With thousands displaced because of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, many are still trying to qualify for federal assistance. But the application process is taking awhile.

A FEMA spokesperson says their 1,400 inspectors in Louisiana are working as fast as they can to review the thousands of applications from residents hoping to receive federal aid.

"It's about a week turn around from when they register to when they are going to get a call from a FEMA inspector to come out and inspect their damages," said FEMA spokesperson Art Alejandre.

But even if approved, Alejandre acknowledges there is no timeframe on when affected residents will get their assistance.

"We are working as quickly as possible to make that turn around as short as possible," said Alejandre.

But Jefferson Parish Council President John Young says the process is still taking to long, especially for residents in hard hit areas of the parish including Lafitte, Barataria, Crown Point and Grand Isle.

"We have too much bureaucratic red tape and it's taking too long for the money to get through the pipeline," said Young.

In response to Gustav, FEMA plans to dish out $30 million in aide to Louisiana, so far they've spent $26 million. FEMA, however, couldn't tell us how many people benefited from that funding.

And so while they say 375,000 have applied for assistance, it's still unclear how many actually received any money.

For Ike, FEMA approved $115,000 in aid, but couldn't tell us how much of that has been dolled out, or even to how many people. FEMA could only say that 23,000 have applied.

FEMA has also created a transitional shelter program, where residents unable to return to their homes can have their hotel bills paid directly by FEMA. About 114,000 people have been approved. To find how you can apply for FEMA assistance, log onto www.FEMA.gov or call 1-800-621-FEMA.