Additional Updates on Disaster Housing Recovery – April 16

The following is a review of additional housing recovery developments related to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the California wildfires since last week’s Memo to Members and Partners (for the article in last week’s Memo, see 4/9). NLIHC also posts this information at our On the Home Front blog.

General Updates

The Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) has compiled a spreadsheet with information on public housing authorities (PHAs) providing preferences for households displaced by the 2017 disasters. The spreadsheet is a resource for families, PHAs, and HUD staff. PHAs wishing to supply additional or corrected information should contact the disaster preference project team.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the 2017 Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program, authorized by the “Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018”, will make payments of up to $2.36 billion to farmers and ranchers recovering from the 2017 disasters. The opportunity to sign up for the program will begin no later than July 16.


Hurricane Maria

FEMA

FEMA and Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló announced on April 7 that $53 million in Community Disaster Loans were approved for 12 municipalities. An additional 65 municipalities are in different stages of the application process.


Hurricane Harvey

Local Perspective

The Rebuild Texas Fund has raised $93.1 million for economic recovery of communities most affected by Hurricane Harvey. So far, the Fund has invested $18 million in 64 projects. Details of the projects funded can be found here.

The Texas GLO announced that the agency will soon complete activities for the Direct Assistance for Limited Home Repair (DALHR) program. The last date to have an inspection scheduled is April 20. All applicants notified that they are eligible for DALHR should contact the GLO to schedule an inspection.


From Our Partners

The National Church Residences’ Hurricane Support for Seniors Hotline is no longer taking new referrals. Disaster case management teams have been deployed to the affected areas to serve seniors in need. The hotline helped more than 700 seniors, and staff are ready to re-engage for the 2018 hurricane season, if necessary.

The Data Center, located in New Orleans, LA, released a new report, Rigging the Real Estate Market: Segregation, Inequality, and Disaster Risk. The study explores how various policies–including disaster recovery efforts–created and enforced racial segregation and inequity.

The Center for American Progress explores the inequities in disaster recovery past and present in this article.