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AOL Mail -Message View Page 1 of 2 OYA1Who's rooting for Port Arthur? From: Arthur Charlesiii<tamancha1965@aol.com To: lamancha1965 clamancha1965@aol.com> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 5:10 am Harvey Recovery Who's rooting for Port Arthur? by J.T.Harechmak September 13,2018 whos-rooting-for-port-arthur (Photo:U.S.Air National Guard rescues family trapped in home in Port Arthur) Port Arthur sits on the shore of Sabine Lake,the lake that separates Texas from Louisiana.It's a small city of less than 60,000 people that's 91 miles from Houston,15 miles from the Gulf of Mexico,and still a long way away from recovering from Hurricane Harvey. Along with Beaumont and Orange,Port Arthur is part of the Golden Triangle;a region that gets its name from the oil refining industry that makes up much of the local economy.Despite the"golden"moniker,Port Arthur's median household income is not high.In 2016 the average household made only$32,000,while the state's median household income is about$55,000.The city is home to sizable communities of color,with nearly 40 percent of residents identifying as African American or Black,and over 30 percent of residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino. Harvey's Path The National Weather Service reported that after Hurricane Harvey passed through Houston,it stalled over the Golden Triangle and left record rainfalls.When the storm had passed,cities like Port Arthur had taken much of the brunt.After the storm had cleared,the Episcopal Health Foundation reported thatHarvey had left 60.58 inches of rain on the Golden Triangle and affected 500,000 homes with flooding.However,unlike the path that took Harvey from Houston to Port Arthur,the media attention hasn't followed suit.Instead of passing through Houston,it never quite left.Now,almost one year after Hurricane Harvey,residents are still waiting on aid and wondering what government response,if any,is coming.In our analysis and tracking of recovery activity in the area,we've seen three strikes that are working against a just and equitable recovery for Port Arthur. Strike 1:General Land Office's Methodology Much of the government's disaster response will come through Texas'General Land Office(GLO).We've written before about the GLO's action plan for distributing relief after Hurricane Harvey.One of our major concerns is the way that their proposed methodology for calculating unmet need leaves out many low-income Texans. FEMA collects information on the disaster's impact on property.Lower-income households have fewer financial resources to recover,but households with higher incomes generally have more property to lose.When a disaster hits,homes may be impacted similarly,but when FEMA verifies their property loss,lower-income households have significantly lower average losses. Then,the GLO methodology uses a standardized threshold for that FEMA-verified loss across all income groups.This threshold is high;$8,000 in verified loss for homeowners,and$2,000 of verified loss for renters.The GLO uses this data on housing damage and property loss to budget for the long-term unmet housing needs for Texans.This is a difficult threshold for many low-income households to reach. In a city with many low-income residents like Port Arthur,it means that the GLO won't budget enough for their recovery. Screen Shot 2018-09-13 at 3.33.15 PM In fact,when we compare the GLO's methodology to our alternative methodology—one that adjusts unmet need thresholds to be more commensurate with income—we can identify which parts of the state where unmet needs are being underestimated.When the need is underestimated in some areas more than others,the GLO will not address recovery needs across the state fairly. Screen Shot 2018-09-13 at 3.36.37 PM Fig 1.Highest Zip Codes for Additional Unmet Need for Texas Renters Screen Shot 2018-09-13 at 3.38.10 PM Fig 2.Highest Zip Codes for Additional Unmet Need for Texas Homeowners Under the GLO's methodology,Port Arthur holds the unfortunate distinction of having two of the top six most undercounted zip codes in Texas.The difference is large. These are zip codes where damage is being undercounted in the tens of millions of dollars. If this remains unaddressed,the money meant to rebuild Texas won't go to places like Port Arthur that are most in need. Strike 2:Shifted Responsibility,Missed Opportunities While aid has been slow,the city's response has been further hindered by the state's slow speed in distribution and the lack of state support to connect Port Arthur to resources and funding.Both Governor Abbott and Commissioner Bush have emphasized local control in disaster recovery without providing a lot of details about how that local control will be empowered and employed.At a press conference held in Houston to talk about Harvey recovery,government officials all shared a similar refrain:The state was going to"cut red tape"to give local governments the freedom they needed to respond. What we've seen is a different story.The GLO has shifted the responsibility of planning a disaster recovery,leaving many decisions up to local governments when many of them are as lost as the average disaster survivor is.Many of these local governments have been vocal about their confusion on how to access funding or navigate government programs to support their residents in dire need.The GLO is not communicating those opportunities for funding to local governments in a way that ensures that funding reaches the Texans most in need. Additionally,Port Arthur is not showing up on the Governor's Commission to Rebuild Texas,an application-based list that influences funding priorities.The Texas Department of Emergency Management—responsible for administering over$1 billion in FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding—has not recommended any projects for funding in the whole of the Golden Triangle region.Finally,the City of Port Arthur is still waiting for guidance from the State on a housing program. Strike 3:Take From The Poor,Give To The Rich What is more,the GLO has not inspired confidence in its ability to support low-and moderate-income people in the Harvey recovery.They led the charge in petitioning HUD to divert federal long-term recovery funding to higher income communities.Before Harvey had even dissipated,George P.Bush,the GLO's Commissioner,had written to the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development requesting that the agency lower the requirement that 70 percent of CDBG-DR funds go to low-and moderate-income communities down to 50 percent.Per HUD's own definition,the mission of the CDBG program is"providing decent housing,a suitable living environment,and expanding economic opportunities,principally for low-and moderate-income persons."The state is responsible for ensuring that the grants meet that 70 percent threshold but it seems the GLO would rather not. Who's Rooting for Port Arthur? While larger cities like Houston often have the ability to attract talent to city staff or resources to hire sophisticated outside consultants to fill in the gaps on staff expertise,smaller cities like Port Arthur have a tough recovery ahead of them after any disaster.When they hire consultants to help prepare their disaster response plans,they should expect that consultant to make them aware of funding opportunities.When disaster hits as hard as it did,they should expect that Texas state agencies would reach out,provide technical assistance,and prioritize the hardest hit areas of a disaster. As an organization that is greatly concerned with the rights and the futures of all Texans,we cannot help but feel uneasy when we see clearly how this disaster recovery will not be for everyone.Under a banner of devolution,the GLO and the State of Texas leave smaller local governments wondering what to do.In the worst cases,they will flounder and low-income people will bear the burden.As it exists,the State's action plan will leave many lower-income cities wondering what happened to the money they had hoped for.Smaller cities like Port Arthur shouldn't be left out of recoveries,especially not under the guise of freedom from red tape. Share this: EmailPrintPocketFacebookTwitter Like this: Like Be the first to like this. TagsGolden Triangle•Hurricane•Hurricane recovery•Port Arthur Post navigation Previous Post Next Post Supporting low-income Texans efforts to achieve the American dream of a decent,affordable home in a quality neighborhood. Search Texas Housers https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 1 of I ""Newly Proposed:The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019 From: Arthur Charlesiii<lamancha1965@aol.com> To: lamancha1965<lamancha1965@aol.corn> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 7:08 am NewsroomPress Releases July 26,2019 Young,Schatz Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Reform Disaster Recovery New Legislation Would Improve Long-Term Recovery For Disaster-Struck Areas WASHINGTON—U.S.Senators Todd Young(R-Ind.)and Brian Schatz(D-Hawai'i)introduced new legislation to help communities plan for and recover from major disasters.The Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019would strengthen the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development's disaster recovery grants for states, local governments,and tribes.It would also improve coordination at the federal level by establishing an office within the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD)that would be devoted to disaster recovery and resilient communities. "Our legislation would streamline,reform,and inject greater fiscal responsibility into the broken CDBG Disaster Recovery Program,"said Senator Young.'This is a response to reports from the Government Accountability Office and HUD's Office of Inspector General recommending Congress permanently codify the program to avoid funding lags and rid duplicative requirements in the wake of a disaster." "Right now,the law mandates that communities in crisis wait for Congress to pass a disaster funding bill before they can even apply for help from HUD.This bill changes the law so they no longer have to wait.As soon as a disaster strikes,HUD can help communities begin the process of recovery,"Senator Schatz said. The new legislation also directs the federal government to submit to Congress two reports—one from HUD,the other from the U.S.Government Accountability Office— on how to improve the federal government's efforts to provide housing the wake of a disaster. Earlier this month,the U.S.House of Representatives unanimously passed a companion bill,which was introduced by Congressman Al Green(D-Texas). "Our country's disaster housing recovery system consistently leaves behind those with the greatest needs—America's lowest-income seniors,people with disabilities, families with children,and people experiencing homelessness,"said Diane Yentel,president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition(NLIHC)."Senator Schatz's and Senator Young's bill is an important step towards ensuring that federal recovery and rebuilding dollars better reach low-income survivors,who are often hardest hit by disasters and have the fewest resources to recover.NLIHC and our Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition of over 800 organizations urge Congress to quickly enact this important bill." The Reforming Disaster Recovery Acthas been endorsed by the Arc of the United States,Autistic Self Advocacy Network,Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Housing Task Force,Disaster Law Project,Enterprise Community Partners,Fair Share Housing Center of New Jersey,Habitat for Humanity International Hispanic Federation,Local Initiatives Support Coalition,National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities,National Coalition for Healthy Housing,National Community Development Association,National Fair Housing Alliance,National Low Income Housing Coalition,National Law Center on Homelessness&Poverty, Paralyzed Veterans of America,and Texas Low Income Housing Information Service. PrintEmail Tweet Next ArticlePrevious Article About ToddHelp For HoosiersNewsroomContact/Newsletter Sign-Up! Senator Young's FacebookSenator Young's TwitterSenator Young's Youtube ChannelSenator Young's https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 1 of I Who suffers when disasters strike?The poorest and most vulnerable From: Arthur Charlesiii<lamancha1965l aol.com> To: lamancha1965<lamancha1965@aol.com> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 6:52 am Renters Find Extra Hurdles to Recovery After Hurricanes,Associated Press,10/13/17 Who suffers when disasters strike?The poorest and most vulnerable.,Washington Post,9/1/17 Who suffers when disasters strike?The poorest and most vulnerable. Policy decisions about poverty,housing and crisis management hurt low-income victims. Alejandra Castillo takes a break from carrying water-soaked items out of her family's home after flood waters receded in Houston.