When Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury in August 2005, the rising waters didn’t just flood New Orleans — they uprooted lives.

MORE: Reflecting 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, how it reshaped Houston’s response before Rita

Families were forced to flee with little more than the clothes on their backs, including Pastor Shannon Verrett.

“It took us about 17 hours to get here with my family,” Pastor Shannon Verrett recalls.

A Life Changed Overnight

With just two days’ worth of clothes and no clear destination, Verrett packed his family into a car and headed west to Houston.

“I’ll never forget when the impact hit my daughter. She sketched a picture showing us homeless in our car. I pulled over, walked behind a building, and just burst into tears,” he said.

Houston Opens Its Heart

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