NLIHC and Hispanic Federation to Host Joint Webinar on Disaster Recovery Citizen Advisory Committees on July 8

By Noah Patton, NLIHC Director of Disaster Recovery 

Join NLIHC and the Hispanic Federation tomorrow, Tuesday, July 8, from 2 – 3:30 pm ET for the “Lessons Learned: Citizen Advisory Committees” webinar.  

Earlier this year, HUD published the long-awaited Universal Notice outlining the new requirements and recommendations for their long-term disaster recovery program, the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program. Among these was the recommendation that states and territories create and facilitate a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) as they carry out their CDBG-DR programs, a process that has been utilized in Puerto Rico.   

In 2017, Hurricane Maria displaced thousands as it made landfall in Puerto Rico. Then came the “storm after the storm”—the long-lasting financial, emotional, and health impacts of falling through the cracks of the broken disaster recovery system.   

Puerto Ricans worked to stand together and fight for a fair recovery. They got to work and developed the Citizen Advisory Committee, a joint effort between the Puerto Rico Housing Department and community organizations to ensure disaster survivors have a voice in the recovery decision-making process.   

Building on their success, the creation of Citizen Advisory Committees is an official recommendation for all states and territories responsible for administering long-term recovery funds. Join us to learn more about Puerto Rico’s experiences, wins, and challenges as they paved the way in this first-of-its-kind partnership!  

This call will be closed to the press.  

Attendees can register here.