FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 5, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT:
Mike Steele
[email protected]
225-788-0095
BATON ROUGE (April 5, 2024) – The Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) announced operations for the Ida Sheltering Program are formally scheduled to end April 30th. The state operated program was initially federally supported. The costs have been covered entirely by the state for more than a year. It has helped provide sheltering by way of thousands of travel trailers to families impacted by Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 storm that hit the Louisiana coast in August of 2021.
For the past two months, those in the shelter program have been given information on the April 30th deadline. The shelter population has been encouraged to secure alternate temporary or permanent housing as quickly as possible. This deadline does not impact Ida survivors currently housed in FEMA’s Direct Housing Units or other programs.
In March of 2023, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) originally announced the Ida Sheltering Program end date of May 31st, 2023. Due to many of the unique challenges those in the program faced, use of the travel trailer units was extended beyond the program end date to allow additional time to plan for home repairs and/or to locate alternate housing. Eleven months have passed since that program end date.
“The state was fortunate to have FEMA approve and support this first-of-its kind program to areas devastated by Ida,” said GOHSEP Director Jacques Thibodeaux. “Through the hard work of staff here at GOHSEP, the first units were purchased and in place within a month of the storm. That is much faster than most emergency housing units can be rolled out after an event.”
It is imperative that families remain engaged and in regular contact with their assigned Disaster Case Manager as the program winds down. There has been a significant drop in numbers since the deadline was announced earlier this year. Additionally, families should call the Ida Sheltering Program at 844-268-0301 when they have transitioned from the unit.
The sheltering program allowed the state to install these units across seven impacted parishes before other traditional Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) temporary housing programs became available. At its peak, the program involved nearly 5,400 units sheltering more than 15,000 people. The number of units in use now has decreased to nearly 600.
Please follow GOHSEP’s social media accounts on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and LinkedIn. The GOHSEP Get A Game Plan Podcast is another resource available to help you and your family prepare for any type emergency. You can download the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide and find other preparedness information at www.getagameplan.org.
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