UNCW professor receives FEMA trailer, but no keys

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) —  FEMA says they have provided more than $40 million in grants to 10,000 families in the greater Wilmington region.

But many people, like a UNCW professor we first featured in October, are still waiting on long term housing.

“It’s either zero or 150 miles an hour with FEMA. They either want you to meet them here within a couple hours or you don’t hear from them for weeks,” said Communication Studies Professor Chadwick Roberts.

Two months after Hurricane Florence put a tree in the middle of Roberts’ house, he is still waiting on a long term housing solution.

“I got an initial two months of rental assistance and that’s run out as of this week. So, getting into the RV is a priority because of that,” he said.

A week ago, Roberts noticed that a FEMA trailer had been delivered to his front yard, but he is not yet allowed to use it.

FEMA external affairs manager John Mills says FEMA is in regular contact with people who are receiving trailers.

“After it’s delivered, FEMA will contact them, there’s a license in agreement that all survivors sign with FEMA agreeing to the terms,” said Mills.

Roberts says not only was he not contacted by FEMA, but when he reached out to them, he didn’t get much information.

“It would just be nice to have a text, or an email, or a letter, or a phone call, or anything that would just let you know what’s happening and again just give you a time table,” said Roberts.

Mills says before the FEMA trailers can be used by the homeowner, they must have water, sewer, and electric hooked up, and then be inspected.

Roberts says because those jobs are performed by different contractors, it is difficult to find out what is going on.

“As the holidays are approaching, it would be great to just know what you could count on,” he said.

Roberts also says because he has not signed a contract, he does not know who would be responsible if something were to happen to the RV.