Our Senator's, Represenative's, VFW, AMERICAN LEGION posts and scores of angery citizens...Can go a long way...on some issues....good luck Larry!

I know of people who have asked FEMA to come and get their trailer and FEMA tells them that it’s not their problem. The trailer is in a yard not being used and no one wants it. One reason could be because of the smell that makes you cough and burns your eyes. No matter the case FEMA has paid for this trailer to house some one and no one can be housed in it, but they are not worried about it. To Mr. Lake—I am glad that your battle with FEMA is over. I just wish the would focus on the trailers that are not in use and why they are not in use

Thank you FEMA!

The only reason that FEMA did an about face was because of the original MSNBC article. FEMA is a total waste of taxpayer money. FEMA employees are the worst of the worst when it comes to government bureaucrats. They should all be fired immediately.

What will happen to trailers as people finish with them.

Can you say bad publicity, that the only reason that gentelman got to keep the trailer.

I am delighted for this veteran that the issue was quickly resolved. However, I think we all have to take part of the blame for FEMA being a bit skidish lately. We are mad at them for not bending the rules so that people in need get what they want. We are mad at them for bending the rules so that the agency and government get ripped off by con artists. We are mad at them for offering trailers that are not good enough, motel rooms that are not kept long enough, apartments that are not kept long enough and then mad at them for the cost. We need to make up our minds, do we want everyone helped or do we want to make sure there is no waste and corruption?

Well, that's FEMA for you. Heaven forbid someone is living in a FEMA trailer. Those trailers are bare bones, not palaces. Why kick an occupant out and then try to find another place for them? Just doesn't make sense to me.

Its really amazing how the government still has not gotten things together. First they order trailer that were not suitable for the area to rest on. The
incompetence level is horrible. Can he keep the trailer because its own to him for being a hurricane victim or does his VA status say - he can purchase a house because of his VA bill. People are hurting and he should be on some record for all his benefits.

I normally would just read these articles but sometimes I just want to be heard. Thanks

Kate Smith is absolutely right. We can't have it both ways. We will never eliminate deceit, but, gridlock from cross-checking lists is worse.

About the obnoxious smell of a FEMA trailer .. it is FREE and is present in "any cheap mobile trailer". It is the formaldehyde used in the manufacturing process of the wood for the paneling, closets and cupboards. Unfortunately, high temperatures and humidity, exacerbate and enhance the radiation of the formaldehyde fumes. To get rid of it, it must evaporate over time. For temporary relief from the stink and burning eyes, utilize a dehumidifier (lower humidity) and an air conditioner (lower temperature) . One must also have an exhaust fan to clean the air space and circulate fresh air into the trailer. See below, I wonder if it is toxic ?

Formaldehyde .. A colorless gaseous compound, HCHO, the simplest baldheaded, used for manufacturing melamine and phenolic resins, fertilizers, dyes, and embalming fluids and in aqueous solution as a preservative and disinfectant

My veteran was stricken by strokes when he was helping during the floods of 2000. We would like nothing better than to have a cast-off trailer to replace this 30 year old one we are forced to live in. Go vet!!!

It takes FEMA awhile to figure out what the rest of us know. Congrats Mr. Larry, I am happy for you!

I fell that he deserve the trailer. As a matter of fact I believe everyone that lost their home should get a trailer with no problem, but I forgot we're dealing with Fema. They give to people that already have housing. And give money to people that didn't get any damage to their homes.

The Louisiana State School of Dentisty stidents who have relocated temporarily to Baton Rouge, LA because the school in New Orleans has flooded and still is not repaired were given Fema trailers in December. They are parked on state property owned by the university and were told that they could live there for 18 months. They were just ordered to leave the trailers by June 30th and to rent a place to live on their own even though they are still qualified to live in the trailers. Most cannot afford to move as they are also paying for places in New Orleans. When the university was questioned, it was finally revealed after many lies that they wanted to give the trailers to underpaid STATE staff of the dental school. This is illegal and no one will speak for the students and the students are afraid to continue questioning their decision. If someone from Fema is reading this, please investigate this possible fraud.

Kate, I think it doesn't matter if we are mad at FEMA or not. They should do the job they are supposed to do. If I worried if I made someone mad in my job, I wouldn't get too much done. FEMA is supposed to give emergency assistance to people in a disaster. That's what our tax dollars supporting FEMA are for. If they are overwhelmed, they should get another job. Mr. Lake got to keep his trailer, although it was not quickly resolved, because a light was shed on what FEMA had done in his case, and it shamed them. I hadn't thought it was possible to shame FEMA, but it happened. And it needs to happen more.

too much wast with fems get rid of them. thakn god i live in new york where things are not that aba. weatherwise.kathy morehou.

