NEW ORLEANS, La. -- It's been a tough situation for Clothilde Moss, who wants to continue storm-proofing her 7th Ward home.
Moss has already finished with elevation adjustments, but she's trying to get more work done with the help of the state's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Problem is, Moss said, it's difficult to know where she stands in the process.
"Keep calling, find out what they gonna do," Moss said. "You know, because I'm old, I think people are just playing me."
Wednesday is the official deadline for applications; however, officials say those postmarked after today will still be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Louisiana Recovery Authority spokeswoman Christina Stephens said some of the problems are due to the program being run under the guidance of FEMA.
"Unfortunately that has caused a few program changes,” Stephens said. “We are trying to iron out some things with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that would hopefully allow us to clear up some of this confusion."
In all, the program is set to dish out $650 million. Stephens said $7 million has already been distributed.
The program is designed to help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to storm-proof their homes through steps like strengthening doors and windows, bolting down roofs, and elevating air conditioning units.
It's the second mitigation program in the state.
Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Bobby Jindal weighed in on the situation at an event on the West Bank.
"It's important to know that there are two hazard mitigation programs. The state's allocated and distributed $860 million in the first program," Jindal said. "The second program covers expenses that may not have been eligible in the first program -- somebody's gotten up to their cap or if they want to do some more preventative work -- and so I think it was important they set up the two programs to maximize the help we could give to Louisiana families."
LRA officials believe applicants will soon get a more clear understanding of their own cases.
"Every applicant has a mitigation analyst assigned to that applicant, and so those people are gonna be able to walk each applicant through the process," Stephens said.
Clothilde Moss just hopes things speed up.
"It makes me more nervous and I can't function right,” she said. “I'm 71 years old, and they're playing games with me. That's how I feel."
For more information, call the program’s hotline at (877) 824-8312.
