Trailers continue to trickle in for Houma-Thibodaux residents displaced by Ida

Dozens of trailers housing residents whose homes were severely damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Ida are lined up in rows in a converted field in Schriever. As of Wednesday, 92 trailers were occupied, with more tenants arriving every day. 

Lifelong Houma resident Alexis Amacker lived near the Bayou Towers public housing apartment complex for elderly and disabled residents, which was heavily damaged by the storm and later condemned. Amacker was previously staying at a tent base camp on nearby Scott Lane.

“It took a while, but it’s a blessing,” Amacker said at his camper.

Shantell Campbell, also from Houma, moved in to her trailer Wednesday and was waiting for her three children to arrive home from school. 

“I’m grateful," she said. "There’s still people trying just to get here.”

More than four months after the Category 4 hurricane devastated Terrebonne and Lafourche, a state program to get temporary housing set up in the two parishes is beginning to make a dent in the need.

'It breaks my heart': Terrebonne and Lafourche residents still waiting for state and FEMA trailers

Parish officials have repeatedly criticized the slow response by FEMA at getting trailers set up across the two parishes, and the state stepped in with a test program aimed at speeding the process.

Adjustments are still underway at the Schriever site, in the Rebecca Plantation area near La. 311 and U.S. 90.

Terrebonne Parish Councilman Carl Harding spoke last week with residents and got a list of their needs, which include getting a school bus stop along with Wi-Fi access.

Those housed in the campers are chosen at random from residents who have applied for temporary housing after the storm. Some came from base camps the parish set up in various communities, while others have returned after staying at FEMA-sponsored hotels. 

Harding said the trailers allow base camps to free up space to allow other people to move in.  

“Each time we make a progression, people are satisfied,” he said.  

Some base camps close

Terrebonne Planning and Zoning Director Chris Pulaski said the parish’s base camps are slowly closing. Both the Dulac and Montegut sites closed and have shifted occupants to the Chauvin camp. 

“The base camp in Chauvin is set up with multiple smaller tents versus one giant tent. It's better in the event anybody tests positive for COVID,” Pulaski said. 

Pulaski said the parish has been working with residents to find another housing situation, whether through the state or FEMA. Both the Scott Lane and Williams Avenue base camps in Houma are at capacity. 

“They're not going to shut it down if they still need it,” Pulaski said. 

As of Wednesday, the state program had 1,118 travel trailers set up in Terrebonne, with 903 occupied. FEMA had just under 1,500 households approved for direct housing and 70 units occupied, Pulaski said. About 2,400 households have signed up through FEMA. FEMA is also looking at the Rebecca Plantation site and other areas for mobile homes. 

How to apply for temporary housing

Residents still seeking temporary housing can sign up at idashelteringla.com or by calling (844) 268-0301.

With COVID-19's Omicron variant raging through, Pulaski also voiced concerns about COVID causing delays or obstacles to housing. Pulaski himself tested positive over the holidays. He’s feeling better, but he’s been staggering shifts and allowing staff members to work from home to cause as little disruption as possible. 

“We, the parish, we can't afford to have the permit office go down because of a COVID outbreak. There's too much at stake,” Pulaski said. 

As of last week in Lafourche, Parish President Archie Chaisson said the state program had 542 campers in the parish with 470 occupied. FEMA had another 200 trailers in Lafourche with 148 occupied.

More:No power, high bills: Entergy customers express frustration after Hurricane Ida

In Chauvin, residents Carolyn Marcel and Kenneth Scott Jr. have a FEMA trailer placed on their property, but without final inspection and licensing, they aren’t able to move in. Marcel and Scott said they haven't been given a timeline. This comes after FEMA previously retracted its ruling that the trailers couldn’t be placed in flood zones. 

For now, Marcel and Scott are staying in a small camper parked in their son's driveway.  

'We need rest'

She said she had looked forward to the temporary housing's arrival Dec. 12, but the day was overshadowed by her father's death in the hospital.

“Started out a good day and ended with Daddy dying,” Marcel said. “I had my hand on his heart at his last breath.”

Both Marcel and Scott have heart problems and joked that once they move into the FEMA trailer with all of their equipment, it’ll look like a hospital unit. Both have been responsible for taking care of family members and say they need their own space after being stretched thinly. 

“We need rest,” Marcel said. 

They’re also running into issues with Entergy. Scott pointed to the property’s damaged electric meter, knocked to the ground by the storm, and said they’ve been receiving bills totaling to $800 since. Marcel said it feels like every time she’s on the phone with the power company, the bill keeps going up. 

Scott said they’re just unsure what else they’re supposed to do now. 

“We don’t want a perfect life,” Scott said. “We just want something back to normal.”