ORLANDO, Fla. — On Sept. 19, 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, killing thousands of people and forcing more than 100,000 people to flee to the U.S. mainland. About 50,000 of those hurricane refugees came to Florida, many of those to the Orlando area.

Even six years later, Norma Rivera is still working to establish her life in Central Florida. She came to Orlando with just $35 after Hurricane Maria forced her to leave Puerto Rico.

Rivera says there neighbors were like family and she didn’t want to leave. But the situation was so dire economically after the storm, she came to Central Florida. She’s still haunted by the harrowing experience of riding out the storm in her bathroom, not knowing if she would survive.

“When you say six years, it seems like a lot, but you still remember everything—everything is there,” Rivera said.

Since 2017, Rivera has worked several different jobs, trying to earn better hourly pay. Her goal is to save up enough money to eventually buy a home, but she says the biggest challenge has been finding the right resources available for people new to the area.

“Not knowing, not knowing where to go, not knowing where to find that help,” Rivera saod.

Rivera says luckily, through social media, she has connected with a realtor who is guiding her through the process of working towards buying a home. But she says getting help like that has been hard to find over the last six years.

Rivera says even six years after surviving Hurricane Maria, she doesn’t celebrate her birthday anymore because it’s within the same week of that now infamous day.