Disaster Preparation, Response, and Recovery for HUD Grantees and Tenants

1. DISASTER PREPERATION, RESPONSE and RECOVERY for HUD GRANTEES and TENANTS

2. HUD Priorities Before and After a Disaster Event Plans and actions that ensure safety of HUD / PHA staff and tenants. Plans and actions for implementation of impact assessments across HUD / PHA local offices, partners, grantees and program participants, including partner and grantee assets. Pre and post disaster coordination with federal, state and local partners on response and recovery efforts. Post disaster management of short-term and long-term response and recovery activities. Focus of this presentation is disaster preparedness, response and recovery activities for PHA tenants. After a disaster the safety and well being of tenants is HUD’s first priority.

3. Importance of Focusing on Tenants Before and After Disasters The Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs have a high percentage of residents that are children, elderly, disabled or have other special needs (including health conditions). These populations are particularly vulnerable to negative outcomes after a disaster. Low resource families may lack transportation to evacuate themselves before a disaster and may not have information about how to evacuate (including assistance that is available) Connection to post-disaster social services providers is critical to ensure that special needs populations are assisted and reconnected to stabilizing programs and care. A sub-set of fatalities after Katrina were due to unmanaged health issues because people were not re-connected to caregivers and medications. FEMA has denied benefits to HUD clients in the past for “duplicate assistance”. Most recently this occurred after tornados in Missouri which took HUD intervention to correct. Under Federal Law, HUD clients are eligible for certain types of FEMA assistance. Returning HUD tenants to their subsidy programs is critical due to the lack of affordable housing in the aftermath of most major disasters.

4. Mitigation & Preparedness Includes activities that reduce effects of a disaster on people and property. Involves establishing authorities and responsibilities for emergency actions, and finding the resources to support them. Direction / Control/ Communication. Risk Assessments across inventory (types of potential impacts, location, quality of housing, location of special needs populations or tenants etc.) HUD recommends that PHAs establish a Disaster Plan: Continuity of Operations (COOP). Contact lists for staff and tenants. Evacuation plan. Well-being of tenants (mass care). Needs of special populations. Process for locating residents post-disaster. Damage assessments Authorities and responsibilities for emergency actions. Partnerships and cooperative agreements. Key state and local organizations to link with post-disaster. Staff, tenant and landlord education and training. Training exercises with state and local partners.

5. Response and Recovery Activities necessary to protect tenants and property, restore agency to normal operations and house displaced tenants in permanent housing Alert and notification. Notify tenants and activate evacuation plans. Clear buildings of residents. Access to damaged properties to determine status. Communications, service connections and benefit connections across state and local providers and staff at Emergency Operations Centers (EOC). Short-term recovery. Ensure that all displaced tenants are housed and if displaced receiving FEMA benefits for which they are eligible. Complete property damage assessments. Begin working recovery resources e.g., insurance claims, FEMA Individual Assistance, FEMA Public Assistance, HUD resources and flexibilities. Return to normal operations. Long-term recovery. Ensure that all displaced tenants are in permanent housing equal in quality to what they had before the disaster. Put recovery plans and resources in place. Begin rebuilding process.

6. Partners and Cooperative Agreements State and local Emergency Management Agencies (EMA). Emergency Operations Centers (EOC). Local social services providers and Voluntary Agencies Active in Disasters (VOADs) e.g., American Red Cross (ARC) at http://test.nvoad.org . NVOAD for post disaster social services connections. Administration for Children and Families (ACF) for post disaster case management FEMA has worked with ACF under an Inter-Agency Agreement. Not used in every disaster, but for major disaster FEMA has option to implement case management services for FEMA applicants (including HUD clients). HUD (PIH, Field Office Directors, Regional Disaster Recovery Coordinator) FEMA (IA and PA) Disaster Declarations (SE US most disaster prone FL, GA, MS, AL, SC, NC, TN and KY account for 20% of all disasters since 1951) Public Assistance only (most common) Individual Assistance only (rare) Public Assistance and Individual Assistance combined (larger disasters)

7. Risk Assessments During pre-disaster mitigation and preparedness efforts work with state and local partners to identify properties (PH) and tenants (HCV) in areas at greatest risk for a disaster (e.g., flooding) Further identify developments / units (including HCV) that are at greatest risk for displacement due to the quality of the unit or other factors. Determine number of special needs families or hard to house families across portfolio, identifying significant clusters and spread across high risks units or locations. Provide information to state and local Emergency Management Agencies on high risk properties and populations, noting which should be triaged during response activities as first priority for evacuation and search and rescue. Target these areas as first priority for PHA efforts to mitigate impacts, prepare residents, and track displacement.

