The United States government has decided that those trailers that have not already been recalled from victims of the hurricane may be sold to them to the tune of one dollar. The Associated Press reports
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday that it would allow hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast still living in government-supplied trailers to buy their temporary homes for as little as $1.
The government will also provide $50 million to help other trailer residents, whose homes were destroyed by hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, move into rental or public housing.
The assistance comes just days after the official start of the 2009 hurricane season and one month after FEMA announced that it was ending the temporary housing program it started in the aftermath of Katrina.
The more than 3,400 people still living in FEMA trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi had faced eviction.
The avoidance of evicting these individuals is obviously a big win for a region in which such an influx of homeless would be disaster. By providing such a long term fix for individuals as they still try to rebuild or affordable housing, FEMA is keeping the people of both states from facing an increase in ‘tent cities’ or other short term fixes that the homeless have been forced to undertake at the detriment of the community. While not a long term solution for those who lost their homes, these trailers at least provide the peace of mind that no dramatic steps will be forced upon them like an eviction or coming ‘home’ to find the trailer gone.