(Charlie Riedel/AP) By Jonathan M.Katz Jonathan M.Katz,a freelance journalist,is the author of'The Big Truck That Went By:How the World Came to Save Haiti and Left Behind a Disaster."He is the director of the media and journalism initiative at Duke University's John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute. September 1,2017 When the skies opened over Houston,some of the worst flooding rose in Greenspoint.The low-income neighborhood off Interstate 45—south of George Bush Intercontinental Airport and home to a namesake mall known for crime and vacant stores(its"days are definitely numbered,"DeadMalls.com noted in 2005)—is situated along Greens Bayou.The area's black and Hispanic residents live mostly in multifamily,three-to five-bedroom apartments,in complexes built in not only floodplain but floodways,which the Federal Emergency Management Agency defines as channels or land reserved for discharging floodwaters. In a time-lapse video filmed Saturday night,a residential parking lot in the neighborhood goes quickly from damp to puddle to lake,until sunrise reveals a brown sea that has swallowed the first floor of the adjacent apartment buildings and half a dozen cars. A resident,Exavier Blanchard,set up the camera as the storm rolled in "I heard the area floods,"he explained to HuffPost. He heard right.Just over a year before,much of Greenspoint was inundated under several feet of water in what Houstonians call the Tax Day Flood,an intense storm that dumped 17 inches of rain on the city.Residents were still recovering from that deadly deluge—dealing with moldy apartments and fighting with landlords who had pushed them out with nowhere to go,or who were forcing them to keep paying rent on damaged homes—when Hurricane Harvey came calling. To some extent,Greenspoint's back-to-back disasters were just an unlucky draw:The neighborhood had fared better than other parts of Houston in the equally deadly Memorial Day floods of 2015,and then in the flooding that killed six more people across the city that October.But the odds were stacked against it As a growing body of research has shown,disasters tend to be worse for poor and minority communities—to a limited extent at the moment they strike,and to a far greater degree in the hard months and years that follow. Low-income communities frequently sustain more damage in storms because they tend to be built on cheaper land that is often more flood-prone,said Shannon Van Zandt,an urban-planning scholar with Texas A&M University's Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center,who spoke with me by phone recently.It can also be harder for poorer people—who may not have cars,may be more afraid to leave their possessions and jobs,may not speak English or may fear immigration authorities—to evacuate before disasters. That's not to say that only the poor have suffered in the rain.As many major disasters do,Harvey assaulted the homes of the middle class and the wealthy as well. Houstonians are only now starting to get a picture of the extent of the damage across a metropolitan area nearly 10 times larger than greater Washington. But many who work in poorer parts of the city fear what they will find as the waters recede."One thing which makes me pause is I see a lot of the rescues are being done in neighborhoods that are medium income or high income,"said Chrishelle Palay,co-director of the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service.She's been getting messages from her contacts in more impoverished and heavily minority areas,including Greenspoint and the Fifth Ward,who tell her they are still waiting for help.Part of the problem has been a lack of attention from authorities and outsiders,she said:'The media wasn't showing those parts of town." The poor get smacked again when it's time to rebuild.'They lack a lot of resources.Not just financial resources,but also information resources and social resources that help them access assistance,"Van Zandt said.That includes insurance,especially flood insurance,which the poor are less likely to have.Following 2008's Hurricane Ike,which also hit southeast Texas,it took housing values in poor communities two to four times longer to return to their pre-storm levels."This is what we'll see in Houston,"Van Zandt said. Disaster expert Kathleen Tierney wrote after 2005's Hurricane Katrina that"some groups may be able to return to their pre-disaster status with relatively[little)difficulty, while others may never fully recover."Following the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Southern California,many apartment complexes stayed vacant because owners decided not to repair the buildings,leaving impoverished renters on the street.A few years earlier,after the Loma Prieta earthquake that brought the 1989 World Series to a haft in San Francisco,victims who had been living in multifamily households missed out when FEMA made disaster assistance available mainly to higher-income homeowners. Among experts,one of the best-known facts about disasters—yet one that consistently surprises much of the general public—is that the vast majority of rescues,and the bulk of the immediate relief effort,are conducted by neighbors helping neighbors,rather than by authorities such as police,military or aid groups.Survivors find inventive ways to procure food and share supplies,and they often risk their own lives to save others. In whiter,wealthier areas,these efforts are often celebrated as signs of the unique spirit of a community. But in poor and minority neighborhoods,such efforts are more often ignored or even vilified by officials and the media.After Katrina,"poor and mostly African-American victims were simplistically framed either as looters and dangerous thugs or as'deserving'victims—mainly women and children—who were helpless and unable to care for themselves in the aftermath of the disaster,"Tierney wrote.Reports of violence,which repeated investigations found were inaccurate,in turn helped justify repressive measures,including the killing of unarmed survivors by police:"Missing from these accounts was any attempt to understand how poor African Americans aided and supported one another during the disaster." That tick of the cycle has already begun in Houston,where television reporters have been searching for signs of lawlessness and the mayor's office has preemptively instituted a curfew.In reality,experts say,post-disaster crime,including looting,is rare. Many in Houston are also concerned about likely contamination from the area's major oil refineries,such as facilities owned by ExxonMobil—which,in addition to contributing to the climate change that probably helped fuel the rains,were damaged and released toxic chemicals during the storm.This is especially threatening to poor and minority neighborhoods,which are often located closer to the industrial works.In Houston's Fifth Ward,residents have been fighting for years for a cleanup of creosote,a cancer-causing wood preservative,left by an old Union Pacific rail yard.Neighbors are worried that Harvey's floods have spread the chemical even further around their homes."Every time we've had excessive rain it ends up in the water.If the water is contaminated,as we know it to be,that contamination is going all over the city,"said Kathy Blueford-Daniels,a Fifth Ward resident. To make sure the poor aren't left behind,advocates are pushing to educate low-income residents about their rights—for instance,as renters in post-flood disputes with landlords—and to let them know about services available after a storm.They are also fighting for post-disaster assistance to be provided in ways that don't require access to a bank account,which many poor people don't have,such as on rechargeable debit cards. Every major disaster also provides an opportunity to rebuild differently.Even before Hurricane Harvey,advocates were pressing state lawmakers to adopt a locally sourced rebuilding model for storm-damaged areas that they say will make poorer residents safer and let them get their lives back together more quickly.Residents, they say,should be given the option to move to safer areas,or given help rebuilding their homes in ways that better protect them from the now-yearly monster floods that plague Houston,such as raising them higher off the ground Van Zandt said that as the federal and state governments,and major corporations with stakes in Houston,begin paying to rebuild,it is important that planners start using the city's land more intelligently,not continuing to pave over drainage areas and provoking more flooding.It is possible,she said—unlike after the 2015 or 2016 floods—that those changes could now happen."I hate to say it,but I think that because not just low-income people have been affected,there may be more of a reaction from middle-and upper-income folks,"she said.The key,she said,is for people to understand that a disaster like Harvey is in essence a manmade event— the collision of a storm and a human-built environment. Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter. https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 1 of 2 I How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich From: Arthur Charlesiii<lamancha1965@aol.com> To: lamanchal965<lamancha1965@aol.com> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 1:29 am Investigations <How Federal Disaster Money Favors The Rich March 5,20195:00 AM ET Listen 12:16 12:16 Playlist Download Embed Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email MARY LOUISE KELLY,HOST: The U.S.government spends billions of dollars each year helping households recover after disasters such as the tornadoes this past Sunday in Alabama.Who gets that federal aid is always a big question after natural disasters.An NPR investigation out today finds federal disaster aid does not always go to those who need it most, instead favoring two groups-white Americans and people who already have safety nets. NPR's Rebecca Hersher takes us to Houston with this story of two families who lost everything. REBECCA HERSHER,BYLINE:The two families are the Papadopouloses. JOHN PAPADOPOULOS:OK-John Papadopoulos,and I live on 10723-well,lived-right?-yeah-10723 Bayou Glen Road. HERSHER:John is a family guy-two kids,a wife,works at Microsoft.The second family is the Evans family.Janice Perry-Evans has three kids,works at the post office. JANICE PERRY-EVANS:I love my job.I'm one of them people that-them rare people that love their job(laughter).You know,sometimes we make people day. HERSHER:Janice and her family rent a house on the east side.John and his wife own their house on the west side.They bought it back in 2007.And within a couple years,the floods began. PAPADOPOULOS:So our house-yeah,so we flooded four times in a decade.So our house flooded in'09 and then 2015 and 2016. HERSHER:And then the big one,August 2017. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED NEWSCASTER:Good morning,everyone.Let's get straight to the breaking news-Harvey provoking an unfolding flooding disaster in America's fourth largest city,Houston,Texas. HERSHER:The morning the storm arrived,both families woke up to more than a foot of water in the house.John and his wife carried their sleepy children to a neighbor's house.They eventually went to a hotel.Janice's family waded through chest-deep water until they were rescued by a dump truck.They ended up at the convention center downtown.Both of their homes were destroyed. PAPADOPOULOS:My house was-it just looked like a washing machine inside. I mean,we lost 99 percent of everything. PERRY-EVANS:If you guys had seen what the neighborhood looked like,we lost all that in just one day.We lost everything. HERSHER:And when families lose everything in disasters,they turn to the federal government for financial help.But when the Evans and Papadopoulos families started applying for federal aid,they had radically different experiences,experiences that are emblematic of a trend-widening inequality after disasters exacerbated by federal disaster spending.We'll start with the Papadopoulos family.Right away,a lot of things went right for them.John's job was really helpful. PAPADOPOULOS:I didn't have to use any time off.Technically my manager was like,don't even worry about it,man.Just take care.We got you. HERSHER:With John's wages secure,they turned their attention to applying for federal money.First they applied online for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency,FEMA.FEMA gives grants.The money doesn't have to be paid back.The Papadopoulos family got$30,000 because they owned a home that had been destroyed.The second place they applied was the SBA,the Small Business Administration. