FEMA Trailer

A FEMA trailer moved in next door while I was away in NYC.

The neighbors are going to have to stay somewhere else for a few weeks while the inside of their home is repaired (from where the ceiling caved in after the attic took on water during the storm), so they qualified for a trailer from FEMA. They are also going to have to move a lot of their belongings out, so their plan is to rent one of those PODS for their furniture.

I've seen dozens of these trailers around town. People are living in trailers and mobile homes everywhere. There are some camped out in the Walmart parking lot, church parking lots, in many driveways of damaged homes, and in the parking lots of private businesses where the owners most likely had their homes destroyed. A year from now I imagine there will be a few homeowners associations in a tizzy over the trailers regarding their deeds and covenances. A couple of neighborhoods over in Mandeville have already had issues with the trailers.

Help from FEMA seems so random (although they did pick up our pile of debris!). There are so many people that I know who don't have a home at all, and they still don't have one or don't even qualify. For example, Bob who works for the city, has been living with friends and in other buildings where ever he can for a week or two at a time. He did not qualify for a trailer because he was not "living in a shelter". The man is completely homeless since his was completely flooded and several large trees finished it off by crushing it completely (including the wheelchair ramp his wife needed). It is a total loss. His wife is now living in another state with family while he works here for the city of Slidell. It seems very strange how they decide which families to help and which to keep mired in red tape.

Other repair news: We finally decided on a contractor to repair our fence. Supposedly we're on the list and he should get to us sometime after Thanksgiving. It will be nice to have a private back yard again. Then we can run around outside in our skivies and not worry about the trailer occupants next door staring at us. (Just checking to see if they are reading this. LOL). ::I'm waving through the window!::

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the tour of their new digs. I wonder if they'll hang some lights on it at Christmas? :-)