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November 21, 2005

Tis the Season

Maybe Laura Bush will bring them some hot chocolate:

Finding affordable housing in New York is hard enough for most, but victims of Hurricane Katrina are facing eviction from hotels and may end up ringing in the New Year in the city's homeless shelters.

That prospect led to shouting, anger and disgust at a meeting on Friday where officials took questions about the Federal Emergency Management Agency's decision to stop paying for hotel rooms beyond Dec. 1 for those stranded by Katrina.

FEMA says the decision is part of a push to get people into permanent housing, but those stranded in one of the world's most expensive cities complain of receiving scant help from a government that does not understand their desperate plight.

"When I lived in New Orleans, I had a house, a good job, an SUV and a Cadillac," said Joseph Melancon, 45, who left the meeting in frustration after many questions went unanswered. "And now I have a job here, but I don't have a place to live."

Melancon works as a cook, and said he "would be out of the street if it wasn't for the church."

After Dec. 1, the city of New York will help pay for some hotel bills for the 487 Katrina victims in New York hotels, but shelters might be the only option for some.

"While it's not the city's goal, we do have homeless shelters available," said Monica Parikh of the Department of Homeless Services.

I saw something about this on the news last night. They said the city agreed to pick up the tab for an extra month, which would mean they get kicked out of their hotel rooms on New Year's Day, instead.

Posted by Mike at November 21, 2005 05:13 PM

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