Kansas City officials are making arrangements to settle low-income refugees from Hurricane Katrina in permanent new homes.

Mayor Kay Barnes' office is pulling together housing groups to line up at least 250 apartments and other rental homes for families who choose to relocate from the Gulf Coast.

The city announced the initiative this afternoon. It's aimed at people eligible for federal housing assistance, including the estimated 9,500 New Orleans families whose publicly subsidized housing is now under water.

Steve Glorioso is an assistant to the Kansas City mayor. Glorioso says the goal is to offer hurricane evacuees a chance to get their lives back in order.

Glorioso says it's hard to look for work and resume normal life while living in temporary shelters.