“Not every pace and every path are the same, so you have to allow some flexibility there.”

NEW ORLEANS – It has been almost seven months since Hurricane Laura and five months since Hurricane Delta, but it must be longer for those displaced by the storms.

Many were evacuated to New Orleans. According to the Department of Child and Family Services, nearly 13,000 evacuees were scattered across the state. As of Monday, 270 of them are still in a hotel in New Orleans and cannot go home.

“It’s unusual to be in an ongoing shelter long after an event,” said Casey Tingle, assistant director of the governor’s homeland security and emergency preparedness office. “Post-disaster housing is always one of the most complicated things to do.”

Most current evacuees come from vulnerable households who may not have enough money or the ability to repair their homes, according to Tingle. Combine that with high demand for building materials during a pandemic.

“Even the job market is tough at that ability to fix so many homes in such a short amount of time, and that assumes you have the money to do it,” Tingle said.

However, the reconstruction is slow.

“People literally work on roofs every day, building and building houses,” said Sara Judson, CEO of the Community Foundation in southwest Louisiana.

Judson says housing needs are still challenging and credits progress to support.

“We value people from all over the state and even from other parts of the country who still come in to help people get back to their homes,” Judson said.

For those who still cannot return to their homes, FEMA and the New Orleans Housing Authority offer long-term housing options. Evacuees who can return are even given transportation.

“Not every pace and every path is the same, so you have to allow some flexibility there,” said Tingle.

Flexibility that will hopefully lead to a road home.

PREVIOUSLY:: Thousands of people evacuated from Lake Charles seek refuge in New Orleans hotels

PREVIOUSLY:: ‘They say my house is habitable’ | Evacuees from Lake Charles should NOT leave hotels

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