NEW ORLEANS — More than six weeks after Hurricane Ida devastated a wide swath of Louisiana communities, many families are struggling to get back into their storm damaged homes.
But help is on the way.
This week, the state started rolling out hundreds travel trailers for people whose homes are destroyed or unlivable.
The need for temporary housing in great in the Bayou and River regions of the state.
"We had 500 homes destroyed, 7,000 with major damage,” St. Charles Parish President Matt Jewell said. “But FEMA is estimating that we’re going to need around 250 to 300 homes.”
The first shipment of temporary trailers has arrived at a staging area in Luling.
They were purchased as part of a state program aimed at getting families out of tents and group shelters.
FEMA has agreed to fund 90-percent of the costs.
“If you want a trailer placed on your property, first you have to have the space, you have to have the ability to hook it up to the necessary utilities,” Jewell said.
Jewell added, it is important for people to be close to their homes while they try to rebuild.
“Being near their property and being able to manage their contractors and the restoration process at home is going to definitely be beneficial and I think speed up the recovery process for our residents," he said.
If your property isn’t able to receive one of the state’s temporary trailers, there is a second option in St. Charles. The parish is in the process of preparing a field off of Dufrene Parkway to become a group site. It will eventually be able to accommodate up to 70 trailers.
So far, the state has delivered only a handful of trailers in St. Charles. More are expected to go out later this week.
Jewell is urging residents who need direct housing to apply for both the state trailer program and a similar FEMA initiative which is expected to begin in mid-November.
You can do so by visiting idashelteringla.com or disasterassistance.gov.
You can also call (844) 268-0301.