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON:In the wake of a disaster,SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to homeowners,renters,businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations. HERSHER:The Papadopoulos family got a$25,000 low-interest loan.A few weeks after the flood,the family moved into a temporary rental house.But there was still the question of what to do with the flood house,as their 6-year-old calls it-repair it,sell it. PAPADOPOULOS:I ain't touched the house for months.I just left it there full-the whole bit.That water sat in there for two weeks.I'm not bringing kids into it.The heavy metals alone-you're not going to Febreze or bleach them out of that wood.(Laughter)I don't care what you think. HERSHER:In the end,the money from FEMA helped them pay to knock the house down.And there is one more longer-term way that FEMA could help.The family has applied for a buyout.They want the federal government to buy their empty lot and turn it permanently into open space. So you still own the lot. PAPADOPOULOS:I do. HERSHER:The local flood control district says it's likely that properties like theirs will get offered buyouts eventually if the owners can wait until the money is available, which could take years.But the Papadopoulos famiy can wait.They're doing OK financially.They're looking for a new house to buy. Meanwhile,the Evans family has had a totally different experience.For the first few days after the storm,the family slept at the convention center.And as the relief at surviving wore off,Janice had one big concern. PERRY-EVANS:My main thing was,I had nowhere to lay these-put these kids to lay their head.That bothered me so much. HERSHER:So when her co-worker offered a spare room,she took it even though it was one room for the whole family,even though when she put food in the refrigerator,it disappeared somehow.Even though it was a 45-minute drive from her kids'school and from her work and her car had been destroyed in the flood,she took the room because she felt like she had nowhere else to go.And then,like the Papadopoulos family had,she started asking the government for help. PERRY-EVANS:I applied for everything,and they gave me-the first time,they gave me$2,666 to get somewhere to live. HERSHER:Two thousand six-hundred-sixty-six dollars specifically for housing.In Houston,it would have been enough to cover a deposit and first month's rent on a new place.But Janice needed that money for something else. PERRY-EVANS:I had to go to work,and I had to get the boys back and forth to school.So I took that and put it for a car. HERSHER:She used the money for a car.And then with her immediate transportation under control,she called FEMA back to see about applying for more money for housing and got reprimanded. PERRY-EVANS:When I talked to one of the representatives,that's what they told me.They-some of them was kind of rude,Some of them felt sorry for me'cause I would be crying.I would be crying about,hey,I have nowhere to go.I don't have no money.You guys-you're not helping me like I thought I was going to get the help that I was going to get. HERSHER:FEMA gives grants for specific uses so it can keep track of who's been paid for what.That money was supposed to be for housing.The system was too rigid to handle Janice using it for something else.FEMA didn't bar her from reapplying for housing money.But after the scolding,she did not reapply.And this entire time,Janice never missed a shift at the post office.Often she worked six days a week.But her paycheck just wasn't cutting it,and her co-worker said the family needed to move out.So she applied for a low-interest SBA loan. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) UNIDENTIFIED PERSON:SBA will conduct a credit check before scheduling an onsite inspection to determine your total verified losses. HERSHER:Janice says when they checked her credit score,it was too low.She didn't qualify.Time was running out.A FEMA representative suggested she see about getting help from the Department of Housing and Urban Development,which required using her day off to go to an informational class.But she says she didn't qualify for that either because her income was too high. PERRY-EVANS:It was like every time I tried something,it was an obstacle in the way. https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 2 of 2 . 4 , HERSHER:Six months after the flood,Janice did the only thing she felt she could.She moved into a rental house that's more expensive than her old place and smaller. And the Evans family is not alone. KATHY PAYTON:Recovery for vulnerable families look a lot different than it does for more affluent neighborhoods. HERSHER:Kathy Payton is the executive director of the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation in East Houston just a couple miles from where Janice lives.She says she's watched low-income families struggle to apply for federal aid because of all of the barriers that Janice ran into and more. PAYTON:They don't always have all the paperwork.They don't always have a tax return.They don't always have the last two pay stubs.They don't always have driver's license.They don't always have all of these things. HERSHER:As a result,Payton says she's watched richer,whiter parts of Houston recover more quickly.Private insurance accounts for some of that,but she thinks it's also because they were more successful at getting federal money.And national research backs that up.Junia Howell is a sociologist at the University of Pittsburgh. Howell is one of a handful of researchers who are taking a close look at who gets public money after disasters and who doesn't.And a pattern is emerging.After disasters,rich people get richer,and poor people get poorer,especially when the federal government steps in. JUNIA HOWELL:We see these same patterns of wealth inequality being exacerbated in communities that receive more FEMA aid.But that's particularly true along racial lines,along lines of education as well as home ownership versus renting. HERSHER:Richer people,white people-they're more likely to be homeowners.And those same people are more likely to get aid after a disaster in part because of programs like buyouts that specifically help homeowners who have lost their houses.Poorer people,people of color,people who are more likely to rent,people arguably who need cash the most after a major disaster are less likely to get it from the federal government. NPR analyzed more than 40,000 FEMA records from one federal disaster aid program,home buyouts,like the one the Papadopoulos family are hoping to get and the one the Evans family doesn't qualify for.We found that most of them were in neighborhoods where the population was more than 85 percent white.David Maurstad runs the buyout program for FEMA and says its working as designed.He says every potential buyout is assessed using the same basic criteria. DAVID MAURSTAD:Buyouts have to be technically feasible.They have to be cost-effective.They need to be aligned with providing risk reduction for the community. HERSHER:Last year,Congress agreed to increase FEMA's funding for so-called risk reduction,but it's largely up to local governments how to use that money-for example,to build floodwalls,update drainage. MAURSTAD:I think a general conclusion would be there will be more buyouts,but I guess that's what-you know,we'll see how that unfolds in the future. HERSHER:Sociologist Junia Howell says that trend is a wake-up call. HOWELL:It-it's disturbing-like,deeply disturbing that we are spending billions of dollars a year,and those billions of dollars are adding to our inequality and,to me, calls for a deep reinvestigation into FEMA aid. HERSHER:If inequality is being exacerbated a little bit now,she says,it will be exacerbated a lot more in the future.Climate change is driving more extreme rain in most of the country,which means more and more flood risk,which could mean more families like John's and Janice's.Take John.Within a year after the flood,his family was fine. PAPADOPOULOS:I still got money in my pocket,you know'?I'm not looking for a bunch of the handout stuff.I had some.I didn't like it,(laughter)really. HERSHER:It being specifically federal disaster aid.When he looks at all the federal help his family has gotten since the storm,he is grateful and a little uncomfortable because he knows that other families have not gotten the same leg up,families like the Evans PERRY-EVANS:So its a struggle now.It's really a struggle now to stay afloat.I went to a bankruptcy lawyer,and I paid him to pay-now I'm going to go ahead and file bankruptcy and get rid of some of this debt. HERSHER:If the storm hadn't happened,do you think you'd be facing bankruptcy? PERRY-EVANS:No'cause it wasn't that bad. HERSHER:Its not just the storm itself.It's everything that's happened since-the higher rent,the new car payment,the hours and hours spent filling out applications for money,most of which,it turned out,wasn't meant for families like hers.And Janice's job as a mail carrier means she sees a lot of other neighborhoods.She's watched other areas,other families recover more quickly. PERRY-EVANS:And thats where the money went to-to out there,rich people.Its not fair,but,you know,thats just how America is.It's not right.But most of the time, white people get the advantage before we do anyway.So it's like,we already know(laughter).That's just how it work. HERSHER:If she'd gotten more money,she says,she would have moved,bought a house on higher ground.Rebecca Hersher,NPR News. Copyright m 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at viww.npr.orq for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm,Inc.,an NPR contractor,and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR.This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future.Accuracy and availability may vary.The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record. Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email More Stories From NPR Jump to Toolbar • Mail • From/To https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 1 of 2 Why Are These Tiny Towns Getting So Much Hurricane Harvey Aid? From: Arthur Charlesiii<lamancha1965taol.com> To: lamancha1965<lamancha1965©aol.com Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 5:30 am Port Arthur,Texas,on September 28,2017,in the wake of the destruction of Hurricane Harvey. Port Arthur,Texas,on September 28,2017,in the wake of the destruction of Hurricane Harvey.David Goldman/AP Why Are These Tiny Towns Getting So Much Hurricane Harvey Aid? Kriston CappsOct 3,2018 Residents in some small,nearly all-white towns in Southeast Texas are slated to reap far more recovery funds than those in larger cities nearby with large minority populations. ShareShare TweetTweet More items Taylor Landing is a string of tidy taupe ranch homes bordered by the Taylor Bayou and Texas State Highway 73.It's barely a dot on the map in Southeast Texas.With just 228 residents,it's one of the smaller towns that was hit by flooding when Hurricane Harvey dropped torrential sheets of rain last year.And,with a median household income of about$69,000 and a poverty rate of 0 percent,its also among the wealthier ones. It's whiter,too:According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey in 2016,none of Taylor Landing's residents is African American. For the purposes of divvying up Hurricane Harvey recovery funds,officials from the region estimated that the storm affected 22 residents of Taylor Landing—about 1 in 10.The town stands to receive$1.3 million in funds designated to help residents relocate from homes destroyed by Harvey.That works out to about$60,000 per affected resident. Just 15 miles east of Taylor Landing lies the city of Port Arthur,home to 54,000 residents.When Harvey struck,the city was inundated.The nearby regional airport recorded more than 26 inches of rain in a single day.