By Ken Bohannon
Palm Beach Post (Florida)
Copyright 2006 The Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Patrick Encinosa calls himself Mr. Mom, but he still sees himself as a traditional provider. That’s why he is so focused on one need: to rebuild his home for his children, Mateo, 10, Maria, 7, and Maya, 5.
He dismisses smaller needs, such as toys. He’s not concerned with getting the kids more clothes. The two suitcases they have shared as dresser drawers for the past two years don’t have much room, anyway.
He simply doesn’t want his children to be homeless.
“We don’t have a need other than the house,” said Encinosa, a triple-certified former police officer, paramedic and firefighter.
He and his wife, Belcida, have lived in a travel trailer with their children since their home was damaged by hurricanes in 2004. After three weeks in a church shelter, they tried to move back into their tacked-up house in West Palm Beach, but an inspection revealed that the home was contaminated with toxic mold spores.
Told to move out, the Encinosas lived in a FEMA trailer until Hurricane Wilma damaged it in 2005, when FEMA provided another one that he rents for $400 a month.
Encinosa says he can’t afford to rebuild their home because the settlement from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. leaves him more than $100,000 short on estimated costs that exceed $200,000. In addition, Encinosa said he lost $67,000 in mold-contaminated and water-damaged furniture, electronics and other household contents, but the insurance company paid just $900.
Encinosa fought the settlement and the attorneys who negotiated on his behalf. But after being advised his legal battles could continue another three years and he still might not get more money, his hope died and he accepted the settlement, which is being held by his mortgage company.
Encinosa, who is head of trustees at Wagg Memorial United Methodist Church, won’t sell the property and move on because he sees that as a road to homelessness. With mounting debt and one full-time income, he doubts his family’s ability to sustain rent.
He remains unable to work the landscaping business he started after leaving public service. He broke his kneecap in a fall and then re-injured it after surgery when he banged it against a door. His knee replacement in March was his 10th surgery since 1999 - five of them on his knee.
Belci suffers back problems from a 1999 car accident but works full time as a program manager for Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County and is working on a master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University.
“In the past 15 years, we’ve been through a lot of big things, and God has never let us down,” Encinosa said. “We’re safe. You know, that’s better than what some people have. I’ve been to Third World countries and have seen what other people have. They would love this.”