In 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, killing thousands and causing more than $150 billion in damage. The city of New Orleans was the hardest hit: most of the area flooded and residents were forced to evacuate to other cities. Promises of aid came, albeit weeks late, via the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But that support came with problems: families that were given trailers as temporary housing reported they didn’t receive the keys. Those who were housed in hotels were sent notices on several occasions informing them that they would have to move, even though they had no where to go. After months of debate, the move deadlines were pushed back, but not before the stress pushed many evacuees to their breaking point.

Now, as New Orleans and the New Orleans and the rest of the country marks the third anniversary of the storm, comes word that, yet again, FEMA is poised to withdraw its support of the still displaced evacuees, many of whom are low-income women with children and seniors on fixed incomes. And, just as in the days following Katrina, FEMA has no plan in place to aid these victims.

It was announced that, on March 1, 2009, FEMA will cut off temporary housing payments to all Katrina evacuees. Nearly 14,000 people, most from New Orleans, are threatened with homelessness. The agency has yet to find permanent housing for those who are still displaced in apartments, hotels and trailers. Many of the residents say they’d gladly return to their old lives in New Orleans, but many factors have made that virtually impossible. A post-storm housing crisis has increased rent in the area by 46 percent. Additionally, New Orleans lawmakers plan to demolish four public housing complexes, homes that suffered little damage during the storm that could have otherwise been used to house displaced residents. None of the planned replacement housing units will be complete by the FEMA deadline.

It is time for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to step in. HUD is charged with building and sustaining low-income housing across the country. With the power of the federal government behind it, HUD should have, in the last three years, been able to develop and begin implementation of a comprehensive plan for providing affordable housing to displaced residents who desire to return home.

Those residents hardest hit by Katrina are the most vulnerable in our society: children, low-income women and senior citizens. Having a safe, permanent home is the first step on a path to rebuilding their lives. FEMA has proven it alone cannot provide the support these displaced residents need. HUD needs to step up, play the role it is supposed to play and create housing for these families. If it doesn’t, these residents will continue to remain victims.

(Judge Greg Mathis is vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.)