Carmelo and Berenice Diaz came to New Orleans with three suitcases and a prayer.
Driven from their home in Puerto Rico by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the Diazes had no home, no transportation and little hope. Carmelo, who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1988, requires a ventilator to breathe and electricity was scarce to non-existent on the storm-ravaged island. The conditions were so bad, Bere, as she is known to friends and family, used car batteries to power the ventilator to keep Carmelo alive.
They were on their fourth temporary home and desperate for help when Team Gleason officials heard about their plight and sent a search party to rescue them and bring them to New Orleans.