HOUMA, La. (AP) - A single mother and her four children who were displaced by a fire that destroyed her public housing unit still doesn’t have a place to call home, even after federal officials ordered the Houma-Terrebonne Housing Authority to provide her a place to live by Saturday.
Lyons’ low-income housing unit in Senator’s Circle burned Jan. 4, and according to her lease, the Housing Authority is responsible for providing other accommodations.
Housing Authority Executive Director Wayne Thibodeaux could not be reached for comment.
The housing agency originally didn’t plan to give her a place to stay, but changed its course after an order came down from the federal level last week.
The Courier reports (https://bit.ly/1hRsiaG) Lyons was told an apartment would be move-in ready by 4:30 p.m. Friday but when she visited it, she said it wasn’t complete.
“They were going to give me the key,” she said, adding that changed after she complained.
“Oh we can’t give it to you today it’s not ready,” she said officials told her.
Lyons said the Housing Authority agreed to pay for her to stay at a Thibodaux hotel. She asked if she could stay in a Houma hotel, because that’s where her kids go to school.
“They didn’t call me back,” about either of the rooms, Lyons said. She’s been living with her father since Saturday.
Thibodeaux had said the agency had no plans to give the family shelter until after Houma Fire officials determine who was responsible for the blaze. Until that happens, he said, “I have determined that we don’t have an obligation. She has family.”
Fire Inspector Mike Millet said the investigation is at a dead end and fire officials may never know who is to blame.
Thibodeaux’s decision contradicts the federal agency’s policies, said Patricia Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“They are responsible for providing housing to Ms. Lyons when her housing assistance provided by Red Cross ends on Saturday,” she said. “In the absence of available housing at the Housing Authority, the public housing authority is still responsible to provide adequate housing for its residents.”
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Information from: The Courier, https://www.houmatoday.com
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