("Our whole city is underwater right now but we are comingl"Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman declared on Facebook as Harvey made landfall.)Few residents were left untouched.And even before the storm,Port Arthur was more vulnerable than other cities in the region,with a low median household income($32,000)and a high poverty rate(29 percent).More than one-third of the population is black.Texas Observer has reported in depth on the city's struggles since Harvey. about:blank Officials in Texas estimate that nearly 50,000 residents of Port Arthur were affected by the storm—virtually the entire city.Yet Port Arthur is slated to receive just$4.1 million from the same set-aside funds for the owners of damaged homes or businesses.That's about$84 per affected person. Hurricane Harvey killed 107 people across Texas and destroyed billions of dollars in property.And the state is still reeling from its effects:More than a year after the storm struck the Gulf Coast,nearly 10 percent of Texans displaced by Harvey have yet to return home.Many affected Texas cities were still awaiting recovery aid by the start of this year's hurricane season.And the amount of money that homeowners are eligible to receive varies dramatically from town to town. Across Southeast Texas,residents in a handful of small,white,affluent towns stand to reap far more Harvey recovery funds than those just a few miles away,in far more populous but poorer majority-minority cities—resulting in huge racial disparities in the distribution of recovery funds. According to experts,the gap reflects the process by which the state and region divvy up disaster recovery dollars,a formula that puts place before people 'The Southeast Texas[method of distribution]is by far the most problematic of all the methods of distribution,"says Amelia Adams,a fair housing and disaster-recovery researcher and community planner for the Texas Low Income Housing Information Service. HUD listed 16 counties as most impacted by Harvey,including Hardin,Orange,and Jefferson Counties,which make up the"Golden Triangle."(Texas General Land Office) The Texas General Land Office's Harvey Action Plan describes the storm as a three-stage event.Harvey made landfall near Rockport on August 25,2017,as a Category 4 hurricane,with disastrous 150-mile-per-hour winds.After it weakened and slowed,the storm stalled over Houston for the next four days.Finally,downgraded to a tropical storm,Harvey made landfall a second time on August 30,just across the border with Louisiana. click xai-AKAOjssYkuaWJQSKakwZ... Harvey dropped a record-shattering 34 trillion gallons of rainfall on Southeast Texas—more than a year's worth of rain for an area roughly the size of Kentucky. Floodwaters that struck the Golden Triangle(the region bound by Port Arthur,Beaumont,and Orange)hit after Harvey made its second landfall.Beaumont received nearly 50 inches of rainfall,slightly more than Houston. Altogether,the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban assigned more than$5 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery(CDBG-DR)funds for Texas.Southeast Texas will get$157 million through that program for two specific purposes:to pay for buyouts and acquisitions of properties destroyed by the storm (namely homes),and to build infrastructure developments to remediate future disasters(such as flood-mitigation projects)."HUD is the ultimate arbiter of how it's administered,"says Ginny Lewis,executive director for the Texas Association of Regional Councils. Cities are changing fast.Keep up with the CityLab Daily newsletter The best way to follow issues you care about. Subscribe Loading... But,at the local level,HUD doesn't say who gets what.That job falls to the General Land Office(GLO),a state land management agency that will be responsible for allocating these Harvey recovery funds to local governments.Regional boards known as Councils of Governments draw up the plans for distributing CDBG-DR funds for housing.There are 24 Councils of Government across Texas,each one representing multiple counties.Every Council of Government(or COG)has an appointed board of directors,two-thirds of whose members must be elected officials from cities or counties within that body's jurisdiction.So the money trickles down from HUD to GLO to the COGs,although it's the state agency's job to make sure that the money gets spent fairly. "Some of[the Councils of Governments]are extremely powerful and large,with great capacity,"Adams says."Down in South Texas,their capacity is much less.Some have said,'We don't have the capacity to deal with disaster funding.We're not Houston-Galveston.We're not one of these big COGS that can do that"' The Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission—the Council of Governments representing Hardin,Jefferson,and Orange Counties—drafted the plan for distributing aid in the Golden Triangle.Ostensibly,planning decisions here ought to reflect the interests of Beaumont and Port Arthur,the region's largest cities:More than half of the three counties'337,000 residents live in these two cities.But the structure of the council gives unrepresentative weight to leaders from much smaller towns,from Bridge City to Bevil Oaks.(Shanna Burke,interim executive director for the commission,did not respond to multiple requests for comment;the General Land Office did not return a call for comment.) Most conversations about the devastation of Harvey have centered on the flooding in Houston and wind damage in Rockport,with relatively less attention given to the destruction in Beaumont and Port Arthur.The National Hurricane Center reports that peak rainfall in Southeast Texas,near Port Arthur,may have eclipsed 70 inches, although it's impassible to say for sure,since rain gauges aren't built to measure this kind of extraordinary weather event."By almost any statistic,either number of FEMA applicants or the amount of real property lost that FEMA has seen,areas like Port Arthur are really,really high up on that list,"Adams says. Beaumont and Port Arthur are also poorer cities than Houston,with far less resources than Harris County.(Houston and Harris County elected to develop their own local recovery programs,independent from the state's action plan.)Federal recovery funds have to account for unmet housing need,and in the Golden Triangle,it's greatest in the cities that were already struggling.Despite that,the scheme drafted by the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission shows that CDBG-DR funds would instead flow disproportionately to towns with fewer,whiter,and wealthier residents. Most affected residents in the region are concentrated in two cities,Beaumont and Port Arthur.Map tiles by Stamen Design,under CC BY 3.0.Data by OpenStreetMap, under ODbL Many of the decisions about disaster recovery aren't up to the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission.For example,the state's General Land Office set a floor of$1 million for CDBG-DR disbursements,a standard that benefits smaller jurisdictions.(That's a big purse for a tiny Texas town where only a couple dozen residents experienced flooding.)But several decisions about how to weigh different factors in distributing aid are the council's alone. click xai-AKAOjssD87hO_p8KIaEW... For example,in drafting its Method of Distribution(or MOD)plan,the commission weighted a community's need solely on the grounds of storm impact."All communities within the Southeast Texas region received the same type of damage(rising water)that is comparable,"the draft states."[f]herefore,impact was the only factor selected for use." The commission identified homes and properties that saw more than six inches of flooding,without considering whether a home was merely flooded or entirely https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail -Message View Page 2 of 2 destroyed.And while the commission applied a factor for population size,it's based on population percentages,which doesn't account for the difference between a town of hundreds and a city of many thousands. 'The three cities with the highest black populations are also the three cities with the very lowest funding." "SETRPC has allocated funds based solely on level of inundation and total population in the inundated area without considering unmet need,ability to recover,or the relative population of the impacted area.This distribution is blatantly inequitable and inconsistent with damage data,"reads a July letter submitted to the agency by Madison Sloan,director of disaster recovery and fair housing for Texas Appleseed,a social justice nonprofit."Port Arthur will receive only about twice as much funding as cities with less than 1%of its population.Beaumont will receive less than twice the funding of cities that are 0.5%of its size." The problems with the formula for distributing recovery dollars for buying out properties destroyed by Harvey are manyfold.There's simply too little money($52 million altogether).The state's requirements that disbursements start at$1 million does not suit the Golden Triangle:It assigns too much aid to small towns,and too little to vastly larger cities.Instead of designating aid by geographical or political subdivision,a more equitable recovery scheme would allow funds to flow to where the most people live—and especially to locations with the greatest need. By failing to account for population size or the extent of the damage,the council's plan for Harvey recovery funds created three huge outliers.Besides Taylor Landing, there's China,Texas,where 27 of the town's 908 residents were affected by the storm;they'll receive more than$1 million for relocation and other expenses,or$40,000 per storm-struck resident.(China is 86 percent white.)In Nome(population 588),the 23 residents hit by Harvey stand to get even more,$49,000 per resident.(Nome is 89 percent white.) click xai-AKAOjsv5ATZ1 FTOBJCzG... Meanwhile,Beaumont has 92,000 storm-affected residents—a share that represents more than three-quarters of the city's population.They'll receive$3.7 million in government funds for buying up destroyed properties.That's$40 per resident.The city's population is half black. The commission also determined that in four cities,every resident was affected by the storm.These four towns(Bevil Oaks,Pine Forest,Rose City,and Rose Hill Acres)will each get a maximum benefit of$2 million under the plan,despite the fact that only one of them has a population of more than 1,000.The towns are relatively well-to-do for the region,with median household incomes ranging from$54,000 to$77,000.The 2,700 residents of these four towns will get$8 million in Harvey housing funds,or$3,000 per household.By comparison,the 142,000 storm-affected residents of Port Arthur and Beaumont combined will receive just slightly less(S7.9 million). 'The three cities with the highest black populations are also the three cities with the very lowest funding,"Adams says."And we know that those cities had a lot of people who were impacted who were extremely low income." She adds,'The median income of people who applied for[Federal Emergency Management Agency aid]in Port Arthur was$24,000 per year." The Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission's draft plan for distributing$52 million in funds for buyouts is just one component in the region's broader$157 million allocation of CDBG-DR funds.And the region represents only 3 of the 16 counties most impacted by Harvey.So it would be wrong to say that all Harvey recovery funds are subject to such extreme racial disparities. But all recipients of federal recovery funds are obligated to abide by the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing standard.Accordingly,the state's General Land Office will review the commission's plan to ensure that it works to promote desegregation and reduce racial concentration of poverty.The fair housing standard was designed to prevent deep racial disparities—like the divergence in aid between Taylor Landing and Port Arthur. Recommended <img class-"c-related-content img"src-"https://cdn citylab.cam/mediafimq/crtylab/2018/10/AP 16287770783244/144x144 ipo7mod-1538576715" First Came the Hurricane.Now Come the Mosquitoes. Linda Poon Oct 3,2018 A flooded residential neighborhood seen from the air. Houston's Multi-Billion-Dollar Bet to Survive the Next Harvey Tom Dart Aug 23,2018 Downtown Houston is flooded in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. Released from Jail with Nothing,In the Middle of Hurricane Harvey Kriston Capps Sep 1,2017 The commission has heard from advocates and residents of Port Arthur,including Mayor Derrick Freeman,who noted in public comments that 5,000 of the 7,000 homes damaged by the storm in his city were uninsured.John Beard Jr.,a former city councilor and member of the Port Arthur Community Action Network,submitted comments noting that the thousands of displaced residents had created"pockets of no man's land." So far,however,the commission revised only one element in its plan after receiving public feedback.It did not act on comments from Port Arthur or Beaumont.But it did respond to a letter submitted in July by the city of Vidor,Texas—a notorious"sundown town,"where African Americans were once not permitted after dark.The letter claimed that officials had undercounted Vidor properties damaged by Harvey. In response,the commission increased Vidor's share of Harvey buyout funds from 4 to 5 percent.To accommodate that boost,other cities'funds all fell a little.Just 24 of Vidor's 10,579 residents are African American,according to census figures. "Cities that can advocate for themselves and have the most administrative assistants and things like that,they actually get what they want,"Adams says."