Candid moments living in a FEMA trailer

... The day after Christmas a husky young man with an orange vest and a silver clipboard knocked on my trailer door. As if he was delivering a late present, he proudly announced that his company, the FEMA maintenance contractor ARC, was going to see to it that my trailer was inspected once a month ...

But wait. Can he fix any of the lingering problems? Oh, no, no, he said, someone else has to do that ...

On Dec. 29 another knock on the tin door. This inspector, tall and thin, asks if the trailer had been inspected yet. He looked relieved that it had.

Then last week, a Bechtel hired gun with two blank-faced trainees in tow showed up to do what he described is busy work created by FEMA. Did I want them to move the four fasteners holding the trailer in place over a bit so they'd be anchored in the concrete part of the driveway instead of the ground? ...

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/business/13577002.htm

barely functioning, wasting so much money in the process.

People tripping over people, depending on what agency they're from? New-hires not knowing what the hell they're doing? "Not my job?" That's bureaucracy at its worst. Everyone chasing their tails while nothing gets accomplished.

:argh:

.. possible in order to claim that "government bureaucracy" is the root of all our problems. The aim to discredit and destroy the Federal system, in order to give corporations free reign, because only the Federal government is potentially powerful enough to control large corporations.

I've known many effective and professional bureaucrats over the years, and frankly I'm sick of the rightwing's constant attacks on honest hardworking government employees. Many could have made much more in the private sector and chose government work because of a patriot and public-spirited impulse.

The problem here is IMO entirely the result of Administration policies, and it's not an accidental result, either ...

This admin? Katrina threw them for a loop as they were quite capable of doing that already, and still are. Deficit? Iraq? Gross...

You can't imagine how frustrating it is to have everything inspected dozens of times and nothing repaired. The incompetence drives me nuts.

whether cronyism or bureaucracy is the culprit? Cronyism perhaps is the root, but now it's all the companies, paperwork, etc.
I can't imagine being inundated so often by inept people. But as you have stated, there are others who are STILL worse off.
Our America? x(

It is incompetence and lack of organization and way too many subcontractors.

It began with cronyism.

I am doing okay, given the constant frustrations of the conditions.

It is so frustrating to read about this incompetence. I don't know why reading it does that, but it did.

thanks for asking about me :hug:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=360x331

Ideas from you would be good also, and perhaps we'll meet!

I have asked Lydia Leftcoast to post in that forum about her experience here this past week.
She was working at a volunteer camp and knows what folks need.

thanks for the link and thanks so much for your support & love.

:hug:

"Fix Everything? My Ass!"

please let us all know what's going on!
I already know FEMA sucks; it says volumes about Department of Homeland Security.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=4524967

On the last day, we drove to the Gulfport airport along U.S. 90, which runs along the Gulf. Due to a bad cold, I had not ventured far away from the camp and had mostly worked in the food shelf and medical tents, so I was stunned to see the miles and miles of completely destroyed houses, as well as clothes, bedding, and even furniture stuck up in trees.

There are private contractors willing to clean up people's houses and yards, but they charage a lot, and this is a poor area, so most people are dependent on their own efforts or volunteers. FEMA is slow in providing trailers, and some people don't even have clean drinking water yet--the food shelf still has to distribute bottled water.

Working in Camp Coast Care, I saw that they had plenty of used clothing, stuffed animals, peanut butter, beans, rice, pasta, canned corn, raisins, tomato soup, cereal, canned peas, and powdered milk, but not enough of anything else. Many staples, such as cooking oil, flour, sugar, coffee, tea, and paper products were either in extremely short supply or entirely absent. One group of volunteers filled most of their bus with toilet paper bought at the local WalMart, and even though we limited everyone to two rolls per customer, it was gone in 90 minutes.

Plus size clothing was at a premium, and everyone is tired of getting other people's old dirty T shirts (it's disgusting what people will try to donate), but unused clothing donated by stores stirs up some excitement.

Children need active toys (not more stuffed animals) and school supplies. A box of "school bags" donated by some schoolchildren in Pennsylvania was gone before I could finish unpacking it.

In the medical area, they need basic over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin), naproxen (Alleve), Benadryl, and loratidine (Claritin), as well as vitamins and minerals (multiple and single), anti-fungal creams, condoms, and anti-lice shampoo.

The camp also appreciates gift cards to national chain stores, because they can use them if, for example, a visitor to the medical tent needs a prescription medication that the medical tent doesn't have on hand.

It was an exhausting and uncomfortable week, but I'm glad I did it. On the way home from church today, I stopped off at the supermarket to replenish my groceries, and as I walked out with salad greens and cheese, I thought, "The people who come to Camp Coast Care don't get to choose what they want to eat. They just have to eat what's available."


For more information see

http://www.campcoastcare.com

Hi,

I want to make a suggestion about getting rid of head lice (or headlights, as my kids say).
Those shampoos use insecticide to kill the bugs and they never get all the nits. They are SO TOXIC. And the effing bugs just get stronger and stronger.
You need to re-apply in a couple of days to kill off the new adults before they multiply again. Then, if you live in close quarters and you don't have the resources you need to clean beds, pillows, etc., and kids share hair brushes or scarves... man, you're on a never-ending merry-go-round.

The worst is that kids can suffer nerve damage from that stuff. You need to find an alternative to insecticides. And I have just the thing: lard.

Yup. Good old fashioned lard or shortening applied liberally (no pun intended) to the hair. You can use cooking oil but it seems a waste to use nice oil to kill bugs. Lard is least expensive and a fraction the cost of insecticides.
Tie up hair in a towel or, if you have one of those shower caps they give away at hotels, use that. Leave overnight. This will kill all adults and nits.

The next morning, put shampoo (or if the kids are older and you can get them not to squirm, you can use grease-cutting dishwashing liquid) straight on the hair without getting it wet first. Work in the soap as best you can before rinsing. Do this as often as you need to get the oil out.

You'll still need to use a nit comb to get rid of eggs, but there won't be as many and they'll slip off easier.

:hug:

Please post of your experiences and the needs of the volunteer camps in the Hurricane forum if you get the chance.