FEMA Administrator Visits with Local Leaders: “There are still things we can continue to improve on, and I’m committed to doing that.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, Terrebonne Parish Parish Gordy Dove, Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson, and Acting Director of GOHSEP Casey Tingle met today to discuss the recovery process in the bayou communities.

FEMA Administrator Criswell said there have been challenges and they will take what they learned in the south back to Washington D.C. to address and move forward with the process. She said, “there are still things we can continue to improve on, and I’m committed to doing that.”

State Director Tingle said that the conversations they are having are important to know what is needed to understand what the community needs are, what’s going well, and what the gaps are so they can know what resources and services are needed to close those gaps. He praised FEMA for being flexible in the process of beginning the Ida Shelter Program. The program allows the state to purchase units for families and in turn, FEMA reimburses and pays the state. This allows the process to run faster, although Terrebonne Parish President Dove said it hasn’t been fast enough. They are working daily to get what is needed for residents and various moving pieces come together when it comes to the recovery process.

Lafourche Parish President Archie Chaisson said that he and President Dove face constituents daily when it comes to the housing issue, recovery, and FEMA response, and he said it’s been a good thing that FEMA can come back and listen to what our areas need.

Administrator Criswell said that FEMA temporary housing units are already in the state and they will continue to license people in them as they find space to put them so they can meet family needs. “This is a process, and it is one of our processes that takes a long time, but it has started. We are putting families in those units as we speak,” she said.

Criswell also said they understand that every individual is specific and unique to them. She said they have a suite of resources available to help individuals with temporary housing needs as they repair their homes. Direct housing is an option that takes longer to implement, but they do have a suite of tools to assist families with temporary needs. “What I suggest to families if they are having trouble,” she said,” is to go to one of our Disaster Recovery Centers and talk to someone face to face. Have them help you, have them walk through your situation with you so we can find what the best solution is for you because everybody’s need is going to be different. The same solution that works for me isn’t going to necessarily work for them.”