Hundreds of Dillard University dormitory residents who received assistance payments from the federal government after Hurricane Katrina are being asked to repay the money because, according to federal officials, they were ineligible for the aid.
According to Rachel Rodi, a spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the students incorrectly received assistance payments because they claimed that the college dorms that were damaged by the storm were their primary residence.
“Students who lived in a dormitory owned or managed by the school will not qualify for housing assistance because dormitories are not considered a primary residence,” Rodi says. Instead of applying to FEMA, she says the students should have first tried to receive compensation for their losses through the school’s insurance company, which was National Student Services, Inc. at the time of the hurricane.
Brandon Carter, a sophomore chemistry major, was one of the students who says he was confused when he received a letter from FEMA.
“When I did my application, I was honest about my losses. I was shocked when I received the letter and showed it to my mother,” he says. “My initial reaction was to brush it off, yet after speaking with my mom, I realized that action needed to be taken. Regardless of what FEMA’s decision is after my appeal, I have no intention of paying them. I stayed in Module A in the Nelson Modular Complex and lost everything. The money was much in need; I had nothing.”
“I never received any type of insurance,” adds Channel Prothro, a former Dillard student. “FEMA was the only assistance I received for losing everything, yet I’m being treated as if I cheated them.
“I am still struggling due to the hurricane, and this FEMA situation is making it worse,” she says. “It took them two months after the hurricane to give me anything and now they are asking for their money back? That is just ridiculous for them to be so idiotic.”
