Fact Sheet: Rebuilding Housing and Improving Lives after Katrina & Rita

Today, President Bush, Mrs. Bush, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson and Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding Donald Powell met with residents of the newly redeveloped River Garden public housing complex in New Orleans to emphasize the benefits that quality, safe, and affordable housing provide for neighborhoods and families. Working with local officials and community leaders, the Bush Administration continues to provide unprecedented assistance to help Gulf Coast communities and families recover from the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes. The Administration is helping homeowners get the assistance they need to rebuild their lives, providing affordable housing, and helping those displaced by the storm have a safe place to live until they can get back on their feet.

Meeting Housing Needs Throughout the Gulf Coast

At President Bush's request, Congress provided a total of $16.7 billion in federal funds as part of the largest housing recovery program in U.S. history. The funds are provided through HUD's Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), a three-decade-old program that is successfully helping local communities allocate federal funds to meet their specific local needs.

• HUD is working with leaders throughout the Gulf Coast to help target these flexible federal funds and has made the funds available to states soon after they submitted their action plans to HUD.
• HUD funding was based on Congress' intent that federal assistance be concentrated toward housing construction and other unmet housing needs. In addition, HUD cut red tape by issuing dozens of waivers to state and local leaders so they could put their funding to work as quickly as possible.
• Each state has developed its own unique CDBG-funded plan to compensate homeowners for their uninsured losses, restore critical infrastructure, stimulate economic development and produce affordable rental housing.
• HUD's role has been to ensure the states are complying with existing laws and HUD's Inspector General and Office of Community Planning and Development continue to monitor the use of these federal dollars.

Louisiana has chosen to allocate $7.8 billion of its $10.4 billion in CDBG disaster recovery funding to help displaced homeowners and renters through the State's Road Home Program. To date, more than $3 billion of those funds have been spent to assist more than 42,000 homeowners. In addition, Louisiana is allocating $1.6 billion to support critical infrastructure needs and to promote economic development. The state has expended a total of $3.7 billion to date.

Mississippi is allocating $3.4 billion of its $5.5 billion to assist homeowners and renters. More than 13,600 homeowner grants have been paid thus far under the first phase of Mississippi's homeowner assistance program or 87 percent of eligible applicants. Mississippi is also using an additional $640 million in CDBG funding for infrastructure and another $100 million to repair damaged public housing. Mississippi has spent approximately $1.5 billion of its CDBG funds to date.

Transforming New Orleans' Public Housing After Katrina

The discussion on how to offer a better public housing alternative in New Orleans started almost a decade ago after the majority of the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) public housing units continuously failed HUD's physical inspection standards and were deemed uninhabitable, crime-ridden and unsafe. As a result, HUD took over HANO and began a massive redevelopment effort before Katrina hit. After Katrina significantly damaged public housing, Secretary Jackson reaffirmed HUD's plan to continue to transform New Orleans' largest public housing developments into better and safer mixed-income communities. Since 2002, HUD has demolished and redeveloped half of the city's 10 public housing complexes. Every one of these residents has either been given a new place to live in the redeveloped property or has been given a rent voucher.

HANO has selected experienced mixed-income housing developers and local non-profit organizations to work with community officials to plan the redevelopment of New Orleans' badly damaged public housing communities at St. Bernard, C.J. Peete, B.W. Cooper and Lafitte. HANO's plan is to bring back more than 5,100 units that will include a mix of public housing, single-family homes, and affordable housing that will serve the community. Unfortunately, lawsuits put to a stand-still HANO's plans to build this improved public housing so that it is healthier, crime-free, drug-free, and better able to meet the needs of residents. Once the lawsuit is settled and demolition is completed, HANO believes it can build new communities within 18-24 months.

• Nearly 1,600 public housing units have already been reopened in New Orleans.
• An additional 300 units are awaiting families while another 600 are under repair and expected to open soon.
• HANO has also launched an independent survey to reach out to residents and determine how many want to return.
• While the rebuilding is occurring, HUD and HANO will continue to financially assist displaced families.

The Bush Administration continues to ensure that everyone who lived in New Orleans public housing has the opportunity to return home. Inspired by the successful redevelopment of Fischer, Guste, Desire and River Garden, HUD and HANO continue to do everything possible to fulfill the Administration's commitment to bring more people home.

• HANO and HUD are paying to have families released from lease agreements in other states and, on a case-by-case basis, assisting with moving fees whenever possible.
• HUD has authorized HANO to increase the Fair Market Rents by 35 percent. The increased rate helps families to afford apartments in the more expensive housing markets.

Providing Rental and Temporary Disaster Housing Assistance

To help rebuild lives, HUD created the Disaster Voucher Program (DVP) to temporarily house thousands of families who lived in public housing or were HUD-assisted, but were displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. HUD recently announced it has extended the program to June 2008. Vouchers can be used anywhere in the United States, as long as residents can find housing and the voucher is accepted by another public housing agency.

• Families who lived in public housing prior to the storm will continue receiving DVP assistance until June 30, 2008. This extension also covers families who are assisted by other HUD housing programs, including those in senior housing, disabled housing, or multifamily housing, and families who were homeless prior to the storms.
• Families who participated in HUD's regular housing voucher program, known as Section 8 or the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), prior to the storms will return to the HCV program that covered the cost of their housing. These families were transferred to DVP assistance temporarily to ensure they continued to receive their housing subsidy during the recovery period.

Beginning November 1, 2008 HUD will take over long-term rental assistance through the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), currently run by FEMA and will provide extensive case management for families who had been assisted under FEMA's program. DHAP is vital for helping families rebuild their lives, get on a path to self-sufficiency and have the opportunity to return home, if they choose. HUD will use its extensive national network of Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) to provide housing assistance and case management services for eligible families to help families get on a path to self-support.

• FEMA will recertify each family before transferring the program to HUD. Eligible families are expected to experience a seamless transition into DHAP and will be contacted by the PHA administering DHAP in the jurisdiction in which the family resides.
• HUD has established a call center with a toll-free number for families and PHAs seeking additional information. FEMA families, DVP voucher holders, and PHAs who are interested in administering DHAP can contact HUD at (866) 373-9509.

www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070829-7.html

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