TERREBONNE PARISH, La. — Karen DeHart still finds it hard to sleep at night.
“The ceiling caved in right there,” said DeHart. “When it rains it pours through all them windows right there and our bedroom. Everything just keeps getting wet,”
DeHart and two family members moved back into their severely damage Pointe-aux-Chenes home because they had nowhere to go after Hurricane Ida. She was hoping they’d have a trailer by now but says navigating that process has been a struggle.
“I see everybody else getting all kind of trailers and we’re stuck living in the mold right here,” said DeHart.
Her father-in-law, Gary NaQuin used retirement money to buy the house. He says FEMA gave him $17,000 to fix it, but with no insurance, that doesn’t cover the cost. NaQuin says fixing it on his own creates a challenge.
“I can’t work on it and live in it at the same time,” said NaQuin.
Down the road, John Verdin got a trailer on his property in January. He had to wait two months though before he could move in.
“I called them every day, every day,” said Verdin.
Verdin says getting power to the trailer was the big delay.
“The permit. The permit was holding everything up,” said Verdin.
Those housing struggles and delays are common in the bayou parishes. In Terrebonne Parish there are about 400 households, which is about 1,200 people, waiting on trailers from FEMA.
“It could be that it’s on its way to be delivered to the site or it could be that it’s been delivered to the site but it’s waiting to be strapped down or maybe the meter has to be installed,” said parish Planning and Zoning Director Christopher Pulaski. “Folks are frustrated, they’re upset, and rightfully so.”
Pulaski says about 9,000 people are already living in the more than 3,000 trailers from either the state or FEMA. Pulaski says the process of delivering trailers and getting them set up has gotten much smoother, but wishes it was faster.
“FEMA, from the outset, had said their direct housing program would take four the six months to get really up and running. It took every bit of that,” said Pulaski. “The people FEMA has here really do want to help and they’re very good at it. The system as a whole seems to be where things are broken.”
For DeHart and NaQuin everything around them seems broken or falling apart. They’re just hoping for some relief.
“This storm is gone but the people are still suffering. I know I am,” said NaQuin.
FEMA already has one group site up and running in Terrebonne Parish but three more are in the works. Pulaski doesn’t expect them to be operational until late August.
“I’m a little frustrated that’s taking so long,” said Pulaski. “If you rented an apartment or you’re renting a house and you’re not able to take delivery for a FEMA housing unit on private property, what do you do.”
The state is in the process of opening disaster offices here in Terrebonne Parish for folks to go to with any questions or needs. Much like housing, that’s going to take time.