FEMA trailers after Katrina vs local church shelters, night and day for me in 2005

I lived through Katrina in Gulfport and ended up bouncing between a FEMA trailer and a church-run shelter for about 6 weeks. The trailer had paperwork issues, mold spots, and a generator that died twice, while the church had cots, hot meals, and volunteers who actually knew your name by day two. Comparing the two, the church operation felt more organized because they had a simple sign-up sheet and rotated tasks, not a 40 page form for every blanket. FEMA finally sent someone to inspect the trailer after 3 weeks, but the church had a doctor on site within 48 hours. Why does a volunteer crew beat a federal agency that has billions of dollars and 3,000 employees? Has anyone else seen local groups outdo the big systems during a disaster, or was it just my bad luck with that specific trailer? I still wonder if the red tape is the real conspiracy here, not the hurricanes.

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evanb8719d ago

Man, my one brush with FEMA was asking for a replacement tarp after a storm and I got a 12 page packet about flood elevation maps. I could have built a HOUSE out of that paperwork before they got back to me. Meanwhile the local Baptist group had me covered with a tarp and a hot plate in like 4 hours, just needed my name and a handshake. Your point about the church knowing your name by day two hits SO hard, that's the real FEMA deficiency right there. Red tape is absolutely the hidden disaster, it moves slower than a hurricane evacuation line. My theory is the feds are built for the paperwork version of helping, not the actual helping version.