[Vidor]is not a powerful city.They were just able to be the squeakiest wheel." About the Author Kriston Capps Kriston Capps ikristoncapps Feed Kriston Capps is a staff writer for CityLabcovering housing architecture and politics.He previously worked as a senior editor for Architect magazine. Expand Comments+ Promoted Stories The Actual Cost Of Medicare Supplement... https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 1 of 2 State must amend plan for disaster recovery so thousands of low-and moderate-income Texans can rebuild and recover From: Arthur Charlesiii<lamancha1965@aotcorn> To: lamancha1965<lamancha 1965@aol.com> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 5:46 am Supporting low-income Texans'efforts to achieve the American dream of a decent,affordable home in a quality neighborhood. Search Texas Housers Search for:Search Harvey RecoveryState issues State must amend plan for disaster recovery so thousands of low-and moderate-income Texans can rebuild and recover by Christina Rosales April 27,2018 state-must-a me nd-pla n-for-disa... Texas Housers and partners Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid and Texas Appleseed held a press conference Friday morning about the State of Texas underestimating the needs of low-income disaster survivors. Texas Housers and the advocacy partners called on the General Land Office Friday morning to amend their methodology for determining needs of Texans in order to ensure that the needs of low-and moderate-income people are budgeted for adequately. 'The GLO uses this data on housing damage and property loss to budget for the long-term unmet housing needs for Texans,"Texas Housers research director Charlie Duncan said.'The problem is that the way that GLO does this in their draft action plan cuts out thousands of low-income homeowners and renters who are entitled to, and in desperate need of housing assistance to rebuild their lives." Video 4/27/18 press conference on GLO Harvey Action Plan from Texas Housers Play 0 1.000 SettingsFullscreen Watch on virneo corn Like Add to Watch Later Share View the press conference held at the Texas Capitol here. View news coverage below: Associated Press Houston Chronicle Press Release Below: Media Advisory Texas Housers analysis:State's$5 billion action plan for disaster recovery undercounts thousands of Texans in need of help rebuilding Changes needed so thousands of low-and moderate-income people can rebuild and recover All Texas families,no matter how modest their incomes or homes,deserve fair access to the resources that will help them rebuild after Hurricane Harvey. As proposed,the General Land Office's(GLO)State of Texas Plan for Disaster Recovery would deprive thousands of Texans of the funds they need to rebuild their homes.Texas Housers has analyzed the plan and discovered that thousands of households will be denied the resources they need to rebuild their homes because of a flawed methodology adopted by the GLO that determines where and to whom federal disaster rebuilding funds will go. Texas Housers has identified an additional$1.17 billion of unmet need for low-and moderate-income Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey. Texas Housers proposes a more accurate methodology that properly recognizes the rebuilding needs of disaster survivors,instead of GLO's approach that sets a high qualifying loss threshold for homeowners and renters.This results in the recovery needs of most lower income households not being budgeted for in the state's Action Plan. 'This must be a fair recovery for everyone.Whether your house is worth$1 million or$30,000,a foot of water renders your home equally unlivable,"said Texas Housers research director Charlie Duncan.'There is a fundamental bias in the GLO's methodology that means thousands of Texans of modest means will not be able to go back home and recover." The federal government charges state officials with determining how the$5 billion in federal grants will be distributed among impacted regions,prioritizing those with needs unmet by private insurance.The GLO draft plan proposes,regardless of income,that a homeowner only be considered to have an"unmet"need if FEMA valued their loss at$8,000 or more,or if a renter,a valued loss of$2,000.The GLO's proposal favors higher income households while leaving out those low-and moderate- income households struggling to recover. Texas Housers has aggressively used federal and state public information laws to gain access to details on who suffered damage during Hurricane Harvey and remains in need of housing assistance. The data paints a clear picture that thousands of Texans with few resources have suffered damages to their homes at levels that render their homes unlivable yet would be excluded for getting help under the GLO's plan.For example,based on FEMA data,homeowners of the most modest means suffered average Harvey damages of$7,000 while higher income homeowners had average damages of$13,500.GLO's proposed threshold for unmet need is skewed to refect the most low-income homeowners. Texas Housers calls on GLO to adopt an alternative methodology,which sets unmet need thresholds that are based on the average FEMA loss estimates for different income groups. Using this more accurate methodology,Texas Housers has ranked the top 20 zip codes that are at risk of being underfunded and undercounted when compared to the GLO's current plan. At the top of the list are majority Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods in Houston and Port Arthur as well as areas across the Coastal Bend.Thus,the GLO's proposed method of allocating funds has a disparate impact on these two groups of people in violation of civil rights laws. The Texas Housers'analysis is informed by the work of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid(TRLA)in representing hundreds of low-and moderate-income homeowners and renters desperately trying to rebuild and recover along the Texas Gulf Coast TRLA has more than a decade of experience of ensuring that Texans with few resources get what they need to rebuild and recover from natural disasters.Their work continues after Harvey in the Coastal Bend,where many residents and homeowners are still reeling.Their hope for recovery,then,rests with the long-term aid that the GLO is administering. 'The GLO plan overlooks many of the most important problems for low-income disaster survivors,"said Rachel Zummo,a TRLA attorney who has been working with Harvey survivors since the storm's landfall."For example,a lot of low-income renters are completely displaced by disaster,living in towns far from their old apartments,' said Zummo,who manages TRLA's disaster-related community development team."Yet in order to get their applications for FEMA aid processed,they often have to arrange inspections of their old apartments,which are now tens if not hundreds of miles from their current homes.This is just one of the obstacles for low-income people trying to get accurate assessments of how much they've lost." Kate Rainey,a TRLA attorney also working on disaster-related community development,said,'We've learned from previous natural disasters that state recovery plans like this one have lasting effects on communities.This plan is a transformative opportunity for Texas to expand access to quality housing in disaster areas.So,it's vital that the GLO act now to include low-and moderate-income households that have been excluded at every point in the recovery process thus far." 'The GLO plan excludes thousands of families in the region where I live and work,"said Clinton McNair of Texas Housers.McNair oversees community engagement in the Port Arthur-Orange-Beaumont region.'The people in my community have experienced too many disasters where they have been left out and we can't let that happen again." It doesn't have to happen again.The GLO must employ Texas Housers'proposed methodology in their action plan revisions to meet the needs of those with the most difficult path ahead. 'We know that low-income people of color are undercounted and underserved by FEMA in disasters,"Texas Housers Houston co-director Chrishelle Paley said."For the GLO to actually magnify their exclusion is unacceptable.We call on the GLO,Governor Abbott and HUD to treat every Texan fairly by ensuring an inclusive plan to award housing funds for rebuilding." https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-tls/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 2 of 2 • The U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development granted the State of Texas$5 billion for long-term rebuilding of housing.The state,is expecting another S5 billion later this year. Share this: E ma i I Pr i ntPocketFa ceboo kTw itter Like this Like Be the first to like this. TagsDisaster recovery•GLO•Hurricane recovery 1 comment on'State must amend plan for disaster recovery so thousands of low-and moderate-income Texans can rebuild and recover" Pingback:Texas Housers calls on state to amend Harvey recovery action plan to be more equitable and inclusive Texas Housers Comments are closed. Post navigation Previous Post Next Post Jump to Toolbar https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 1 of 2 Governor Abbott Rebuild Texas Updates"Snapshot" (November 2017 -Thru April 10,2018) (Includes Excerpts) From: Arthur Charlesiii<lamancha1965@aol.com' To: lamancha1965<lamancha1965@aol.com> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 6:03 am Office of the Texas Governor I Greg Abbott Layer 1Layer 1FacebookTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterTwitterOffice of the Governor I Greg Abbott Toggle MenuMenu Home News Texas Receives$5 Billion Grant From Department Of Housing And Urban Development For Disaster Recovery Texas Receives$5 Billion Grant From Department Of Housing And Urban Development For Disaster Recovery April 10,2018 1 Austin,Texas I Press Release Governor Greg Abbott announced that Texas has been awarded$5,035,260,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD)for disaster recovery from Hurricane Harvey and previous flood events.The grant funding is provided through HUD's Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery(CDBG-DR) Program for the rebuilding of housing,businesses and infrastructure.This allocation comes as a result of the disaster supplemental recently passed by Congress,and is in addition to the$5 billion in CDBG funding previously awarded to Texas by HUD late last year. "The additional Community Development Block Grant funds announced today will inject billions of dollars that are desperately needed to help restore our communities," said Governor Abbott."As the recovery process from Hurricane Harvey continues,the State of Texas is continuing to work as quickly as possible to ensure affected regions have the resources they need to fully recover. I thank Secretary Carson,as well as our federal partners,for their ongoing commitment and support throughout this process,and I look forward to continuing our work together to help communities rebuild." "It's clear that a number of communities are still struggling to recover from a variety of storms that occurred in the past three years,"said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. 'These grants will help rebuild communities impacted by past disasters and will also protect them from major disasters in the future." "Hurricane Harvey was one of the most destructive and disruptive disasters affecting the lives of millions of Texans along the coast,"said Commissioner Bush.'These additional CDBG-DR funds will go a long way towards helping Texas communities rebuild while restoring peace of mind for residents and confidence for local businesses." The CDBG-DR funding includes: •$652,175,000 to help rebuild damaged homes,businesses and infrastructure. •$4,297,189,000 for elevating homes,property buyouts,and hardening structures from wind and water to help protect Texas families from future storms. •In addition,Houston received$61,884,000 and San Marcos$24,012,000 for mitigation of 2015 floods. Local Texas officials can now implement a disaster recovery plan to identify their communities needs for these funds. Home Governor Abbott First Lady Initiatives News Organization Contact Updates I Rebuild Texas https r/www.rebuildtexas today/cateoory/updates/Result details Apr 5,2018 I Updates.The Rebuild Texas Fund was launched by Michael and Susan Dell and Governor Greg Abbott just days after Hurricane Harvey devastated Texas communities. It is separate from the Commission to Rebuild Texas.A collaborative project of the Michael&Susan Dell Foundation and the OneStar... HUD gives$5 billion for Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts in Texas... httos.