MPB Crew Visits FEMA Trailer Parks On Gulf Coast

The following are some thoughts from MPB Deputy Director of Content Development Gene Edwards. Gene and an MPB production crew visited the coast areas of Ocean Springs, Gautier, and Pascagoula to speak with the residents about FEMA trailers.
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I woke up this morning with "Katrina Cough". It's pretty common among coast residents and those who go down for a day or more to volunteer. You feel like you've got this gray, dirty cloud hanging in your throat. You're raw and your eyes ache and itch. There's not enough rain to wash it away.

FEMA has taken a lot of criticism about response time but every one of the people I met said the same thing...who could have imagined it would have been this bad? There was really no way to be ready. When you look at the acres of FEMA trailers it's just overwhelming. How could this many trailers have been built and brought here any more quickly? The trailers aren't very big and they certainly aren't luxurious but we couldn't find anyone that wasn't glad to have one.

The real heroes everyone wanted to tell us about were those firemen, church volunteers and just regular folks who have come-and are still coming-to help. They understand how long it's going to take. We talked with two men who were a part of a group that drives trucks of supplies in from Oregon. They've been here-working in two and three week shifts and sleeping on the floor of a church-since Katrina hit.

Betty and her husband had little savings and no flood insurance and a group of men and women from a church in Georgia just arrived at their house with sheetrock and paint and went to work. The house was put back together for free. And those volunteers from Georgia keep coming back.

The beach road near St. Andrews is one of the saddest places you can imagine. These were retirement homes for many people. Another band of volunteers came through here and took away debris. Now the county is about to start bulldozing the remaining houses. Almost every house will be taken down. Thinking about those people who are 80+ and living in trailers on the lots where their dream houses once stood just broke our hearts. One neighbor told us that so many of the older residents are just fading away. The depression is so deep that they feel there's no hope and they die of broken hearts.

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Here are a few pictures from the trip.

A FEMA trailer park

Gene and the MPB production crew taping

Gene speaking with one of the many residents of the park