April 24 is deadline for Hurricane Wilma families

Apr
21

Every once in a while there is such a good human interest story here in Broward County that I like to share it with you. Everyone who was living in southern Florida in October of 2005 remembers Hurricane Wilma well. She wasn’t a very nice visitor and we all wish she hadn’t stopped by. With all that still is in the news about Hurricane Katrina, people seem to forget that there are still thousands affected by previous hurricanes in Florida and we aren’t crying a river. We just pick ourselves up and move on. But there were some who were displaced that were on the verge of bankruptcy before Hurricane Wilma that are now having to hurry to find housing before they loose their FEMA housing on Tuesday.

FEMA says that there were ultimately 1900 displaced families in Broward County that is now down to 85 and 488 families in Palm Beach County now down to 46. Every 30-60 days they have been reminded that they need to put into place a plan to find permanent housing. Now they have been given notice that as of April 24, 2007, they will have to vacate their emergency mobile homes that FEMA has been letting them live in. Some non profit organizations are buying the trailers that are being sold for around $500 by the agency and then letting the families buy from them.

You would think that $500 shouldn’t be that hard to save up for in the last 18 months but you have to remember that some of these families lost everything down to their toothbrushes and underwear during Hurricane Wilma and then more than likely took a hit with each subsequent hurricane after that. So keeping their heads above water and food on the table is the number one priority. It is nice to see organizations reaching out to these families to help them not loose the roof over their heads.

The goal of FEMA is to get these families on their feet so that they can afford to keep their mobile homes or help them buy something more permanent. But the high rent here in south Florida has helped to keep some of the families displaced right where they are. Our hearts go out to the families that are truly trying to get back on their feet and just keep hitting road blocks such as higher rent than they can afford and loss of jobs.

I will be honest with you, I don’t know how they can not stay employed as there are a lot of jobs waiting to be had, but I understand that some situations are just not for me to understand. So I hope that these families affected by the April 24 deadline to vacate their emergency mobile homes from FEMA are able to work something out. Of course, I would love to help them. All they have to do is ask.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Christine

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