//www.housinowire.coM...141854-hud-gives-5-billion-for-hurricane-harvev-rec .Result details Nov 17,2017-Greg Abbott announced Friday that HUD is providing more than$5 billion to the state of Texas to be used for the recovery efforts from Hurricane... Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas Rebuild Texas Rebuild Texas Menu Recovery Infographics as of April 9 Apr 9,2018 I Updates Infographics make it easy to understand the facts and figures of the local recovery efforts throughout Texas following Hurricane Harvey. These infographics were compiled,created,and updated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA).They include information about the assistance provided so far,the number of survivors currently in temporary housing and innovative repair programs,and more. The statewide figures were updated on April 9,2018,and the county-by-county information—as well as the city-specific information for Houston,Port Aransas,and Rockport—is current as of April 6,2018.All infographics will continue to be updated throughout the recovery process. You can view or download the latest recovery infographics for the state,for all counties,and for three select cities affected by Hurricane Harvey below. Statewide: Download(PDF,13.03MB) Counties and Select Cities: Displaying April-6-41-County-3-City.pdf. Pagel/44Zoom outFit to widthZoom in Page 1 of 44 Aransas County Recovery Hurricane Harvey:County Updates all totals as of April 6,2018 $157.46 M ILLION IN SURVIVORS'POCKETS 7,309 APPROVED REGISTRATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE 99.8%HOME INSPECTIONS COMPLETED NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM (NFIP) Claims 2,387 Paid $27.54M ILLION PUBLIC ASSISTANCE https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 2 of 2 a Provides grants to Government organizations and certain private nonproyts. 6 OBLIGATED PROJECTS $32.9MILLION FEDERALLY FUNDED Housing and other disaster related expenses: $29.01M IL additionally Direct Housing 206 HOUSED 212total 97%complete Small Business Administration(SBA) Loans Approved:1,278 for$100.91MIL 71 IN FEMA HOUSEHOLDS FUNDED HOTELS Sources:FEMA,U.S.Small Business Administration Page 2 of 44 Austin County Recovery Hurricane Harvey:County Updates all totals as of April 6,2018 $4.88MILLION IN SURVIVORS'POCKETS 323 APPROVED REGISTRATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE 100%HOME INSPECTIONS COMPLETED NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM (NFIP) Claims 8 5 Paid $2.19MILLION PUBLIC ASSISTANCE Provides grants to Government organizations and certain private nonproyts. 1 OBLIGATED PROJECTS $6 THOUSAND FEDERALLY FUNDED Housing and other disaster related expenses: $1.16 MIL additionally Direct Housing 3 HOUSED 7 total 43%complete Small Business Administration(SBA) Loans Approved 25 for$1.53 MIL 2 HOUSEHOLDS IN FEMA FUNDED HOTELS Sources:FEMA,U.S.Small Business Administration Page 3 of 44 Governor Abbott Announces New Hazard Mitigation Funding For... https.11gov texas.gov/.../Governor-Abbott-Announces-New-Hazard-Mitigation-Fundin.. Result details Feb 13,2018-Governor Greg Abbott today joined local leaders in Rockport and Houston,Texas to announce the availability of new funding for hazard mitigation...$1 billion that Texas will receive,$500 million in funding is available today,while the remaining funding will be provided on or before August 25,2018. Harvey Resources I U.S.Representative Randy Weber jitos.//weber.house.aov/constituent-serviceslharvev-resource.htmResult details Texas Efforts and Updates.Housing UPDATE:Eligible Hurricane Harvey survivors receiving Transitional Shelter Assistance(ISA)may receive an extension to temporarily stay in hotels while looking for an alternative housing.This extension goes through April 23,2018.Disaster survivors with a continuing need for the hotel.. V WV.Google.com https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page I of 2 Comments on the State of Texas Hurricane Harvey...-Texas Appleseed(February 2018)with Excerpted materials From: Arthur Charlesiii clamancha1965@aol.com> To: lamancha1965<lamancha1965@aol.com> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 6:18 am Comments on the State of Texas Hurricane Harvey...-Texas Appleseed https//www.texasappleseed.orqi../TexasAppleseed-Cornments-Hurricane%20Harvev- Result Options Feb 13,2018-the Supplemental Appropriation for Disaster Relief Requirements,2017(Pub ..in order to avoid potential discrimination against people based on... programs and projects,and in the beneficiaries of those programs. ..9 Disaster Impact and Unmet Needs Assessment Kit at 6(HUD,March 2013)available at. Missing Govwern me nta I 5 engagement with diverse racial,ethnic,and LEP populations from emergency planning through the recovery stages.[10)10 Direct engagement with diverse racial, ethnic,and LEP populations is necessary during the recovery stage to ensure that recovery programs...are developed in a manner that takes into account the needs of all members of the community,regardless of race,color,or national origin,and do not result in the creation or perpetuation of racial or ethnic disparities.Direct community engagement is important given the well known deficiencies in the most widely available data,particularly FEMA data,which incorrectly estimates unmet needs of renters and low and moderate income homeowners.FEMA data undercounts damage in the following ways:1.FEMA does not inspect rental units for damage; it instead uses personal property damage as a proxy for unit damage.Rental units are only"most impacted"if there is a FEMA personal property assessment of$2000 or more or over one foot of flooding.Low-income families may have lost everything,but if a FEMA inspector does not think their personal property was worth$2000 or there was less than one foot of water in the unit,that unit will not be included in damage estimates.We also note that the majority of the damage from Harvey's initial landfall was not flooding damage.Calculating a damage amount based on personal property loss rather than unit loss would result in an entirely inaccurate amount of unmet need for rental housing.This is compounded by the fact that,under the allocation methodology laid out in Appendix A to the November 2016 FR Notice,for purposes of calculating unmet affordable rental housing need,landlords are presumed to have adequate insurance coverage unless the unit is occupied by a renter with income of$20,000 or less."Using the 2017 Area Median Limits calculated by HUD for the Houston Metro Area,the only units that would be counted would be units affordable to families of three or less making 30%or less of AMI,again massively undercounting the need for affordable rental housing in a state with high demand for housing and a growing affordability crisis As the Action Plan states,"(i)n an already tight market,the loss of housing associated with Hurricane Harvey only compounds affordability issues in the state."2.FEMA's temporary housing programs disadvantage renters and lower-income homeowners Both FEMA's rental assistance and Direct Leasing and Multi-Family Lease and Repair rely on the willingness of local landlords to participate in the programs and on the availability of units in the first place. Following Hurricane Katrina,FEMA's housing referral site included openly discriminatory ads,and testing showed that people of color and people with 10 Guidance to State and Local Governments and Other Federally Assisted Recipients Engaged in Emergency Preparedness,Response,Mitigation,and Recovery Activities on Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964(DOJ,DHS,HUD,DHHS,DOT,August 2016)at 7 6 disabilities were subject to discrimination in the housing market 11 In Texas,landlords have been reluctant to participate in temporary housing programs post-Harvey, leaving many families without stable housing or homeless.(Yet another reason GLO's prioritization of rebuilding affordable rental housing is so important.)The Direct Assistance for Limited Home Repair(DALHR)may also exclude many lower income homeowners.FEMA's program rule is that"repairs cannot exceed the lesser of 50%of the home's fair market value or$60,000."Homes with with lower fair market values,therefore,will be denied assistance,even if they need the exact same amount of repair assistance as a home with a higher market value.Data on the progress of these programs should also be included in the Needs Assessment.3.FEMA data undercounts damages to low and moderate income homeowners.Following Hurricane Dolly in 2008,FEMA denied approximately half of all housing repair applications in the Rio Grande Valley for Insufficient damage,"not because those homes were not damaged by the hurricane,but because FEMA was applying an unpublished standard of"deferred maintenance,"which essentially denied low income homeowners assistance based on the inspector's opinion of what the pre-storm condition of the home might have been.As a result,FEMA underestimated housing damage in the Rio Grande Valley by as much as 50%.FEMA is no longer permitted to use the'deferred maintenance"evaluation,due to the federal lawsuit that resulted from this practice,LUPE v.FEMA.However,in the wake of Hurricane Harvey,low- income homeowners have testified before the Texas Legislature that they are being denied FEMA assistance based on the alleged pre-storm condition of their homes.12 FE MA's policy and/or practices systemically undercount housing damage in low-income communities and communities of color,in violation of the Stafford Act's prohibition on discrimination"on the grounds of race,color,religion,nationality,sex,age,disability,English pro ciency,or economic status",and other federal civil rights laws 13 4.Heir property issues,which are much more prevalent in African-American families and rural communities,affect eligibility for SBA loans,which in turn contributes to the disproportionate undercounting of damage to households and neighborhoods of color.Homeowners without clear title are not eligible for SBA loans, and although FEMA guidance allows for alternative proof of ownership,it is unclear that this guidance is being explained to applicants.14 11 National Fair Housing Alliance,No Home for the Holidays:Report on Housing Discrimination Against Hurricane Katrina Survivors(December 20,2015)Available at: http://nationalfairhoustnaorq/wpcontent/uploads/2017/04/No-Home-for-the-Holidays-NFHA-Katrina-Disonmmation-Report-12.20-05-3 Of 12 January 18,2018 Texas House Urban Affairs Committee Hearing.Summary and video found at https;//texashousers net/2018/01/18/Harvey-survivors-tell-texas-house-urban-affairs-comm ttee- fhatsafe-housine-is-ions-overdue/13 42 U.S.C.5151 14"FEMA defines an owner-occupied residence as one where the applicant:•Is the legal owner;or•Does not hold a formal title to the residence and pays no rent,but is responsible for the payment of taxes or maintenance of the residence;or 7 5.FEMA has repeatedly refused to make some damage data and data about application approvals and denials public,especially data disaggregated by protected class.Our understanding is that FEMA has also failed to make some of this data available to the State,making it impossible for the State to incorporate the disparate impact on protected classes or geographic areas into its needs assessment and Action Plan.The available data addressing this issue includes a survey conducted by the Episcopal Health Foundation published in December 2017,which found that half of affected residents reported that they were not getting the help they needed,that households whose FEMA applications were rejected were not given a reason for the denial or information on how to appeal,and that Black and Hispanic residents and households with lower incomes were more likely to be affected by property damage or income loss than other affected Texans.15 These issues are compounded by administrative and process problems that emerged after Hurricane Katrina,Rita,Dolly,and Ike,and that are continuing in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.;Applicants receive contradictory or inaccurate information from FEMA personnel,notices to applicants are confusing and inadequate,and the appeals process is both unduly time consuming and difficult to navigate At minimum,if the State is using FEMA data to determine need,the State should look at FEMA application data,not just eligibility and damage data.Eligibility is a flawed measure,given the high level of FEMA denials generally(which calls into question its reliability).The State has not made FEMA eligibility a prerequisite for CDBG-DR eligibility in the past Even FEMA application may be a poor measure of need,due to the fact that displacement,disability or age, the impact of the hurricane on health,and other issues may have prevented some individuals and families from even completing an application.As the Action Plan points out,"some housing and income demographics are slightly different in the eligible counties versus the statewide averages.The 49 eligible counties have an estimated median owner-occupied housing unit value and median household income lower than the state as a whole."The affected counties also have higher African- American and minority populations as a whole than the statewide total.16 Given this,we are concerned that the data used to determine unmet need for both owners and renters may underestimate the level of unmet need in the LMI category.We understand that the data available to the GLO at the time the Action Plan was written was not•Has lifetime occupancy rights with formal title vested in another(see Figure 6 for required documentation).FEMA,Individuals and Households Program Unified Guidance(IHPUG),FP 104-009-3/September 30,2016,at 17-18.15 Liz Hamel,Bryan Wu,Mollyann Brodie,Shao-Chee Sim,and Elena Marks,An Early Assessment of Hurricane Harvey's Impact on Vulnerable Texans in the Gulf Coast Region:Their Voices and Priorities to Inform Rebuilding Efforts(Kaiser Family Foundation and Episcopal Health Foundation,December 5,2017)Available at:httos.