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December 01, 2005
Bills Coming Due For Katrina Victims
More than three months have now passed since Hurricane Katrina roared ashore on the Central Gulf Coast, irrevocably changing an important American region.
As time passes, for those of us not directly affected by the storm, memories of Katrina, the destruction and overwhelming needs it created fade. Such is human nature, for better or worse. Even here in Houston, which immediately absorbed as many as 200,000 displaced people and still likely has at least 100,000, many of whom remain in local hotels, Katrina (or Rita for that matter) is no longer front and center in most of our minds.
But for those directly impacted life remains, at best, difficult. Today's Washington Post reminds us that many victims' mortgages, after having a three-month grace period, are due -- often three payments at once. The article points out that government agencies and lending institutions are trying to work out extensions of the grace period in many cases, though the sheer magnitude and chaos of the aftermath, even now, make that difficult.
Today's Chronicle notes the progress made in moving victims out of hotels around the state, though some 13,000 remain, 7,000 of whom are in the Houston area.
All this, coupled with reports of very slow cleanup and reconstruction efforts in Louisiana and Mississsippi, reminds us that Katrina and Rita live on as full-fledged disasters for hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans.
Human nature may slowly pull the tragedy from our collective memory, but please remember these people -- what has happened to them and what continues to happen -- during this holiday season.
Posted by houtopia at December 1, 2005 01:45 PM