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Only trouble is, they were sleeping on cots -- sometimes in tents, sometimes under the stars.
Thousands of residents are homeless in Mississippi and Louisiana following Katrina. But what few people consider is that there aren’t many places down there for workers to stay either.
Most hotels and motels are smashed to the ground or otherwise uninhabitable. Houses and apartment buildings are decimated too.
Wright supplied the rebuilding effort with 15 RVs, each able to sleep six people. He leased them to Ultimate Restorations for between $1,500 and $2,000 a month and expects the leases to run through Christmas.
"An underlying problem during this tragedy is that construction workers, as well as residents, simply have no place to stay," Wright said.
Stoltzfus supplied the two travel trailers and 13 fifth-wheel RVs from its inventory. Each is from 24 to 36 feet long, and is worth about $35,000.
The dealer keeps 400 RVs and boats in stock, both new and used, on its 14-acre lot just off Route 202, so it had many RVs to choose from.
But finding enough drivers was challenging. One man called from Tennessee to say he could drive; he’s now doing just that, in Mississippi, according to Wright.
A 38-year-old, employee-owned company, Stoltzfus RV is also working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to see if it can provide more temporary RV housing for hurricane victims.
With Hurricane Rita bearing down on the Texas coast, Wright believes leasing and sales may improve even more.
One of Wright’s concerns is that, once RV manufacturers start making new RVs to FEMA’s specifications, his availability may become squeezed.
