The NLIHC-led Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition has signed on to a letter drafted by the Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies and seven additional disability justice organizations demanding that FEMA cease housing contracts that result in the displacement of individuals with disabilities, low-income households, and other historically marginalized households when using federal funding to acquire housing to support recovery efforts following the Maui fires.
Disability justice advocates recently learned that one of the few group homes for individuals with intellectual disabilities on the island of Maui will be closed by its managing organization, which plans to rent the location to FEMA to host families displaced from Lahaina after the 2023 fires. This plan would result in the displacement of current residents from the group home, depriving them of safe, accessible housing and the vital services they need for health maintenance, meals, and the other necessities of daily living. Without the level of care provided at the group home, the current residents face homelessness or institutionalization.
Housing for displaced families on Maui is currently in high demand. In an effort to encourage landlords to take on displaced families as tenants, FEMA has offered to pay rents that are above market price. While commendable, this approach could increase the risk that landlords will push out existing tenants in order to take advantage of the higher-than-market rents being paid by FEMA. Displaced families must be placed quickly in alternative housing, but doing so should not come at the expense of existing tenants.
Read the letter at: https://bit.ly/48oMgWu