The city is applying for the Federal Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement Program, which provides $225 million nationwide to preserve and revitalize housing units, primarily for low- and moderate-income residents.

NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY)-- New Iberia is in the process of submitting an application for a grant that could help make mobile homes more storm-and hurricane-resistant.

The city is applying for the Federal Preservation and Reinvestment Initiative for Community Enhancement Program, which provides $225 million nationwide to preserve and revitalize housing units, primarily for low- and moderate-income residents.

New Iberia would use the money to repair damaged, existing trailer and mobile homes, as well as fix roads and drainage issues.

New Iberia City Council Woman Deedy Johnson-Reid said the repairs are aimed at making mobile homes more durable for hurricanes.

"We're going to make them hurricane resilient so that when a hurricane comes, they don't always have to just evacuate," Johnson-Reid said. "We can, you know, kind of get them to a point where they actually can, you know, ride through a hurricane."

She said the money will be used on trailer parks and privately-owned mobile homes.

"A lot of times the trailer park owners have to do it themselves, but they don't have the money to do it," Johnson-Reid said. "We're going to use that grant money to do it."

She said that even though the city prohibits new trailer homes from being built, they want to repair the ones they already have.

"We still have a lot of people that, you know, that's their home," Johnson-Reid said. "What we want to do is help make those homes more resilient, help repair them so that people have a much better quality of life."

New Iberia Mayor Freddie DeCourt said they are unsure of when they'll find out if they will receive the grant, but they are in the process of requesting it.

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