Special Projects Reporter
Marina was a 2018 National Fellow. She joined the San Antonio Express-News as a special projects reporter in February 2019 after working previously for the Victoria Advocate, where she wrote about housing, Hurricane Harvey recovery and the challenges that vulnerable residents face in South Texas for the Victoria Advocate. Before moving to Texas, she reported on local and state government in Bend, Oregon and Honolulu, Hawai'i.
In Texas, a mother’s chance of delivering her child by cesarean section and a baby’s chance of experiencing health problems early in life have a lot to do with the place she gives birth.
In the months after Hurricane Harvey slammed the Texas Gulf Coast, residents of small towns and rural communities felt ignored and forgotten. Here's what I learned telling their stories.
The number of people identified by volunteers as living on the street more than tripled in Victoria County since last year, a trend experts blame largely on rising housing costs and a lack of affordable places to rent.
Day after day, we listened to families’ stories. And we hoped to God that we told them in a way that made others care.
It wasn’t yet Christmas morning, but it may as well have been for Cindy Barrientes and her children. More than 10 people stood outside, bearing dozens of presents, new mattresses, household supplies and food for their family.
How Waco is working together to improve families' education, finances and health.
Recovery in rural areas and small towns like Tivoli, Bayside and Austwell is vastly different from cities like Houston, where public and private funding flooded the city as quickly as Harvey’s rains did.
In Victoria, Texas, families with limited budgets face harsh realities, with exploitative landlords and a shortage of safe, affordable rental housing. Then Hurricane Harvey made everything even worse.
Little has been done to boost the number of affordable rental units since Harvey struck.
This article was produced as a project for the University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism’s National Fellowship.
