GALVESTON - Darla Ford went from being a nurse at a Galveston clinic to being homeless all because of Hurricane Ike.

"I don't think people understand the devastation of Hurricane Ike," said Ford, 44. "I think the storm was downplayed to the world."

She showed us how she, her two adult daughters, a 10-year-old son, and a two-year-old grandson, all slept in the family's car for over a week.

"The seat lays back and we open the trunk because the back seat drops," said Ford.

A storm-related fire destroyed their Galveston home and all their belongings.

"It takes more than a year to rebuild what you have lost," said Ford. "It's impossible."

Sadly, her family is only one of thousands still displaced more than a year after Ike.

"I'm still struggling," said Will Rainey, another displaced resident. "I haven't had a bed or furniture."

Rainey's home on Bolívar Peninsula was wiped out, and he lost many neighbors, including a close friend.

"They found her body first," said Rainey. "A year after the hurricane, about three months ago, I went to a mother and son's funeral."

Both Ford and Rainey say this will be the second Thanksgiving they'll spend away from home.

"We just can't go back," said Rainey. "They took the land away from us."