Cramped Quarters

Two years after Hurricane Charley, some storm victims still haven't escaped a FEMA trailer city.

In the beginning, this was an adventure in living,'' said Bob Hebert, director of recovery for Charlotte County, standing before a ghost town of trailers and a pile of discarded street signs with names like Alpha and Zeta. "But after a while, it got old. Drug raids. Prostitution. Everything you can imagine, it's going on out here. It's not a good environment

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Since the trailer park opened in November 2004, police have responded to 3,527 calls for service, including 204 domestic disturbances, 73 burglaries, 19 assaults and five rapes, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.

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Most of the residents left recently, particularly after FEMA started charging rent in May. But many struggled to find affordable housing in the wake of the frenetic building boom that the hurricanes produced. Though the market has begun to soften, housing costs are still well above what they were before Charley punched through Punta Gorda.

www.sptimes.com/2006/06/03/State/Cramped_quarters.shtml

Ready for another Cat 3 or 4? Go FEMA... If my area gets hit, I'm done. I pack it up and leave. Its too unaffordable to live in Florida these days. Insurance premiums are through the roof, property tax is crazy high, and the housing market is still a little too high for the avg. joe to afford. All I can think is Jeb signs the bill to let dogs eat at outdoor restraunts... guess petting puppies and kissing babies erases the real problems still.

When the next disaster comes, we are on our own. Just like we have been since BushCo took office.

if subsidized by gov. this is terrible that so few are able to afford housing.