SANTA FE — Four weeks after Hurricane Ike, Chris Trevino’s life has been itemized on an insurance adjustment form.

After losing the roof of his three-room trailer and most of its contents to the storm, the part-time musician was shocked to find the value of his life was just about $12,000.

“They call it depreciated value,” Trevino said, pointing to the form from his insurance company. “I am thankful for what I have got, but to think that’s all it is worth.

“I dunno.”

Almost everything Trevino owned was destroyed by Ike’s winds and rain. All his son’s toys, most of his kids’ clothes and even the queen-size bed he slept in were assessed a value.

The bed, according to the insurance company, can be replaced. That is if Trevino can find a new bed for $40.59.

The roof, too, can be replaced, but only if Trevino can find someone to do it for $10,000.

“I showed that to people to make bids and they just handed it back and said, ‘Maybe that will cover half of it,’” said Trevino. “That barely covers the materials.”

So, Trevino has been forced to repair the roof on his own. He also has to do any repair work inside the trailer he’s owned for seven years as well.

The construction worker can do the work, but knows that the $11,900 he got from his insurance company won’t come near to making him whole again.

“We are out of bullets,” he said. “We are at the end of our financial rope.

“I’m not asking for a hand out, but we’ve done all we can with what we have. We’ve helped ourselves, but we still need help.”

As he repairs his broken home, Trevino has moved his three kids and himself into what was once his garage.

With scrap wood and other materials he found in Dumpsters and on the side of the road, he has turned the 200-square-foot shack into his new home.

There’s no privacy, no running water and with the beds lined up against the wall it resembles a summer camp bunkhouse rather than a home for four.

Trevino puts up a good front about his predicament.

“I am grateful for what we have received. I want to thank people for what they have been able to give me,” he said.

But, in the middle of the interview, Trevino’s daughter Shelby, 8, and son Daniel, 5, return home from school. It doesn’t take long for his tough veneer to start to crack.

“How do three kids and a single dad end up living in a garage for four weeks,” he said with a choked voice and tears in his eyes.

Like thousands of others, Trevino applied with FEMA to help cover what his insurance won’t.

After weeks of having a pending application, he found out Friday that his request for assistance was denied.

FEMA claims that even for those with insurance, assistance is available for what isn’t covered by the homeowner’s policy. A call to an agency spokesman Friday afternoon about Trevino’s case was not returned.

In the past, though, FEMA officials have encouraged those denied agency assistance to reapply.

His troubles haven’t stopped Trevino though from helping others in the community. He and other members of a social group he heads have put their skills and manpower together to help others in town rebuild, repair and clean up.

They even showed up to help Trevino as much as they could.

“The only people who showed up were my friends. FEMA wasn’t here, hadn’t seen them anywhere,” Trevino said.

Even with the help from his friends, Trevino is a long way from making his home whole again.

What belongings he was able to salvage are stacked in plastic bags outside his trailer. Pieces of the roof that was torn off, Trevino salvaged and used to make repairs he could.

“It’s a matter now of dollars and cents, just to get back just what I had before (the storm),” Trevino said.