FEMA Trailer Tribulations

"It just boggles the mind in this day and time," said Mark Keith, director of the Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce. "There are 10,770 trailers at Hope Airport. That's one for every man, woman and child in Hope, with a few left over to send to Emmet, down the road." (LA Times)

While there is much talk about the condition of the trailers and how the decision to buy them may have been ill thought out, we wonder why these trailers can’t be put to good use. I watched the video of the interior of the trailers, they are nice. A modern kitchen with a fridge that even has an ice water dispenser on the front.

What is a shame is these trailers are sitting empty, they need to be guarded, and they need to be maintained. In Lynchburg, we have had various manufacturers of the mobile homes and they completed these trailers post haste. And in another National emergency, they could do the same.

FEMA is apparently hesitant to send the trailers to a hurricane prone area. And have been chastised for an ill thought out plan when they originally made the decision to buy the trailers. Hindsight is 20/20 lets move on.

Just a thought: Habitat for Humanity has shown their skill in getting low income people adequate housing, how about asking them to direct the use of these homes? Helping people with low interest loans to improve their living conditions: Would not this turn a problem into a solution?