Mobile Home Community Sites To Open In Galveston

March 11, 2009 -- AUSTIN, Texas -- Thursday and Friday are big days for many Galvestonians displaced from their homes as a result of Hurricane Ike. On Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state of Texas will open a temporary community site for mobile homes in the city of Galveston. Another community site will open Friday in Galveston County on the Bolivar Peninsula.

The new 9-acre community site opening Thursday at Schreiber Field in the city of Galveston holds 54 mobile homes for Texas individuals and families, and one administration building that will be used by on-site management and security. The second park, in High Island on the Bolivar Peninsula, is 9 ½ acres and designed for 50 Texas households.

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"Opening the two parks for Galveston County residents who were forced from their homes because of Ike will give these Texans a safe place to live while they put their lives back together," said Federal Coordinating Officer Brad Harris. "It's a temporary solution, but it is giving families time to complete home repairs or to find a long-term housing alternative that is right for them."

To date, 702 households have occupied manufactured housing in Galveston County on private property or on commercial sites, mobile home parks that existed before the storm. Working together, FEMA, the Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management and local officials in Galveston determined a need for the two temporary community sites in order to expand the housing options in the hard-hit county.

"Getting these parks built for affected Texans in Galveston represents an enormous undertaking, and we appreciate the cooperation from the city and the county," said State Coordinating Officer Joan Haun. "Once everyone gets moved into the parks, we'll be close to completing the direct housing mission in all of Galveston County."

The 39-unit Acadian Annex community park in the southern Orange County town of Bridge City, which opened in January, was the first of three parks to be built under an initiative by FEMA and its partners to create community sites in areas suffering serious disaster-related housing shortages.

Source: FEMA