Hurricane survivors protest Louisiana's 'Road Home'
Charging that Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco has "hijacked" billions of dollars of federal reconstruction money, a coalition of groups representing Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors plans to hold a mass protest march in Baton Rouge this Saturday, Nov. 18.
Organized by the People's Hurricane Relief Fund, a grassroots organization established after last year's storms to facilitate the return and rebuilding process, the "We Want Our Money Rally" targets the state's Road Home Program. The largest single housing recovery effort in U.S. history, the program was created by Blanco, the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Office of Community Development with the state legislature's approval.
The Road Home has been full of obstacles, however. Blanco herself criticized the program's pace in a press conference yesterday, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports:
Not surprisingly, PHRF is far harsher than Blanco in its criticism of Road Home. In a media advisory announcing Saturday's march, it calls the program "a fraud and an attempt for developers to permanently displace working class and poor New Orleanians." The program, it says,
At the same time the federal government is seeking to tear down affordable housing in New Orleans, a new study finds that U.S. housing policies -- particularly its funding priorities -- are deepening the homelessness crisis. The San Francisco-based Western Regional Advocacy Project yesterday released "Without Housing," a report that documents how decades of federal housing cutbacks correlate with the massive homelessness problem that emerged in the United States in the 1980s and continues to this day.
WRAP's report caught the attention of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which has a story about it in today's paper:
"A resident return program with the guiding principles of justice and equity is needed," says PHRF's Malcolm Suber. "This includes renters along with homeowners. Renters should be able to return to a city where there is affordable housing, not housing priced out of the range of the majority of New Orleans' working people."
Organized by the People's Hurricane Relief Fund, a grassroots organization established after last year's storms to facilitate the return and rebuilding process, the "We Want Our Money Rally" targets the state's Road Home Program. The largest single housing recovery effort in U.S. history, the program was created by Blanco, the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the Office of Community Development with the state legislature's approval.
The Road Home has been full of obstacles, however. Blanco herself criticized the program's pace in a press conference yesterday, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports:
The governor wants to know why only 27 families have received money from the program to restore the estimated 123,000 homes damaged or destroyed by last year’s hurricanes.ICF is a Fairfax, Va.-based public company that provides technology and consulting services to governments. Last week it announced that its third-quarter net income more than doubled to $3 million on increased revenue related to a "recently awarded contract" related to "housing program management services." In all, the company expects to make $756 million off the Road Home contract, it reported in a recent press release.
Blanco said money should be in the hands of at least 1,500 families by this point.
Blanco hopes to get answers during a meeting today with ICF International, the company in charge of dispensing $7.5 billion in federal funds to repair the owner-occupied houses.
Not surprisingly, PHRF is far harsher than Blanco in its criticism of Road Home. In a media advisory announcing Saturday's march, it calls the program "a fraud and an attempt for developers to permanently displace working class and poor New Orleanians." The program, it says,
prevents those with modest means from rebuilding because the maximum grant of $150,000 is based on the pre-Katrina value of one's home … minus any insurance proceeds … minus any FEMA grants … minus penalties for not having flood insurance … minus penalties for moving out of the state if the homeowner sells her/his property; thus leaving homeowners with not enough funds to rebuild.The marchers are also protesting the lack of assistance for renters and plans to demolish 5,100 units of public housing in New Orleans. As law professor Bill Quigley of New Orleans' Loyola University writes:
U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which has taken over the local Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) is seeking millions in hurricane relief tax credits to demolish over 5,000 apartments. Since Katrina, HUD and HANO have barred thousands of families from returning to their apartments. All the renters are African American, most are mothers and grandmothers. Some are elderly and disabled. Private apartments are out of the question as rent in the New Orleans area is up nearly 80 percent over last year.On a hopeful note, Quigley reports that the human-rights group Amnesty International USA is shining a light on the city's housing problem, mounting a campaign calling on people across the country to "stand with Katrina survivors and call for HUD to stop the destruction of housing for low-income residents."
These apartments are safe and could have already been repaired, but almost all the maintenance workers were fired. A professor from MIT recently inspected the apartments and declared they are structurally sound and in better shape than most of the rest of the housing in New Orleans.
At the same time the federal government is seeking to tear down affordable housing in New Orleans, a new study finds that U.S. housing policies -- particularly its funding priorities -- are deepening the homelessness crisis. The San Francisco-based Western Regional Advocacy Project yesterday released "Without Housing," a report that documents how decades of federal housing cutbacks correlate with the massive homelessness problem that emerged in the United States in the 1980s and continues to this day.
WRAP's report caught the attention of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which has a story about it in today's paper:
Since 1996, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has spent nothing directly on construction of new public housing while more than 100,000 public housing units have been demolished, sold off or redeveloped during the same time period, the report found.The PHRF march hopes to draw attention to Louisiana's post-hurricane housing crisis before it adds to the nation's chronic homelessness problem. To that end, the organization is calling for the business-dominated Louisiana Recovery Authority to be disbanded and replaced with a more representative body, as well as compensation for renters, the immediate reopening of public housing, the building of more affordable housing, and total replacement of privately owned homes where mortgages were paid in full.
Instead, HUD has relied on the Hope VI grant program that it administers to transform distressed public housing, such as the St. Thomas and Desire complexes in New Orleans, into mixed-income neighborhoods that invariably deliver fewer subsidized homes.
"A resident return program with the guiding principles of justice and equity is needed," says PHRF's Malcolm Suber. "This includes renters along with homeowners. Renters should be able to return to a city where there is affordable housing, not housing priced out of the range of the majority of New Orleans' working people."
6 Comments:
Three-quarters of a billion dollars for shuffling paperwork!!?? No wonder the people who really need the money cant get any!!
I'm a college graduate and although I'm pretty sure I qualify for a grant, I still can't figure out for how much. Meanwhile, SBA is pushing me to close on a loan when I don't really know yet how much money I need to borrow!! I appreciate the help, but can't we simplify and centralize the process?
Peace,
Tim
A blogger from New Orleans
When you look at who is running the state and the city of NO. No wonder the program is in shambles.
MS is a world ahead of LA.
Signed GJ in B.R.
I don't mean to be indelicate, but why the hell are all of these folks in public housing entitled to even MORE of someone elses's tax money? Quit having f*cking kids that someone else is expected to feed.
How many of these "unfortunates" are third or fourth generation riders of the welfare system? Sheeesch.
Considering that the federal government spends $122 billion in tax expenditures (this is a subsidy, like it or not) for homeowners - mostly benefiting wealthy households - while allocating less than $30 billion for the HUD budget, perhaps you need to rethink your question.
It can only happen here! We have the best crooks in La. that money can buy. Why can't FEMA dispense the money like the plan calls for instead of subbing it out? Why pay a contractor almost 1 billion dollars when the people could use this money. The insurance companies are also ripping people off and in some parishes won't even write. If you can't write get out of the State. Look how many ins. comissoners have been convicted. Ms. doesn't have these problems, I wonder why?
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