Thanks At Thanksgiving For Travel Trailers 

Release Date: November 25, 2005
Release Number: 1604-146

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JACKSON , Miss . -- "The call came the night before," said Sereta Haynes, "It was FEMA letting me know my trailer was ready and we could move in."  Haynes moved into the Gautier-area mobile home group site on Thanksgiving Day.  "We didn't know what we were going to do. We were hoping to get a trailer by Christmas.  Praise the Lord, we got it for Thanksgiving," she said, explaining she had no hope for the future until she got that call.

Federal Emergency Management Agency employees and contractors worked through Thanksgiving Day, leasing more than 120 Mississippi Gulf Coast individuals and families into travel trailers in Jackson and Harrison counties. Most were located in group sites, a few were placed on private sites.

Ocean Springs native Kathleen Hendrickson also received her trailer in time for Thanksgiving.  "It's a Godsend.  If it weren't for this trailer I'd be back in tent city."  She signed the lease agreement for her trailer late Wednesday night.

To date, FEMA has provided more than 21,300 travel trailers and mobile homes as part of $848 million in Individual Assistance to disaster victims across Mississippi .  More than 1,000 people are placed in 400 travel trailers daily.  Almost 200 people are occupying trailers or mobile homes that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"It's a great Christmas present for the kids," said Sereta Haynes, who will share her new housing with three grandchildren and a great-grandchild. "This is what made Thanksgiving," she said.

Travel trailers can be set up on private property when certain safety and code requirements are met.  Assistance is still available for disaster victims with housing needs by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for the speech- or hearing impaired. Online help is also available at www.FEMA.gov or by visiting a nearby disaster recovery center.     

Last Modified: Monday, 28-Nov-2005 10:33:46