FEMA Scuttles Evacuee Housing Plan

"Louisiana officials expressed outrage that FEMA was shuttering what many saw as the one program that effectively got evacuees into temporary shelter and back into the work force near New Orleans. The effort had placed about 6,000 Louisiana workers in nearly 2,400 travel trailers at industrial sites across hurricane-ravaged southeast Louisiana.

...Providing on-site housing to displaced workers has exploded into a huge issue in south Louisiana as companies across the region struggle to get back on their feet. Many of those businesses have lost access to suppliers and customers, and their work forces have been scattered.

By providing shelter on company-owned land, business owners are relying on the old, company-town model to get their operations moving again... The program is the brainchild of Louisiana's Economic Development Department, which sees the plan as the first building block in restoring the local economy."

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