Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
FEMA is seeking qualified individuals to serve on the agency’s National Advisory Council. The Council comprises a geographically diverse and substantive group of 35 members who advise the FEMA administrator on all aspects of emergency management, ensuring input from and coordination with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as the private and nonprofit sectors. Learn more here.
Hurricanes
According to the Advocate, nearly a year and a half after Hurricane Laura devastated southwest Louisiana, the state is taking a critical step to prepare for the federal long-term disaster relief that will finally be coming its way in the coming months. HUD had allocated $600 million in CDBG-DR funds to Louisiana to support recovery efforts following Hurricanes Laura and Delta. On February 1, Governor John Bel Edwards launched surveys for the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program for survivors of Hurricanes Laura and Delta. While the HUD funds are not yet in place, launching the new program now will allow residents and state officials to begin surveying needs and determining who may qualify for grants to rebuild.
Nearly 600 residents of a public housing complex in Elizabeth, New Jersey, were displaced by Hurricane Ida and left with no long-term housing options. Many of these former residents are still living in hotels paid for by FEMA, but they may be forced out of their hotels soon. Some displaced residents say they have received housing vouchers from HUD but need more time in their hotels to find permanent places to live.
NorthJersey.com reports that nearly five months after thousands of New Jersey families lost their homes and belongings due to Tropical Storm Ida, many are still displaced. These individuals and families are facing difficulties finding new affordable homes in their communities, as local and county governments issue conflicting deadlines for when they must leave the hotels in which they have been temporarily residing.
Tornadoes
At the request of Kentucky officials, FEMA approved an increase in the rental assistance rate for eligible residents who were affected by the severe storms and tornadoes in Caldwell, Graves, Hopkins, Marshall, Muhlenberg, and Warren counties. With the increase in rental assistance, survivors approved for FEMA temporary housing assistance will be able to secure units at 25% above the fair-market rents established by HUD. FEMA approved the increase because hundreds of survivors are struggling to find temporary housing due to the extremely limited number of available rental homes in the six counties.
Kentucky homeowners and renters whose properties were damaged during the December 10-11 storms and tornadoes have until Friday, February 11, to apply for assistance.
Advocacy
NLIHC is circulating a sign-on letter to congressional leadership in support of the “Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act” (H.R.3037). If enacted, this legislation would protect and expand on recent policy changes by FEMA addressing the significant title-documentation challenges that have resulted in thousands of eligible disaster survivors being wrongfully denied FEMA assistance. Sign your organization on to the letter here!