With dozens of Vermont families’ homes uninhabitable due to flood damages, and housing already in short supply, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is bringing “direct housing” — often referred to as “FEMA trailers” — to the state in the coming weeks.
At a Wednesday press conference, FEMA coordinating officer Will Roy said that FEMA’s inspections and surveys show that there may be up to 200 families across Vermont in need of direct housing assistance. Such assistance has been approved for Washington, Lamoille and Windsor counties, he said.
Many families in Vermont are already eligible for and receiving rental assistance from FEMA as repairs are conducted on their homes to make them habitable again. But with a devastatingly low housing supply in the state even before the flood, rental financial assistance can’t get even a temporary roof over many Vermonters’ heads. The rental stock isn’t there.
That’s where direct housing from FEMA can help, Roy said. “Really, the housing is focused on those who just can’t find a place to live for an extended period of time,” he said.
He said he expects the first trailers to arrive in the state as soon as this week or early next. They will be stored at a staging location already secured by the state Agency of Transportation, as FEMA awaits guidance from local governments on where to place the units.
Once locations in Washington, Lamoille and Windsor counties are secured for the trailers, crews can begin hooking them up to electricity and septic systems. Roy said FEMA’s goal is for the initial trailers to be habitable by mid- to late-September. The trailers are insulated, heated and generally designed for northern climates, Roy said.
“Right now, we’re reaching out to approximately 200 individuals,” Roy said. “They’re telling us whether they want to have assistance in direct housing or not, and then based upon that, we’ll work with them as to where they would like to have a place.”
Individuals impacted by the flood whose homes are unsafe to occupy may be eligible for up to 18 months of rental assistance or direct housing through FEMA.
