HancockCountyRelief

Housing Challenge in Hancock County

From Gary - From GCN

(excerpt)
Updated 10/23/06 11:28 AM

Just over a year has gone by since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Mississippi Coast destroying almost everything along the Beach highway. But construction of new high rise condominiums is moving rapidly, changing forever the look and feel of the area.
All along the beach in Biloxi there are towers rising. The huge concrete structures will easily take the most powerful storms. (More Here)
One of the unfolding tragedies of post-Katrina life includes people that lost their mobile homes in cities within hard hit Hancock County. New flood regulations say that mobile homes that once provided houses to hundreds of residents cannot be replaced. The regulations require more substantial homes, often that are too expensive for property owners to afford. While many of these people are living in FEMA provided trailers, eventually they must move to more permanent homes.
Officials in Bay St. Louis and Waveland are trying to find a solution, as are charity groups, but the challenge is great.
In Waveland, the city has set up an office to provide help for residents with housing problems at the Waveland Long Term Recovery Office. The office is located in Trailer #8 in the city's Government Complex on Coleman Avenue. Residents having trouble rebuilding are encouraged to fill out the necessary paperwork to receive help. Yes, there is some irony that the help office is in a trailer within a flood zone. But that is the situation as all of Waveland's government offices are in trailers.

posted by Leslie @ 10/25/2006 07:27:00 AM