With all the money being spent on war why can't the government help the Katrina victims without complaints and so much calculations on cost and on who deserves what? Every tax paying citizen of the United States should get help when they need it and if the government has to find more money well look at the salaries of the government! When large corporations need to restructure some positions in the company are cut or salaries are cut but they get to keep their jobs and when things get better then they get better for those who stuck it out for the good of the company! It should be the same for our government in respect to the citizens who put them in those chairs!

Len DeCarlo, the FEMA spokesman, wouldn't come off as sounding like an idiot, had the agency investigated before sending out trailor repossession letters! I think everyone agrees that those occupying trailers they're not entitled to have should certainly be removed from them; investigate before acting!

No, we can't have it both ways. We can't blame them for trying to help and then blame them when they've gone over budget and that theyve been scammed by the very people who they were trying to help. FEMA did what it could, when it could and as it could. Are there glitches in the system? Yes, but I would guarantee that there are many more people out there who are scamming FEMA, the government and other agencies then there are FEMA people trying to help. Let's place the blame where it belongs - on those who show NO respect for those of us who are trying to help them.

Joe, you wonder if formaldehyde is toxic??? It's been common knowledge for YEARS how toxic it is. It is one of the chemicals used in the embalming process for dead bodies. I don't care if the trailers were a free "gift". Who gives a gift that can potentially kill the recipient? No thanks!

When are the HOMELESS going to get a FEMA trailer?
Chronically homeless older men risk death on the
streets every nite, and yet, somehow, FEMA does NOT
consider this an emergency.
Why?
Lee Suba, Denver

Zenna is right....there use't ta be a warning posted in all new mobile homes formaldehyde is DEADLY!....that's creepy ...kinda makes me wanna be cremated instead of imbolmed

First, I'm happy that Larry has a place to stay. Being a vet myself I know he appreciates having a place to stay. Having traveled many countries even a FEMA trailer would be considered "lavish" in some areas. U.S. evacuees, mostly, do not think about this and expect to maintain their previous way of life. A fair number of FEMA trailer residents treat their temporary lodgings with contemp. My father-in-law (Biloxi, MS) keeps his trailered home in a RV park that plays host to FEMA occupants. The unit next to his has rags and towels soiled with human waste covered on it. Occupants such as this should be evicted immediately, but they have been there over 6 months. There are still deserving folks who still have no place to go, yet scum bags get the deals. They have no incentive to seek other dwellings because they enjoy free rent. Get the dirtbags out and quit bothering good folks, like Larry!

here, here, Jim O'Dell...my hats is off to you!...you tell it like it is!

In a year or two you won't be able to find any of these FEMA trailers. They will be all over the USA. There is no way the Goverment can account for all the trailers they bought. I dare say they have lost 10% or more of them already. What people don't understand is FEMA has trailers at 2 or 3 locations and can or will not get them to the needy. To sum it up, "IT'S DE GULAMENT".

can anyone tell me, what about all thoses millions of dollars the celberties raised to help rebuild are there homes being built, are there tracts of homes being built, I havent heard

I still think the sad part of the whole FEMA trailer story is the fact that the rules say one can not put a FEMA trailer in a flood zone....flooding is usually the reason these people have lost their homes and need the housing!!!! Someone, somewhere, has to come up with a better solution...either change the rule or find an alternative to trailers as temporary housing. That is the other thing people need to remember. These trailers were designed to be temporary housing...not to live in forever. I feel sorry for those who lost everything during the hurricane (or any other disaster for that matter). But where does it say that the government must take care of them for the rest of their natural life? They need to pick up the pieces and move on - even if it means moving to another part of the country and starting over.

