On Tuesday, February 2, Ed Ellis, Greensboro Field Office Director, received a call from Jorge Gonzalez, North Carolina FEMA Coordinator, concerning a hurricane victim needing permanent housing assistance. Ms. Sharlenea Jarvis-Lemothe had been living in Baton Rouge, LA, before moving to Wilmington, NC. She was displaced due to Hurricane Katrina.

Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe in her home in Wilmington (through rental assistance from the Wilmington Housing Authority).

Gonzalez explained that FEMA had been paying for a hotel room in Wilmington to temporarily house Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe and her family. However, FEMA was ending the program, and Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe would have to vacate the hotel that day. Gonzalez then asked Ellis if there was anything the Greensboro HUD Field Office could do.

Wayne Woodell, a Public Housing Revitalization Specialist, in the Greensboro Office of Public Housing, called Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe and discovered that she had been receiving assistance through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV) in Baton Rouge. Woodell then contacted Jeffrey Journet, the Housing Assistance Manager at the East Baton Rouge Housing Authority (EBRHA). Mr. Journet confirmed that Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe was a previous HCV participant before being displaced by the hurricanes, and left the EBRHA in good standing. Journet also told Woodell that the EBRHA would be receptive to a portability move for Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe, if it could be worked out with the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA).

Woodell then contacted Sandra Parker, the Director of the HCV program, and Patricia Johnson, the Section 8 Chief at the WHA to seek their assistance. Through the joint efforts of Woodell, Journet, Parker, and Johnson, Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe was given a HCV and was able to permanently relocate to Wilmington, and continue to participate in the HCV program. In addition, through the efforts of FEMA Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe continued to receive assistance at the hotel until she was able to locate permanent housing in Wilmington.

Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe receiving the keys to her apartment from Barbara Gorham, Manager of Jervay Homes for the Wilmington Housing Authority.

Ms. Jarvis-Lemothe, along with her husband and four sons, have located a permanent home within the HOPE VI program, located at 811 Elance Moore Lane, in Jervay Communities.

"With assistance from Mr. Gonzalez, of FEMA, and Mr. Woodell, of HUD, and the Section 8 Department of the Wilmington Housing Authority, I was able to find a new home for me and my family. I would especially like to thank Mr. Gonzalez for all of his support and coordination, because without him, I would not be here at Robert S. Jervay Place in Wilmington, North Carolina.
He was there when I needed him."

Through HUD's efforts, the support of many North Carolina Housing Authorities, and FEMA, many of the twenty thousand plus individuals who have relocated to NC as a result of the hurricanes are now calling NC home.