More trailers are now occupied by those who’ve registered with the state’s new program to help those displaced by Hurricane Ida to remain on their property. Mike Steele is the spokesperson for the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
“So, we’re making progress as of this morning 51 families have been placed in units so far, we have another 107 units that have been deployed out to sites and we have hundreds of other trailers that have been purchased,” said Steele.
Steele said the IdaShelteringLA.com program not only has to process registrations, but the newly created program has to purchase trailers, which have been short supply since the pandemic, and also perform inspections to be sure there is power, water, and sewage at the prospective site where the travel trailers will be placed.
“And it’s a matter of getting a trailer to that person’s property if it’s safe to have it on that property. If someone is a renter, they may be better suited for a group site which could be some type of RV park,” said Steele.
The newly created program has come under lots of criticism from some, due to the length of time it’s taking to get those displaced in trailers. Steele said it’s the first time the state has been involved with acquiring trailers, otherwise, FEMA placing individuals in trailers wouldn’t start until November.
“And within two weeks of the program being announced we had the first families actually in trailers which is quite remarkable so now we’ve kind of gone through that initial step and we’re starting to see those numbers increase on a daily basis,” said Steele.
Steele said while they understand it’s never soon enough for someone seeking assistance, but they hope things can go faster now that the program is established. Steele said the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program which places individuals in hotels along with shelters is still an option for those waiting on trailers.
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