New Orleans Rep Loses Home in Hurricane Katrina

Sept. 23, 2005
A fund has been set up to help Michael de la Houssaye, son of Jean Paul, principal, C&D Agency, Covington, La., afford replacement housing after losing his home in Hurricane Katrina. Donations can be sent to: The Michael de la Houssaye Family Hurricane Relief Fund, C&D Agency, 70447 Riverside Drive, Covington, LA 70433. You can reach the agency by phone at 985-892-7913 or by fax at 985-893-7012. The e-mail is [email protected].

A fund has been set up to help Michael de la Houssaye, son of Jean Paul, principal, C&D Agency, Covington, La., afford replacement housing after losing his home in Hurricane Katrina. Donations can be sent to: The Michael de la Houssaye Family Hurricane Relief Fund, C&D Agency, 70447 Riverside Drive, Covington, LA 70433. You can reach the agency by phone at 985-892-7913 or by fax at 985-893-7012. The e-mail is [email protected].

In an e-mail to friends in the industry who asked how they could help, Jean Paul de la Houssaye said, “I know from personal observation that my son’s family of five is in need. Their rental house suffered severe damage during Hurricane Katrina and they are now homeless. Most of their belongings were damaged and what was not, is now in storage. They are living with friends in Baton Rouge while looking for suitable replacement housing in the Covington area.”

With rent costs skyrocketing in the New Orleans area because of a shortage of livable housing, de la Houssaye and his wife want to lease a house that would only cost them several hundred dollars more a month than what they were paying for their previous rental house. This is the e-mail he wrote to the editors of Electrical Wholesaling and Electrical Marketing.

“I joined my dad’s agency about seven months ago. I have a family of five, with a three-month-old, four-year-old, and a handicapped five-year-old with special needs. Katrina did destroy our home and we are living with friends for right now. As of today, we did find a new home to lease, but you can imagine the cost in finding a home has gone up two-fold since Katrina. Seeing that most of the area we cover was affected by the storm, it could be six months before we get back to the point before the storm and are able to begin the rebuilding process.

I am not the type of person to ask for help, but if there are any funds out there for housing until we are able to get back on our feet, we could use it. Before Katrina, I was paying $650 per month. Now I have to pay $1,100 per month. So, yes, if there are funds for people in my situation, we could use the help.”