, The Southeast Disaster Response Team, The Jackie Robinson YMCA and their partners to help.
Sheffield says this has all been a traumatic experience.
"How long has the city and county known about this and yet not prepared for this?” she asked. “I'm thankful that they're trying to coordinate everything but it's late. It's late in the game."
Armon Harvey with The Harvey Family Foundation says they've been shouldering the cost of housing and feeding families since the storm.
"We're hoping that the county takes over today but it's just been extension after extension," Harvey says.
He says they've been fronting the bill with the help of philanthropy dollars, donations, as well as with a partnership with the YMCA.
"The county says they're working on it," he says.
Harvey also says they’ve been working to bridge the gap between county and city services and the people who need help but there’s still so much work ahead.
"We've been in communication with the city and different district and council people to see what they can do, and what resources they have so we can start the next phase of actually rebuilding the inside. And after 30 days hopefully getting these families back into their houses," he said.
Right now, families are certifying on a weekly basis that they still need somewhere to stay after their homes were damaged by flash floods.
San Diego County says you can visit a local assistance center or call 211 if you need help after the January 22 storms. The deadline to apply is February 23.
WATCH RELATED: San Diego flood victims call hotel voucher process 'unorganized and confusing'