"With FEMA, FEMA give you a hard way to go. They did come down and do an assessment of my home. They wasn't interested in how much nothing cost. Matter of fact, they didn't even ask you how much anything cost. The inspector went in. He went from room to room. He measured each room. And he had his laptop computer, just keyed in one washer, one dryer, giving you no amount of what - didn't ask me. He didn't ask me five questions the whole time he was at my home. He said, "I can do - I'm doing this. If you want to go out there with the kids or whatever" because I had my kids in the car. And it's like he really didn't even need me.
And then, within four weeks later I receive a letter from them saying how much money they were going to give me for my contents. And I was not pleased. I had sixty days to appeal it, which I did. And I have not heard anything from them yet. And I call every week to get an update on my claim. And they want to give you a hard way to go. If you ask them a question usually they'll say, "Well, that's not our department. You need to call such and such number." And they'll give you another number to call, and you'll call that number. They refer you back to FEMA. So it's like they're giving you the run around."
Interview with Charlie Thompson, Dec 19, 1999. Southern Oral History Project, UNC.