//www kff.orq/other/recort/an-earlv-assessment-of-hurricane-harvevs irnpact-on- vulnerable-texensin-the-gulf-coast-region-their-voices-and-oricnties-to-inform-rebuilding-effortsr?olatform-hootsuite 16 Action Plan at 13. 8 complete and that these numbers will change in subsequent Action Plans and Amendments which must use the most recent data available.17 We support the use of a data-based formula to allocate funds within the State of Texas.But that formula must be adjusted to account for deficiencies in FEMA and other data and ensure that the needs of all Texans affected by Hurricane Harvey are taken into account.18 There are similar issues with identifying and prioritizing infrastructure needs.We agree with the GLO that FEMA public assistance data is both preliminary and not the ideal data set with which to determine infrastructure needs.However,we are concerned that an alternative evaluation of infrastructure needs based on priorities identified by impacted communities,the October 31,2017 Request for Federal Assistance:Critical Infrastructure Projects,compiled by the Governor's Commission to Rebuild Texas,is not an accurate picture of infrastructure needs either.We understand that this report was compiled almost immediately after the hurricane and that the proposed funding for many of these projects is not CDBG-DR.We also commend the Commission for including"Equity and Faimess"and"Environmentally Sound"as criteria for evaluating projects.However,it is unclear how these criteria were applied and the final list of projects selected by the Commission raises a number of concerns:1.Heavily damaged jurisdictions that we would expect to see represented in these projects,particularly Port Arthur,do not have proposed projects on the list.We understand that Port Arthur did not submit a project to the Commission,which may indicate a lack of capacity-in an area with such a high level of damage-to engaged in this process.Low-income communities and communities of color are more likely to be left out of a process that relies on the communities to identify and prioritize their infrastructure needs.This is particularly true for smaller,poorer,or more rural https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 2 of 2 communities that have capacity barriers intensified by the aftermath of a disaster.Port Arthur,for example,has a 29.3%poverty rate and is 40.7%African-American and 29.6%Hispanic/Latino.19 17 81 F.R.83254;83258(November 21,2016)18 For the second allocation round following Hurricanes Dolly and Ike in 2008,HUD created a new formula for allocating CDBG disaster recovery funds between states.The formula took into account:'(i)The sum of estimated unmet housing,infrastructure,and business needs,adjusted by(ii)a HUD-calculated risk level for recovery challenge,"which compensated for some of the problems with FEMA data–particularly the underrepresentation of unmet needs in low-income minority families and communities",iincluding a"challenge to recover"factor reflecting data from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita,and Wilma that was used to calculate the risk a home would not recover,adjusting grant allocations so that states with higher perdamaged home risk scores received more funds.Department of Housing and Urban Development Additional Allocations and Waivers Granted to and Alternative Requirements for 2008 Community Development Block Grant(CDBG)Disaster Recovery Grantees(August 14,2009)Federal RegisterNol.74,No.156[Docket No.FR-5337–N-01]available at htto:/ledooket acoess,000 oov/20091odf/E9-194e8.odf and 46 Fed.Reg.Vol.74,No.156.Friday,August 14,2009,p.41155 19 2010 Census Data 9 2.There are several projects in the report that are economic development projects with no clear,or even claimed,tie to unmet disaster needs.One of these projects alone is estimated to cost$1.3 billion and primarily benefits a county for which no disaster was declared.20 In 2008,the Mississippi State Conference NAACP,the Gulf Coast Fair Housing Center and several individuals filed a lawsuit against HUD(Mississippi State Conference NAACP v.U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development,CV-08-2140)alleging that HUD violated 42 U.S.C.§5301 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 by approving Mississippi's Hurricane Katrina Action Plan diverting$570 million in CDBG-DR funds from programs addressing the housing needs of low-and moderate-income survivors to funding of a major expansion of the commercial Port of Gulfport.21 3.While CDBG-DR is not the primary proposed funding source for many of these projects,it is often proposed as a backup source of funding for FEMA or ACOE dollars.In addition,it is critical that recovery from Hurricane Harvey is coordinated in order to leverage all available funds and ensure that communities are rebuilt in a way that protects them from future events.4. Many jurisdictions have not assessed their infrastructure on the basis of greatest need.22 For example,the City of Houston did not conduct a study of open ditch drainage in the City until after Hurricane Ike,despite repeat flooding in certain neighborhoods.The study confirmed that 88%of open ditch drainage was in minority neighborhoods,a legacy of segregation and historical disinvestment.The city's failure to evaluate these needs for decades meant that drainage projects in minority neighborhoods were never prioritized for infrastructure investment.As the State reminds subrecipients in the Action Plan,they are obligated to use federal funding in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing and complies with civil rights requirements,including spending on infrastructure and mitigation,and the GLO will review projects for civil rights compliance.[21]The State's inclusion of"pre-disaster needs'in its assessment is important and appropnate.23 IV.Use of Funds The State's prioritization of housing needs,the needs of low and moderate income families, and rebuilding affordable rental housing are not only the correct priorities from an equity standpoint,but also from a comprehensive disaster recovery standpoint.Low- income families and 20 See,e.g.,The Governor's Commission to Rebuild Texas,Request for Federal Assistance:Critical Infrastructure Projects(October 31,2017)at 44.21 The case was settled in 2010,resulting in the submission of a new Action Plan with additional funding for LMI households 22 For this reason,among others, including those cited by the Comments of the Coalition for Environment,Equity,and Resilience(CEER),the Texas Coastal Resiliency Study may be a valuable source of potential projects for jurisdictions.23 Action Plan at 6.Texas Appleseed also appreciates GLO's use of the Oxford Comma. 10 communities are disproportionately affected by natural disasters,and then are disadvantaged again when the recovery process does not lake their unique needs into account.Prioritizing rebuilding affordable and rental housing across the region will prevent permanent displacement,preserve the jobs and populations of many communities,and increase the quality of Texas housing stock.This priority also reflects HUD's requirement,in the February 9,2018 FR Notice,that"each grantee primarily consider and address its unmet housing recovery needs."24 1.Harris County Residential Buyout Program It is critically important that program guidelines for this buyout program be developed in a transparent process with extensive community input.Regardless of whether these planned buyouts are voluntary or mandatory, relocating away from an existing community or a home that has been in a family for generations can be difficult and even traumatic.25 Without planning and community buy-in,a voluntary individual buyout program can result in a patchwork of empty and occupied homes,creating a blighted neighborhood.One of the critical issues in ensuring a successful buyout program is equity and ensuring that program rules and processes do not have a disparate impact on particular groups of homeowners. The program guideline requirements listed in the Action Plan are a promising start,particularly the requirement that the program serve LMI households,who have the least resources with which to relocate on their own or to maintain temporary housing elsewhere for a long period of time,leaving them to live in homes that may be structurally compromised or present health risks because of mold.It is particularly critical that,as required by the Action Plan,this buyout program includes not only acquisition and demolition,but relocation payment and assistance as well.The December 27,2017 FR Notice recognizes the importance of this use of funds,as did previous applicable FR Notices,by clarifying the previously published alternative requirement qualifying this use of funds to meet the LMI national objective criteria for buyouts and housing incentives.To meet the Low/Mod Buyout(LMB)and Low/Mod Housing Incentive(LMHI)national objectives,grantees must demonstrate that the buyout award is greater than the post-disaster fair market value of the property,or that housing incentives are tied to voluntary buyout programs in order to help LMI households move outside of the affected floodplain or to a lower-risk area.26 Low and moderate income households must be provided with enough funds that the choice to move is a realistic one(or to ensure that they can actually move to a safer area in the case of mandatory buyouts).In 2007,the State of New Jersey set up a permanent voluntary buyout program called Blue Acres,which was used for buyouts following Hurricane Sandy using FEMA,CDBG-DR,and state and 24 83 F.R.5844 (February 9,2018)25 Over 50%of applicants who opted out of the State's Hurricane Ike and Dolly homeowner mobility program cited attachment to their neighborhood or the fact that the property had been in their family for a long time as their reason for choosing not to move.(February 28,2017 data obtained from GLO)26 82 F R. 61320;61323(December 27,2017). 