Federal Updates
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Are you a housing provider in or near a disaster-impacted area? If you have vacant units, HUD wants to know! The agency is operating a pilot program to collect information on alternative housing for those displaced from their homes by disasters. Let HUD know via a survey form here. Filling out this form is completely non-binding, and information will be shared directly with HUD offices and FEMA.
2020 Hurricanes
The Associated Press reports Louisiana will receive nearly $600 million in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to help with the state’s long-term recovery from Hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020. The CDBG-DR funds are part of the $28.6 billion disaster relief supplemental appropriation passed by Congress on September 30. While officials welcomed the funds, the money falls short of the multibillion-dollar estimates of need – only roughly 20% of the $3 billion requested by Governor John Bel Edwards. Across southwest Louisiana, thousands of people remain displaced, homes still have blue tarps, and businesses remain boarded up.
“This is a step in the right direction and we are thankful to our congressional delegation for their help in securing this funding,” said Governor Edwards. “However, we don’t think the allocation for Hurricanes Laura and Delta is adequate for a full, sustainable recovery of Southwest Louisiana and the other impacted areas of the state, especially when it comes to housing. We will continue to work with our delegation and the White House to get the additional money we need.”
Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter described the amount as “woefully insufficient,” while also acknowledging the funds will “make a dent” in the region’s significant housing need. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said the congressional delegation will continue to make the case for additional federal aid for southwest Louisiana, but it will be difficult to achieve.
Hurricane Ida
Damage from Hurricane Ida has forced many Louisiana renters out of homes deemed uninhabitable, short-circuiting efforts to keep them in their rentals while raising fears of a local housing crunch.
Hundreds of emergency trailers provided by FEMA are empty as Houma residents remain in need of temporary housing. As part of the Louisiana Hurricane Ida Sheltering Program, the state has purchased 1,300 trailers, with just 13 units occupied out of 31 units that have been placed.
The Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOSHEP) announced on October 22 the speed of installing the travel trailers for Ida survivors is expected to increase as the program grows. Currently, 31 travel trailers have been placed across St. Charles, Terrebonne, and St. James parishes. Another 61 units have been deployed to sites in five of the hardest-hit parishes.
Nearly two months after Hurricane Ida made landfall, thousands of Lafourche residents are still without housing. Hundreds of travel trailers provided by Louisiana have arrived to help Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, but they await approval and installment. Only seven temporary FEMA homes have arrived.
Public housing residents in St. James Parish have few long-term housing options while waiting on an uncertain timeline for their units to be restored after Hurricane Ida. About 130 households in the parish’s 252 public housing units have had to relocate since Ida. Rents in the area are out of reach for many tenants and temporary state or federal trailers are not yet available. Some residents are still staying with family and friends, in hotels with FEMA vouchers that will soon expire, or even in their vehicles.
President Biden approved a Major Disaster Declaration for Mississippi to support recovery efforts in the areas impacted by Hurricane Ida. FEMA Public Assistance was approved for 19 counties, and Individual Assistance was approved for eight counties.
Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont submitted on October 22 a formal request for a presidential major disaster declaration resulting from the damage caused by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Based on the results of the FEMA State Preliminary Damage Assessment, Governor Lamont has requested the FEMA Individual Assistance Program for Fairfield County and New London County, as well as the state’s two tribal nations – the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Mohegan Tribal Nation.
West Coast Rainstorm and Nor’easter
Amid the heaviest rainstorm in years to hit the Sacramento area and the rest of Northern California, the city and county of Sacramento opened four overnight respite centers. The centers were not announced until less than 48 hours before the rain started.
Sacramento County activated its severe weather sheltering program ahead of the colder weather and rain, announcing that homeless outreach partners would be issuing motel vouchers to unsheltered individuals. The county did not provide any information about who would distribute the vouchers and where individuals could pick them up. Capacity depends on motel room availability, and officials did not say how many motel rooms would be available. Homeless advocates and city officials criticized city officials for not opening warming centers after four unhoused individuals died during a major storm last January.
Cap Radio interviewed Sacramentans experiencing homelessness to learn how they survived the historic storm. Some unhoused residents say they did not receive adequate notice of the storm’s severity or that the city had opened emergency shelter options. Other residents explained the challenges in traveling to the shelters and leaving behind their belongings. Many were left to start from scratch or try to salvage what was left of their tents and possessions.
The Sacramento Bee reports on the challenges people experiencing homelessness and RV residents in Sacramento faced during and after the historic rainfall. The Sacramento Fire Department rescued mobile home residents and 14 people experiencing homelessness after power outages caused sump pumps to shut down, resulting in severe flooding. Water flooded into tents at Sacramento’s Safe Ground sanctioned encampment, destroying tents and possessions.
A video posted on Twitter shows unhoused tenants at the Safe Ground encampment being drenched by giant waves of water as drivers passed through the freeway above them.
Several encampments in Chico were flooded during the recent, historic rainstorm, damaging countless individuals’ tents and possessions. A local church opened its doors to provide shelter for people experiencing homelessness during the storm. When Action News Now contacted the city of Chico to ask if they would open any emergency shelters or provide people supplies to reinforce their campsites, the city said it could not comment due to an ongoing lawsuit.
The Nor’easter that hit New Haven flooded a homeless encampment on October 26, causing outreach workers to spring into action by opening temporary shelters and helping people find places to stay. When the storm hit, about 10 individuals were staying in the socially distanced encampment.