I HELP PULL OUT SOME OF THE CAMPER FOR FORBES. FORBES WERE PAID $3100.00 FOR EACH CAMPER WE PULL OUT. BUT FORBES PAY US ONLY $300.00 TO PULL THEM OUT AND SET THEM UP. BUT SOME OF THE PLACE WE PULL THE CAMPER OUT WERE TO PEOPLE, THT LOSE THEIR HOUSE, IT WAS NOT AS NICE AS THE CAMPER WE TOOK OUT TO THEM. FEMA WAS SO SLOW A BOUT GETTING THE PAPER WORK DONE, THAT SOME DAYES WE WOULD HAVE TO SPEND MORE TIME WAITING,TO GET A CAMPER, THAN IT TOOK TO SET THEM UP. WENT WE FIRST WENT TO MISS. WE COULD GET 19 CAMPER A DAY TO SET UP. WE LEFT AND COE OME BECAUSE SOME DAY WE MAY THEIR A HALF DAY WAITING TO GET A CAMPER TO PULL OUT, ONLY TO BE TOLD, THEY WERE NOT GOING TO SEND ANY OUT THAT DAY.W WERE NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY TO PAID OURS MOTEL ROOMS. SO WE HAS TO LEAVE AND COME HOME.

Kate Smith had a very good point about not having it both ways with FEMA. In the immediate days after Katrina, when so many people had just been through hell besides losing everything, there was great pressure on FEMA. The national media would show stories of these folks who had been in misery for days now waiting in line for debit cards or whatever. The total message at that point was "Help these people! Who cares about red tape and a lot of cross checking."

The final responsibility for any kind of fraud, whether it's contractors or non-victims claiming they lost everything in Katrina (when they didn't) rests with the individual. This is especially true when you have a disaster on the scale of Katrina. That said, any scammers who can be tracked down should be prosecuted.

!! Incredible!! 26 posts from people who've never been inside a FEMA trailer!! 3 posts from possible visitors. !!

1 Post Namely, THIS ONE from a FEMA Trailer occupant.

We cannot cook in the trailer: doing so sets off the smoke alarms.

We cannot be inside and simultaneously air the FEMA trailer because of the biting knats (no-see-ums) about the size of the dot on top of the letter "i". The knats are so tiny that they come thru the screen ten abreast.

We cannot use our yards becauase of the crickets: the natural predators of crickets drowned, so the cricket population exploded, and brought with them an infestation of black widow spiders.

FEMA, Your a joke. The "trailor's" you let us borrow are nothing more then paper houses. This past winter was terribe. They delivered me a trailor with no windows. THANKS FEMA. Everyone lied and still is. If you don't have the money to fix your own property no one will help. The insurance adjustors are jokes. FEMA workers are idots. AND La is and will be in ruins for years. The american people need to wake up and see how "WE" fellow amerians have been treated. Tax money. WASTED

Cry me a river Julia. Fema at least provided you some form of housing. They could of let you rot in the streets. Be grateful!

One small victory! No matter what, this man won thanks to the help of all the people commenting. This is what everyone needs, support, not complaints.

Remember, this was a stort on a sick vet who needed shelter, not a story on how bad the trailers are or how unfair your situation is. Use this blessing as motivation to get your story out and to be proactive. Your bout of good luck could be next!

As a retired AF enlisted vet who served 20 years and then retired in 1973, then went on to work for civil service for another 17 years before retiring again in 1990 to help my wife operate our child care center for another 10 years, I have to wonder what Larry was doing with his retirement from the 23 years he served. Was he honorably discharged? He would also be getting Social Security. I don't think he was broke and should be able to survive on his own. I've had 3 different bouts with cancer, prostate, skin and more skin but you keep right on going. Seems like I remember something about "The Lord helps those who help themselves". My daddy always taught me to buy on high ground. Why anyone would want to live below water is beyond me. Heck they can do that out in Death Valley but I'll admit that jobs might be hard to find. At least you wouldn't have to worry about getting flooded.

Please Please stop with the should-of could-of would-of for the people on the Gulf Coast, its heart breaking to read all the mean remarks so many have.Anyone who doesn't have a kind work or a pray for these people might think, if I lived in a glass house would I still throw these stones.

For what our vets have been put thru over the many generations, they should all get a FEMA trailer. Congrats !!I still put Katrina victims in my prayers daily)

yes, fema fouled up but it is nothing more than politicians creating the mess .the saying goes if some one is so worried about some one stealing then that is the one you better watch. look around at your leaders what big cars what big houses and how many .Do you think their salary pays for all of it ?what about all the money for the arabs and others around the world that is never paid back just given away .and your goverment is going to badger a sick vet. how long will the people of this country allow this before they stand up and be counted and get actived and vote and put people in office that are honest .look at the up comming presidential election .Is there an honest one in the bunch ?I don't think so. wake up !