Have y'all seen this story on cbs news? After Hurricane Katrina the government agency FEMA stepped in and delivered travel trailers to the people who were homeless. Now those who have been living in the trailers are saying they are getting sick.
I wonder who the manufacturer is?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/02/katrina/main3126172.shtml
Quote from: DrayHave y'all seen this story on cbs news? After Hurricane Katrina the government agency FEMA stepped in and delivered travel trailers to the people who were homeless. Now those who have been living in the trailers are saying they are getting sick.
I wonder who the manufacturer is?
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/02/katrina/main3126172.shtml
well it won't matter if they send them mobile homes either. We've lived in one for the last 11 years (2 different ones) and both of them brand new off the lot had warning labels in them giving the dangers of formaldahyde (sp)..it's in a lot of homes too.
Quote from: punkmomto2well it won't matter if they send them mobile homes either. We've lived in one for the last 11 years (2 different ones) and both of them brand new off the lot had warning labels in them giving the dangers of formaldahyde (sp)..it's in a lot of homes too.
Yes, but you won't find it in NEW homes...
Austin
Formaldehyde is used in the manufacturing process of a lot of synthetic materials.
I am very sensitive to formaldehyde and I have to deal with it anytime that we replace flooring in one of our apartments. Carpets are terrible and laminate floors have it too.
It is in a lot of new furniture, mattresses, drapes etc. It's pretty hard to get away from it whenever you buy something new. It takes a long time for that stuff to dissipate.
FACT; A lot of people who are living in Fema Katrina trailers are living better than they have ever lived in their lives. Many of them are using this formaldehyde illness as a scam in order to get more money from the goverment so they will not have to work. Also, many of these trailers can not be sold and will have to be junked because they have been trashed so badly by their ungrateful occupants.....
Quote from: Old GoatFACT; A lot of people who are living in Fema Katrina trailers are living better than they have ever lived in their lives. Many of them are using this formaldehyde illness as a scam in order to get more money from the goverment so they will not have to work. Also, many of these trailers can not be sold and will have to be junked because they have been trashed so badly by their ungrateful occupants.....
Old Goat, you speak the truth. As a lifelong resident of Louisiana I am embarrased by the events leading up to Katrina as well as the way both local and state officials have handled themselves and mostly by how a large number of Louisiana residents have conducted themselves post Katrina. The residents I am speaking of are mostly from certain areas of New Orleans and are the ones that are still out there living in FEMA housing whether a FEMA trailer or a FEMA subsidized apartment, etc. These people have done nothing but complain from day one. My wife and I worked a shelter for three weeks after Katrina that housed, clothed and fed about 1500 evacuees and the complaints were unbelievable. Not to mention how the those staying in the center caused almost 1 million dollars in damages to the facility where they were being taken care of. The National Guard was brought in to patrol the facility. These people were all given beds, three nice meals a day, including snacks throughout the day, clothes, the facility was air conditioned, their kids were treated to movies, games, moonwalks, as well as other activities to keep them occupied. Teachers and social workers were brought in to work with people. The facility was never designed for this type of event but it served the needs of those living there very well. With such a large number of people in the facility, the facility needed extra people to keep things cleaned up, empty trash, general maintenance etc. and so they posted there at the facility that FEMA would pay $20.00 an hour to anyone interrested in working around the facility. They were shocked when only one person signed up.
I am not proud of what has happened here, but unfortunately it has caused many hard working citizens of this state to say enough is enough. Sure New Orleans got the flood waters, but they didn't get the full force of the hurricaine like those in Mississippi whose houses were blown off the foundations. Many of those folks are poor as well, but Mississippi is coming back while New Orleans is not.
CajunCamper
Quote from: CajunCamper...that FEMA would pay $20.00 an hour to anyone interrested in working around the facility. They were shocked when only one person signed up.
CajunCamper
:compumad: :yikes: :eyecrazy:
If I had still been working as a critical care RN (at a tertiary care hospital, too, which means you either get better....or you don't) at the time Katrina hit and the time this $20.00 offer was made, that $20/hour would have been more than what I was making.
Yes, more than a critical care RN who titrates vasoactive drips, manages intra-aortic balloon pumps, continuous dialysis, right heart catheters....
Wow!
Fortunately, critical care RN's have had a raise since then. I, however, am not at the bedside anymore (as a staff RN).
Larry
Quote from: CajunCamperand so they posted there at the facility that FEMA would pay $20.00 an hour to anyone interrested in working around the facility. They were shocked when only one person signed up.
CajunCamper
I posted on the Internet that if there was a small family (i.e. single mom /w kid(s)) who wanted to "get out" of New Orleans and start a new life, then I'd be willing to relocate them to Kansas City. I'd have gotten the mother into school to start a better career, the kids into state funded daycare / any medical programs, etc / transportation / roof / food. But they had to be willing to work for it..
My son offered to donate his room for such an event (and I reciprocated by saying I'd give up my office for it, too if need be).
Nobody ever answered. I figured someone would jump on it.
Before you call me naive, I understand that it's impossible to get someone re-started if they don't want to. I've already tried that. :)
Our church congregation has two houses on property. Both were fixed up for living quarters.
One family did great. Went to school, got jobs, did great.
The other? Trashed the house. Broke out the windows. Stole washer and dryer, after we had to go to court to get them evicted. Judge plainly told them to leave what was there. The ungratefulness....
Larry
Quote from: brainpauseOur church congregation has two houses on property. Both were fixed up for living quarters.
Trashed the house. Broke out the windows. Stole washer and dryer, after we had to go to court to get them evicted. Judge plainly told them to leave what was there. The ungratefulness.