8. Meet with local officials (City, Local Emergency Management Agency) to link to existing plans for evacuating vulnerable populations (elderly, disabled, no transportation / resources). Provide disaster supplies kits and information to residents about evacuation processes, how the PHA and city can help them, and how to stay in touch with the PHA after the evacuation. Have tenants complete an evacuation form and note if they need assistance evacuating. Tenants should be asked these questions regularly during storm season as family circumstances change. Establish collaborative agreements with city and county or contracts with transport services to move residents to safe locations. Identify pre-defined pick up locations. Evacuation plan should include process for ensuring buildings are cleared if mandatory evacuation is in place. Especially for elderly buildings. Plan and practice evacuation processes. Work with FEMA or state and local EMAs to educate and train families. Evacuation Plans

9. Tracking Residents Establish a PHA emergency line or encourage families to contact the HUD PIH Customer Service Line post-disaster to notify the PHA of their location. Work with 211 in your community to add scripts for PH and HCV families to capture their location when they call 211 for information. Hardest to track are HCV tenants as information on displacement is not as readily known. Should educate HCV landlords on requirement to contact PHA if unit vacated. PHA should establish post disaster call out process to assess displacement and locate tenants. Important to identify current housing situation. Close coordination with HUD, FEMA, state and local EMAs and the EOC can assist in identifying locations of families. Proposed HUD and FEMA data sharing to identify HUD clients among FEMA registrants (still in negotiation).

10. FEMA Individual Assistance (IA) Overview Assistance is available to all displaced individuals under the Stafford Act. HUD subsidized renters are eligible for this assistance. Assistance can include: Rental assistance Direct housing (THU) Repair or rebuild homes Other needs assistance (ONA) Crisis counseling & case management Disaster unemployment assistance (individuals not covered by other unemployment systems) Legal services Special tax considerations

11. FEMA IA Other Needs Assistance (ONA) Money is available for necessary expenses and serious needs caused by the disaster. This includes: Disaster-related medical and dental costs. Disaster-related funeral and burial cost. Clothing; household items (room furnishings, appliances); tools (specialized or protective clothing and equipment) required for your job; necessary educational materials (computers, school books, supplies). Disaster damaged vehicle. Moving and storage expenses related to the disaster (moving and storing property to avoid additional disaster damage while disaster-related repairs are being made to the home). Other necessary expenses or serious needs as determined by FEMA. Other expenses that are authorized by law.

12. Crisis Counseling Section 416 of the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 1974 authorizes FEMA to fund mental health assistance and training activities in Presidentially declared major disaster areasfor 60 days to nine months. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) - Emergency Mental Health and Traumatic Stress Services Branch (EMHTSSB) works with FEMA through an interagency agreement to provide technical assistance, consultation, and training for State and local mental health personnel, grant administration and program oversight. Strengths Based— Services promote resilience, empowerment, and recovery. Anonymous—Crisis counselors do not classify, label, or diagnose people; no records or case files are kept Outreach Oriented—Crisis counselors deliver services in the communities rather than wait for survivors to seek their assistance. Conducted in Nontraditional Settings— Crisis counselors make contact in homes and communities, not in clinical or office settings. Designed to Strengthen Existing Community Support Systems—Services supplement, but do not supplant or replace, existing community systems.

13. PH and HCV Re-Housing Plans Displaced HUD clients (PH and HCV) can receive housing assistance from FEMA so long as there is no duplication of benefits i.e., not receiving rental subsidy under a HUD program and from FEMA. FEMA will refuse rental or direct housing assistance if: The family was offered other HUD subsidized housing within 50 miles from their previous address and they refused this assistance. For Alabama following the recent tornados they reduced this to 25 miles. Displaced HUD clients that had losses due to the disaster (personal property) are eligible for Other Needs Assistance (ONA) to help them start a new residence. There is no duplication of benefits with this assistance and HUD rental subsidies. PHA plans to re-house families should focus on returning them to subsidy programs in their community or nearby communities. FEMA rental assistance or direct housing are both temporary fixes. Right of first refusal for returning to redeveloped PH properties and PHA policies regarding length of HCV eligibility if in FEMA temporary housing.

14. Tony HebertDisaster Recovery Coordinator, Region IVU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development40 Marietta Street, 2nd FloorAtlanta, GA 30040(202) 491-6634tony.x.hebert@hud.gov