YANCEY COUNTY, N.C. — A family hasn’t been able to move into a mobile home provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for months.
Their home in Yancey County was badly damaged from flooding during Hurricane Helene.
Family members told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that FEMA provided the mobile home through their temporary housing assistance program on Jan. 3 but so far, they haven’t been given keys.
On Tuesday, Faherty spoke with PJ Bennett, who owns the property with her husband.
There was tape over the door but Faherty was able to look inside and see there’s furniture and it appears water is running to the mobile home.
Bennett said when they installed the water line, it initially froze because it wasn’t buried deep enough.
Faherty reached out to FEMA last week and they told us they’ve provided 195 transportable housing units, including mobile homes and travel trailers, to families impacted by Helene.
The agency also said all of the temporary homes they’ve placed are occupied but that’s not the case for Bennett.
“They just give you excuse after excuse – ‘oh we’re gonna have this person out, we’re gonna have this team out.’ And it just goes on and on and on. And nothing seems to get done,” Bennett said.
When Faherty arrived at Bennett’s property Tuesday, a few people walking around the mobile home told him they were engineers but they didn’t want to be on camera.
Faherty also contacted FEMA but they said they could not share information on individual cases due to privacy laws. They stated that “survivor safety in FEMA-provided temporary housing is paramount” when housing is provided under their Direct Temporary Housing Assistance Program.
The statement read:
“An important part of our process is to complete a quality check of the unit prior to families moving in. This includes ensuring essential utilities, such as water, sewer and electricity, are operable and safe. If any of the utilities are considered unsafe, we cannot authorize anyone to live in the unit until the issue is resolved.
“In the meantime, we can provide financial assistance to cover rent and security deposits. We also provide eligible families with FEMA-funded hotel stays through the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program. We also provide eligible households financial assistance to repair or replace their damaged dwelling and personal property. If an applicant is still in need, they should reach out to us.”
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