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 10/30). NLIHC also posts this information at our On the Home Front blog.
General Updates
NLIHC has created several resources about disaster recovery efforts:
- A fact sheet about the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) to use in education and advocacy efforts.
- A blog highlighting early findings from FEMA data available in the Hurricane Harvey areas. At the time the blog was written, 872,848 individuals have applied for FEMA assistance, 50% of whom are renters. Forty-seven percent of these renters live in neighborhoods with a poverty rate of at least 20%, and 37% of these renters likely have incomes below $25,000. While homeowners have experienced a large share of home damage, many renters are likely to be of low socioeconomic status, negatively impacting their ability to cope with and recover from the disasters. NLIHC reported to FEMA problems with data for Florida and Puerto Rico, which FEMA recently corrected. NLIHC will provide early findings from Florida and Puerto Rico soon and will provide revised analyses for all of the disaster areas as FEMA updates its data.
- A chart of HUD-Assisted Housing in Disaster Areas.
- A summary of FEMA and SBA application deadlines.
California Wildfires
FEMA
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 3,562 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $7,294,299 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $4,756,140 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $2,538,159 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
Hurricane Maria
FEMA
Puerto Rico
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 224,129 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $122,883,940 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $104,043,732 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $411,852,200 Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated all of which are for Emergency Work (Categories A-B) **
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA's final review and approval of Public Assistance projects
U.S. Virgin Islands
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 2,896 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $2,447,254 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $703,174 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $1,744,080 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $16,547,917 Emergency Work (Categories A-B) dollars obligated**
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.
USDA
Households in the U.S. Virgin Islands recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria may be eligible for assistance through the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP). Households not normally eligible for SNAP may qualify for D-SNAP and receive two months of benefits. Current SNAP participants will receive disaster supplements to bring their October and November benefits up to the maximum allotment. In addition, all students will receive free meals through the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and National School Lunch Program (NSLP), as will participants in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), through December 31. These free meals will potentially benefit more than 1,550 schools and 450,000 children.
Local Perspective
At least 10,000 people have applied for unemployment benefits since the Department of Labor reopened its San Juan office on October 6. Destroyed buildings and lack of power has made returning to work impossible for many Puerto Ricans. Unemployment benefits can help, but at a maximum of $133 per week, families without other incomes are still struggling. Many smaller businesses will never be able to reopen.
Hurricane Irma
FEMA
Florida
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 724,713 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $870,918,045 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $596,145,787 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $274,772,258 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
The deadline for Hurricane Irma survivors to register for FEMA individual disaster assistance has been extended to November 24. This assistance can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property losses, and other disaster-related needs.
The Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program has extended the checkout date from November 5 to December 3. TSA pays for survivors to stay in hotels while they find other housing options.
Households in Collier, Hendry, Lee, and Monroe Counties whose homes are now uninhabitable may be presented a Direct Lease option. FEMA provides temporary housing directly to households when rental resources are unavailable. Direct lease can be arranged for units in apartments or multifamily residential buildings. Each unit will contain complete facilities for cooking, eating, and sanitation. All utilities and cable, if provided, are included in the rent. Units will be within reasonable access to community services such as public transportation, schools, fire and emergency services, and grocery stores. These households may also receive Direct Temporary Housing Assistance from FEMA, which may be in the form of travel trailers. Households cannot apply directly for Direct Housing; FEMA will call households that are eligible. Households with no other options for temporary housing may be eligible for direct housing in the form of a travel trailer on a month-to-month basis for up to six months. Applicants must search for long-term housing options. Every 30 days FEMA evaluates each applicant’s eligibility to remain in a unit.
Georgia
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 8,868 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $11,846,207 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $8,607,147 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $3,239,060 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
DeKalb and Haralson counties are now eligible to receive federal assistance for permanent work funding under the Public Assistance program. This assistance allows state and local governments to be reimbursed for at least 75% of the costs of infrastructure repair.
Puerto Rico
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 783 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $1,819,487 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $953,003 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $866,484 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
U.S. Virgin Islands
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 3,624 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $5,189,245 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $3,008,263 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $2,180,982 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $25,056,945 Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated, all of which are for Emergency Work (Categories A-B) **
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA's final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.
Local Perspective
A media release on the website of Florida Governor Rick Scott dated October 31 indicates that, at the invitation of Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló, Governor Scott will lead a delegation of Florida utility providers to Puerto Rico. The media release also has a long list of various forms of assistance that Florida is providing to Puerto Ricans impacted by the hurricanes, including helping families apply for public assistance and enrolling children in Florida schools.
Hurricane Harvey
FEMA
Texas
By the Numbers: (as of 11/2)
- 342,717 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
- $1,326,498,770 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
- $1,033,640,031 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
- $292,858,739 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
- $474,860,721 Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated, all of which are for Emergency Work (Categories A-B) **
*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.
**Funds made available to the state via electronic transfer following FEMA's final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.
Some survivors receiving Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) may receive an extension for assistance until November 27. However, FEMA will conduct eligibility reviews on November 7 to decide if survivors have a need for continuing assistance. Survivors will receive a phone call, email, or text message letting them know if they qualify.
Local Perspectives
A media release from the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas indicates that as of October 27, 51,416 individuals were taking advantage of FEMA’s TSA program, and as of October 26 only 29 people remained in shelters, 882,935 individual assistance applications had been received, and FEMA had completed 519,007 inspections.
The Houston and Oklahoma City Housing Authorities are partnering to provide people in Houston with dozens of additional housing vouchers. Recipients of the vouchers can use them in Houston or other cities.
The Wall Street Journal reports that more than 61,000 families are living in hotels as a result of Hurricane Harvey. This is nearly double the number FEMA reported to a Congressional office the week of October 31. NLIHC is working to clarify and get the latest, most accurate numbers on those living in hotels, as well as an updated breakdown on the number of IA registrants denied assistance and the reasons for those denials.