FEMA Forcing People From Trailers? - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

FEMA Forcing People From Trailers?

More than 1300 households are still living in the temporary housing provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the 2011 Mouse River flood.

FEMA's temporary housing program is limited to 18 months following a presidential disaster declaration, which means that those 1300 households will need to find a new place to live by December.

Jennifer Thorgramson is live at the FEMA group site on 55th street where residents are concerned about housing dead ends leading up to the December deadline.

That's right, there is a bleak outlook in the gap between temporary housing deadlines, and a state wide housing shortage.

In June of 2011 --- while water was innundating the Mouse River valley, a presidential disaster declaration for individual assistance was set in motion.
That allowed FEMA to begin the task of bringing in temporary housing, even before the water subsided.
At its height, more than 2400 temporary homes were moved into area.
The first year went by quickly, and even though it's July, FEMA residents --- as well as local FEMA representatives and the Minot Housing Coalition --- they're all concerned about the December deadline to be out of FEMA housing.


(Virginia Young, Minot Resident) "Thank god for the housing FEMA did provide. But what are we supposed to do in December. That's the best I can do is pay $575 rent."
(Mac McLeod, Minot Homeless Coalition) "A lot of places they were renting from don't exist anymore, and those that are coming back, you're not going back at the same price you were before."
(Brian Hvinden, FEMA Spokesperson) "Our recertification people scour the ads and we're looking for every rental resource opportunity and even with the housing crunch here, sometimes we're able to find things and we're able to help people get back into a new location."
(Virginia Young, Minot Resident) "I've got a really good FEMA re-sert lady. She's been real good to us. But with rent being even at $1500, the cheapest out there, there's no way. I can't do that on my own."
(Mac McLeod, Minot Homeless Coalition) "There's answers, but they're not quick. There's no quick fix to this."
(Brian Hvinden, FEMA Spokesperson) "It takes the effort of everyone to get all the residents of the Souris Valley back into a home."
(Virginia Young, Minot Resident) "I'll be honest with you, I'm stressing. I'm stressing. I like Minot. I love where I work, and I don't want to leave it, you know?"

There is a possibility for FEMA to offer a temporary housing extension.
But an extension like that would have to come from FEMA headquarters at the federal level --- and FEMA spokesperson Jerry DeFelice says, 'no such extension has been formally requested.'