Press Releases
As trailer parks rapidly close, Recovery Corps reaching those most in need
Assistance program available to FEMA park residents
Baton Rouge, La. (April 10, 2008) - As FEMA's latest trailer park closure deadlines loom, the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps announced today a more aggressive, on-the-ground effort to get assistance to affected families, especially those with elderly persons, children and persons with disabilities.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced a more rapid time table for trailer park depopulation with all remaining parks set to close by June 1, 2008. The Recovery Corps is deploying full-time and contracted staff to canvass parks to personally enroll households in its Household Establishment Funds, or HEF, program, which provides assistance for basic housing needs. Staff and resources will be allocated based on each park closure date. HEF vouchers will be processed on-site, and families with elderly persons or persons with disabilities can undergo the HEF application process in their trailers.
"These families are at just as critical a time now as they were nearly three years ago in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita. Let's be frank. No one can recover in a FEMA trailer. We need to get these people out as quickly as possible and get them out right. They need to become a permanent part of our society again and not exist on the margin," said Raymond A. Jetson, chief executive officer of the Recovery Corps.
According to data provided by FEMA to the Recovery Corps in February this year, more than 4,000 Louisiana families remain in FEMA trailer communities across the state. Of those households, more than 800 had individuals over the age of 60 years, more than 3,000 had children under the age of 18 years, and more than 500 had individuals with disabilities or other special needs.
The HEF program provides one-time assistance up to $1,500 to families for rental and utility deposits and the purchase of basic furniture and appliances, such as beds, stoves, washers, dryers and refrigerators. Once households verify income, identification and housing options, assistance is given by way of a third-party voucher to vendors providing housing, furniture or appliances. No money goes directly to citizens. For the current effort, the Recovery Corps contracted with and funded Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, Harmony Center of Baton Rouge and the Human Services Response Institute of Lake Charles. Funded by a state appropriation, the program will operate until dollars are depleted.
To assist in the effort, FEMA has provided the Recovery Corps with access to the trailer communities and offered space for the Recovery Corps at several upcoming FEMA housing fairs, where residents can more easily access the resources they will need to maintain their households once leaving the trailer communities. Further, FEMA has pledged to fund disaster case management beginning June 1, 2008, in Louisiana to be overseen by the Recovery Corps. FEMA is currently developing the program and has not announced details.
About the Recovery Corps
The Recovery Corps, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Baton Rouge, La., was formed in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Through contractual partnerships with human service organizations and other non-profits in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles and across Louisiana, the Recovery Corps has assisted more than 30,000 hurricane-affected households with recovery planning, housing, children's services and emotional well-being needs since January 2006. Looking forward, the Recovery Corps is tasked as Louisiana's agent to coordinate human services delivery during the next inevitable disaster, natural or man-made. To learn more or donate, visit www.recoverycorps.org.