I normally avoid this subject on-line, but I'd point something out. Jesus washed the deciple's feet. One of those deciples was Judas. He knew that within 48 hours Judas would betray him. But he washed his feet anyway. Don't let the ungratefulness of the recipient dissuade you or your church from doing the same again.
Austin
Quote from: AustinBostonI normally avoid this subject on-line, but I'd point something out. Jesus washed the deciple's feet. One of those deciples was Judas. He knew that within 48 hours Judas would betray him. But he washed his feet anyway. Don't let the ungratefulness of the recipient dissuade you or your church from doing the same again.
Austin
Excellent point. I don't think it would dissuade us from doing it again, honestly. We have a very generous congregation. Sure, it left a bad taste, but I bet we would do it again if we could. Those two houses have now been remodeled for other uses now, and wouldn't be good living quarters anyway. We would find other ways.
Again, excellent point.
Larry
It has been said many times that goverment handouts and prolonged welfare often destroys the personal pride of many recipients and their will to work and help themselves. The more I see of it the more I realize how true this is. I was born in south Florida and was four years old when a bad hurricane hit in 1935. There were a lot of homes and buildings damaged and destroyed, some deaths and injuries. Many people had lost everything. America was in the midst of the Great Depression back then and there was no FEMA or any other goverment agency with money to help anybody do anything. Few people could afford storm or any other kind of insurance on their homes. Money was tight and after paying for basic living needs, and often having to skimp on these, there was little if any left to buy building materials or to hire help.
People banded together and helped one another rebuild their homes and clean up. They used building materials salvaged from wrecked homes and buildings. There were no chain saws or portable electric saws or any kind of power tools. Everything was done by hand using using hand tools like hand saws. planes,cross cut saws, hatchets and axes. Mother and other women cooked together and provided meals, cooking on open fires because the electicity was off and there was no kerosene to be had for kitchen stoves. Propane and electric stoves were not common then. My sister and other kids who were older, had the job of pulling nails from boards and straightening and sorting the ones that could be reused. Dad was a boatbuilder and electrician. He helped many neighbors with carpentry and to rewire their repaired homes with salvaged materials. He added a room to our house with used materials which later became my bedroom when I got older. It remained unpainted like most others, for over three years until he could afford the paint.
Times were hard back then and after the storm. People suddenly had a big job to do and they did it with pride and without any goverment help. They did'nt expect any, they did'nt ask for any, and they did'nt want any...AND NOBODY COMPLAINED.....Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why they are rightfully called "The Greatest Generation"......
Old Goat
Camping was alot different in those days too. I got to do some with the folks later on and during WW II...
Well said Old Goat.
Agree....well said, Mr. Goat.
Larry
With all due respect Old Goat. Have you forgotten about the New Deal started by Franklin D Roosevelt?
Quote from: DrayWith all due respect Old Goat. Have you forgotten about the New Deal started by Franklin D Roosevelt?
Indeed; nobody would have admitted to a 4 year old that they were receiving government help, so he does not know "there was no FEMA or any other goverment agency with money to help anybody do anything."
My parents (7 and 9 at the time) lived through the 1938 hurricane (only 3 years later than the one Old Goat mentioned) that hit New England, killing 600. They never talked about government aid, but in fact there was quite a lot of it. One of the things the Massachusetts government did was to buy thousands of acres of hard-hit beachfront property, with the damaged and destroyed houses on it, and turn it into a state park (Horseneck Beach SP). My father knew of no government aid, even though it was his father, uncles, and grandfather who
sold the land!It's not that there was no aid, it's that it was a shameful thing to have to accept it, so no one would admit to doing so.
Austin
I think the point is that years ago, people didn't sit around waiting for the government to act. Today it seems to be the norm. For example, the people that you saw on the news every night that were stranded at the New Orleans Convention Center, could have walked out of there without even getting their feet wet. The Convention Center is located next to the Mississippi River in New Orleans, where the levees were high and dry. A hike of a couple of hours at most and they would have been out of there, instead, they chose to sit there and wait on the government for days to get them out. I do believe that we should help our fellow man when he is helpless and needs help. But when he refuses to do for himself what he is capable of doing, I have a hard time in that situation. Since Jesus was brought into this conversation earlier, let me add that when Jesus healed the crippled man He then told him to pick up his matt and go. He didn't say sit there and we'll get someone to carry you away. We are to have compasion as Christ did, but we are also expected to pick ourselves up and go.
CajunCamper
I am new to this board, and new to PUPs, but this subject has hit home.
In January 2006 I volunteered with a church mission to do Hurricane Katrina relief work. The mission was to Waveland, MS. You might recall that Waveland was one of the worst hit by the Hurricane in terms of both flooding and wind. The president visited Waveland twice, at least. The devastation was unimaginable.
The church that hosted us concentrated efforts toward helping the elderly. It was a fantastic experience overall. Over 30 people went on the mission, and we worked on 8 different homes.
Without exception, the work we did was appreciated by those that received the assistance. I went in to several of the FEMA trailers that these folks were living in. They were clean, well kept, and a poor substiture for even the meager homes that they used to live in. But they were grateful to have them.
What disappointed me was the lack of support the younger folks gave to the older folks. The older folks lived next to their children, nieces, nephews, etc. But the younger generation was nowhere to be seen when it came to cleaning, fixing, working. It was disheartening to see. Now, admittedly not everyone is able to replace roofs, run wire, hang sheetrock, tape, spackle, etc. But they sure as hell can do demo work, haul trash, etc. We observed none of that going on by anyone other than the out of state volunteers and the actual homeowners (to the extent that they could).
We did our work with grace and respect for these people, and did our best to emulate Christ. But I do wonder what the future holds for this country.
Jim K in PA