11 municipal funding.The program purchased homes at the fair market value of the home before Hurricane Sandy flooding.27 However,this policy denies LMI homeowners a realistic choice to move.For example,take an elderly homeowner in Harris County who has paid off their mortgage and is now on a fixed income.If their home was worth$45,000,or even$60,000 or$80,000 before the hurricane(perhaps because of repeated flooding or its location in a distressed neighborhood),that amount of money will not be enough to purchase a new home in a safer area,nor will it provide rent for the rest of that person's life.The homeowner is stuck between staying in an unsafe home or losing housing stability and perhaps their only asset.This is not a real choice,and results in the most vulnerable homeowners staying in high risk areas.28 Using the pre-storm value of a home to determine disaster recovery program benefits often has a discriminatory impact on the basis of race or ethnicity as well.Following Hurricane Katrina,a lawsuit was filed against the State of Louisiana and the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD) alleging racial discrimination in the State's CDBG-DR funded Road Home Program,which provided grants to homeowners to repair or rebuild their homes.The original grant formula was based on the pre-storm value of a home,which resulted in African-American homeowners receiving less repair money than White homeowners, because their homes were located in neighborhoods with lower home values due to market discrimination and the legacy of segregation.29 Many African-American families were left unable to complete repairs or return home or were left living in uninhabitable houses.As Louisiana Congressman Cedric Richmond said when the case was settled in 2011,[e]veryone knew that the Road Home formula for calculating grant awards was deeply flawed and punished folks in neighborhoods where home values were lower...After all,if two families are both rebuilding a three bedroom home then their construction costs will be the same—regardless of the neighborhood. In that case,each family deserves the same assistance from their government.Unfortunately,the flawed formula was effectively discriminatory,locking many families out of equitable assistance.30 27 FEMA,"For Communities Plagued by Repeated Flooding,Property Acquisition May be the Answer'(Release No:SRFO- 'OM V.G000le Com Jump to Toolbar • Mail From/To https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 1 of 2 Low-income households disproportionately denied by FEMA is a sign of a system that is failing the most vulnerable From: Arthur Charlesiii<Iamancha1965@aol.com> To: lamancha1965<lamancha1965@aol.com> Date: Fri,Aug 9,2019 6:30 am Texas Housers Texas Low Income Housing Information Service Skip to content low-income-households-d is propo... Low-income households disproportionately denied by FEMA is a sign of a system that is failing the most vulnerable by Amelia AdamsNovember 30,2018Harvey Recovery For some,Hurricane Harvey is now a distant,if not unpleasant,memory.Looking back on 2017,many Texas families will recall the evacuations,the news footage of dramatic rescues,the mud-filled first floors,and the frustrations of the FEMA process. But some families live every day in the storm's long shadow,unable to restore their homes to a livable condition more than a year after Harvey.At Texas Housers,we connect regularly with survivors who even today have moldy walls,missing sheetrock,leaky roofs,or no furniture.Some haven't even been able to return to their pre- storm home. Many of the families still struggling to recover received no assistance from FEMA,and FEMA's data shows that ineligibility for assistance is more common among lower- income applicants.What's happening here?Why were low-income households disproportionately denied FEMA assistance? Denied Among homeowners who applied for FEMA assistance,rates of ineligibility varied dramatically by income level.The denial rate for all homeowner applicants was 26%, but those making less than$15K/year had a denial rate of 46%.As the household's income climbed,their likelihood of being approved also increased.Dramatically, those who reported their income as over$70K/year had only a 10%ineligibility rate. Figure 1:FEMA Ineligibility Rates by Income(Homeowners)Source:FEMA FOIA Request,2/18 Figure 2:Share of Applicants by Income(Homeowners),Source:FEMA FOIA Request,2/18 Another way to look at this disparity is the difference between the share of total applicants from each income category compared with the share of those who were found ,ineligible for assistance(Figure 2).Out of the pool of total applicants,only 13%reported income under$15,000/year,but this group accounted for almost a quarter of the denials in the disaster area.On the other hand,while almost a quarter of applicants earned more than$70,000/year,this group accounted for only 10%of the total ineligible applicants. This tells us that homeowner households with fewer financial resources were more likely to be denied FEMA assistance after Harvey.But these charts alone don't explain exactly why this is happening. White there are no easy answers,the data offers some clues when broken down by the reason for denial FEMA applies a set of ineligibility codes to applications that are denied.These codes appear on the decision letters applicants receive telling them that they are not eligible for assistance as well as in FEMA's records.Below is a list of all codes applied to Harvey Individual and Household Program(IHP)applications following Hurricane Harvey.[1] Figure 3:FEMA denial codes applied to Hurricane Harvey applications,listed in order of prevalence. The chart below shows the most common ineligibility codes received by denied homeowners. Figure 4:Frequency of ineligibility codes among denied homeowner applicants Given FEMA's lack of transparency around their inspection and determination process,these codes offer only vague evidence as to what has gone wrong with each application.There are still open questions about what triggers some of these codes,and therefore,confusion remains over how applicants can appeal them. Through conversations with legal aid attorneys and FEMA information requests,Texas Housers has been working to sketch a rough picture of what these codes mean and when they come into play.Our hope is that with a better understanding of these codes,we can recommend policy changes or other actions that will help low-income applicants avoid common pitfalls when seeking funding. The data reveals dramatic disparities that offer clues to advocates.There are some denial codes that are disproportionately found on the applications of lower income households.(See Figure 4) Figure 4:Homeowner Denial Codes broken down by Income—stars indicate disproportionate prevalence among low income households For example,more than ten thousand households were denied because the inspector wasn't able to contact them.(This accounts for about a tenth of the total homeowner denials.)Almost two-thirds of these ineligible applicants reported income less than$45,000/year.Meanwhile,this income bracket makes up only 41%of homeowner applicants. The difference is even more shocking when it comes to"Failed Identity Verification."A full 95%of homeowners denied for this reason make less than$30K/year.For renters in the same income bracket,the number was even higher(See Figure 5). Other disproportionately common problems for lower-income applicants include: •The applicant's identity couldn't be verified by FEMA(meaning their social security number and name weren't matched in FEMA's system); •Their application was either determined by FEMA to be a duplicate or there was something that caused FEMA to flag it for duplicate review; •The applicant couldn't prove that they lived in the home at the time of the disaster; •The inspector wasn't able to contact the applicant to complete an inspection of their home;and •The applicant missed their inspection appointment. In other words,low-income applicants are more likely to face denial for assistance because of administrative and logistical issues such as failure to successfully obtain an inspection and prove their identity and occupancy of the home. On the Ground These pitfalls are well known among legal aid attorneys who assist low-income survivors.Tracy Figueroa of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid commented that many low- income people have trouble keeping their phones connected after a disaster,are often displaced far from their pre-storm address,and lack a personal vehicle to return to their homes.She has also seen mobile home owners who share one lot with other mobile home owners be denied because they appear to be duplicates. Ms.Jackson,a low-income mother of two,lost everything she owned when her Houston apartment flooded during Harvey.But when she received a decision letter from FEMA,it showed that her application had been flagged as a duplicate.It turned out someone had already applied for FEMA assistance using her name and address, which made her application the duplicate—rendering it ineligible. At the time,she had no phone service,no car,and no permanent place to stay.While the"duplicate"flag eventually got cleared up through a lengthy appeals process, this hurdle would likely prove too onerous for many,especially a single morn dealing with losing all her belongings and relocating her family to a safe place. There are also many low-income survivors who struggle with challenges related to unconventional residential situations.This could include multiple families sharing a home,multiple homes on the same plot of land,inherited homes,or homes that aren't owned by the household outright. Ms.Lewis of Port Arthur saw her entire neighborhood flood during Harvey.Her house took 6 feet of water in some rooms,and she says it was three weeks before the flood waters receded. Ms.Lanes had an agreement with a family friend(the deed-holder)to rent the home to own.She had lived there since 2014 and was only 3 months away from being able to purchase it.However,because she and the deed-holder had never signed a formal agreement,she had no documentation of her situation.As a result,she was treated as a renter and given only assistance for personal property,despite her home being severely damaged by the flooding. Ms.Lewis still lives in her damaged home and is hoping she will qualify for assistance through CDBG-DR housing programs despite her informal claim to her home. Moving Forward While this information doesn't solve the mystery entirely or provide extra money to low-income survivors,it does help advocates understand the obstacles they face in getting assistance.We know that FEMA's process creates barriers that prevent survivors from acquiring funds to recover.There are several actions that this should compel: First,in the here and now,we must push for CDBG-DR funding to be directed at households like these.There are families who are still living with hazards and hardships caused by Harvey,and they should be our first priority as this money makes it down into local housing programs.We can learn from FEMA's limitations,reaching out proactively to those who were denied and making changes to the process so we can serve those who previously fell through the cracks.Rather than arguing to lower the amount of funds that should go to LMI households,as the state has done since day one,we need to help them first and foremost. Second,FEMA must learn from its ineligibility data how to prevent avoidable denials.Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico is a good example of an urgent learning opportunity.Most people there were denied assistance because they couldn't prove they owned their homes,something that has also caused problems across the Southern U.S.In areas where informal ownership is common,for instance,FEMA needs to adopt procedures that accomodate this.We know there will be more https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019 AOL Mail - Message View Page 2 of 2 disasters,whether wildfires in California or floods in Florida.If FEMA doesn't adapt to the lived conditions of the people it is supposed to help,it will fail in its mission. [1]These codes themselves are not generally publicly accessible.Texas Housers was able to access them through a FOIA request asking for information on all applicants found ineligible for IHP assistance for Hurricane Harvey,which included a code attached to each record.This list of codes was produced directly from the responsive dataset provided by FEMA.The challenge has been deducing what each of these codes refers to,how that type of denial is triggered,where in the process it would come up,and how an applicant could potentially remedy this denial through the appeal process.(These facts are much more important than the denial codes themselves,since they would actually provide some information to applicants and their advocates.)However,in order to learn about these codes,we have used an iterative process of speaking with FEMA representatives,reading through publicly-available program and policy guides,looking at individual decision letters and case details and finally,speaking with attorneys and advocates who represent denied applicants.Unfortunately,FEMA has not provided a detailed explanation of how these codes work,and our understanding is still merely an incomplete sketch. Share this: Ema i IPrintPocketFacebo ok4Twitte r Like Be the first to like this. Texas is offering$1 billion for cities to build resilience to prepare for the next storm.But the process could leave out communities that need it most. In"Harvey Recovery" Who's rooting for Port Arthur? In"Harvey Recovery" Jump to Toolbar https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-us/basic 8/9/2019