Trailer program for storm victims extended
Move comes as relief for E. Texas families
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Texas General Land Office said Wednesday that they are extending for at least another six months a program housing some 1,600 East Texas families who lost homes in Hurricane Harvey.
That program provided trailers for the families as they have waited for federal and other assistance to rebuild. The process has moved slowly in rural areas, in part because people don’t only need to repair homes, but also replace wells contaminated and septic systems destroyed by the flooding. The recovery has also been slowed by shortages of contractors and construction workers.
The trailers had been scheduled to be removed by FEMA in February. Before the extension was granted, many families feared that they would be left homeless.
“It’s a heck of a relief,” said Renee Schmidt, who is living in a FEMA trailer in the yard of her ruined house. That home was torn down in preparation for rebuilding on Tuesday, and it was unlikely that the new home would have been completed by February
“If they hadn’t extended it, I would have been without a home, period,” said said. “And it will help a lot of other people too.”
General Land Office Commissioner George P. Bush said he had asked FEMA to extend the program to ensure people like Schmidt would have a safe place to live.
“While most Texans have made great strides toward recovery, others are struggling to find a workable permanent housing solution,” he said in a statement.
The extension applies to Aransas, Austin, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Hardin, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, Tyler, Victoria and Wharton counties. While FEMA had previously
granted rent waivers to Hurricane Harvey survivors living in trailers, those households will have to begin paying rents on Feb. 25. FEMA staff will set rates based on how much families can afford, taking their incomes and mortgages into account; survivors who can’t afford to pay the rent can petition FEMA for a reduction.
In some cases, the extensions will last until Aug. 25. In certain areas, people also will have the option to purchase their FEMA trailer.
For Michelle Tubbleville, the executive director for the long-term disaster recovery group in Orange County, which had the most families living in FEMA trailers and recreational vehicles. in the state, the announcement came as a huge relief.
“It’s going to lower the stress level of these parents of kids and families living in these trailers,” she said.
Tubbleville said the extra time will allow more than 300 households living in FEMA trailers in Orange County — where 82 percent of homes were affected, but only 11 percent had flood insurance — rebuild in an area where needs outstrip contractors and skilled labor.
In addition, Austin, Calhoun, Galveston, Harris, Jasper, Jefferson, Newton, Orange, Polk, San Jacinto, Tyler and Victoria counties have agreed to participate in FEMA’s sales program, which allows residents to buy their trailers.
Orange County Emergency Operations Manager Joel Ardoin said the last time he’d seen FEMA sell trailers was in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Many people took advantage of the program, but Ardoin said that buying a trailer was not a permanent housing solution — most people sell the trailers or move them to a remote area for camping once their homes are up and running again.
“They’re not made to live in long term,” he said.