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Study Says Storms Displaced More People Than Estimated
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Bowman suggested that the difference could stem from the fact that, in New Orleans, the evacuation was done by the government, which sent buses far and wide.
Many in St. Bernard evacuated on their own.
Overall, many evacuees are still living in the 9,000 trailers in group sites in the state, and seem to be facing bleak and uncertain prospects, even as many communities lobby for the sites to be shut down, researchers said.
A survey of 321 trailer park residents was conducted this spring by Mark J. Schafer and Joachim Singelmann of Louisiana State University, who said the sample was representative of the overall population.
The residents were predominantly poor, but 55 percent said they were employed full time before the hurricanes and 15 percent were employed part time. Now, more than two-thirds of them are unemployed, the study shows.
Crime fears plague many residents, too. About one in six of the female respondents said they had been the victim of domestic abuse; more than 30 percent of residents reported property being stolen from their trailer; almost one in five reported being threatened with physical violence.
Not surprisingly, the researchers found that many residents were experiencing depression -- much higher than depression levels typically found among welfare recipients.
FEMA has repeatedly extended the deadline for the trailers but is trying to move people out. Many residents, however, said that, as unpleasant as their circumstances in the trailers parks are, they cannot afford to return to their old neighborhoods.
"For the families who have been there [in the trailer parks] long-term, it is an extraordinarily difficult experience," Kopplin said. "This is not the way the federal government should be housing disaster victims."
