Coast Elderly Face Task of Rebuilding Paid-For Homes

By Lora Hines, Clarion Ledger

                                     May 15, 2006

Some cannot afford higher insurance, new mortgages

Elwood Isabelle's flood insurance policy paid him $54,500 after Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the small East Second Street house he and his wife bought 40 years ago.

Isabelle, who retired from the Air Force in 1970, still worries though. Isabelle, 79, knows he doesn't have enough money to rebuild. One contractor estimated it could cost at least $81,000, he said. But Isabelle doesn't want to leave his wife, Doris, 77, with a mortgage after he dies.

"We were going to live the rest of our lives in that house," said Isabelle, who suffers from high blood pressure. "We had made that plan."

In 1944, Isabelle, known as "Poppy," said he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in World War II. He was discharged in 1946, but enlisted in the Air Force in 1952 to serve in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. "(Katrina) has been the worst part," he said.

Isabelle and his wife are among thousands of Gulf Coast residents who face rebuilding homes that have been paid off for years. They say they can't afford to take on mortgages and pay higher insurance premiums while living on fixed incomes.

Walter Howell, associate state director of advocacy for AARP Mississippi, said no one knows how many elderly residents lost homes to the Aug. 29 storm.

"We had about 70,000 members down there," he said. "It would be a safe bet to say a significant number of our members have lost their homes. It's a grave concern to us."

Howell said his organization, which advocates for people at least 50 years old, wants to work with Habitat for Humanity to build affordable housing for the Coast's older residents.

But Habitat spokesman Donald Bonin said no such plans have been made. "Habitat builds houses for those who can demonstrate a need for housing, pay back a no-interest loan and help build houses," he said. "Unfortunately, we cannot be the housing solution for everyone. Hopefully, we can be the housing solution for many."

Pete Smith, spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour, said anyone who lost a home should apply for the $4 billion federal loan program that will pay some property owners up to $150,000 to help rebuild homes flooded in the storm. He said some applicants might not be immediately approved for the program. But they might later qualify for other housing programs. 

"This is the first phase," he said. "Other programs are in the process of being developed. We're not discouraging anyone from applying."

Biloxi City Councilman George Lawrence said $150,000 wouldn't go far if other money, including loans from the Small Business Administration and payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, first are subtracted from a grant award. Contractors are charging an average of $100 per square foot to rebuild, he said.

"Where are they actually getting help from?" asked Lawrence, whose constituency includes residents in Biloxi's modest Point Cadet neighborhood. He said the area is filled with elderly residents who spent their lives working in the city's seafood industry. "What line am I supposed to tell them to get in?"
The storm washed away Mary Rose's home on First Street on Point Cadet. Rose, 70, didn't have insurance. She knows she can't afford to replace her 105-year-old family home.

"I'm praying the casinos come and buy my property," she said. "My house is gone. It's a done deal."

Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, said hurricane relief legislation, including a low-interest loan program, didn't make it out of the last legislative session. She and other relatives all lost their homes in the hurricane.

"We're in a horrible place," she said. "We have the uncertainty as we deal with litigation with insurance companies. Or, if we settled with insurance, we got a pittance of our insured values. Now, we're going through the process of applying for the federal loans. All people had was their property. Where are they going to go if they have nothing left?"