Tribes welcome much-maligned Fema homes

Thousands of mobile homes that were rejected as temporary housing following Hurricane Katrina are finally being put to good use.

Nearly six years after the storm, the government has quietly given many of the homes to American Indian tribes in need of affordable housing. The trailers were once a symbol of bungling by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but they're being welcomed by poor families.

In the aftermath of the 2005 storm, the government bought thousands of mobile homes and travel trailers for $20,000 to $45,000 each. But the mobile homes proved impractical. And people living in some travel trailers fell sick after the RVs were found to have high levels of formaldehyde.

Since then, it seemed doubtful that many of the homes would ever be used.