Disaster Housing Assistance Program Provides Displaced Individuals With Longer-Term Housing Options Through Temporary Voucher; Supported Families After Hurricane Katrina
Schumer Announces DHAP Rental Assistance for Superstorm Sandy Victims; Will Allow Those Who Are Currently Staying in Hotels to Find Longer-Term Housing
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 29, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will institute a program that provides temporary rental payments to landlords in order to help families displaced after Superstorm Sandy. The Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP) was put forward in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and will provide eligible Sandy victims with a longer-term housing option through the provision of a temporary voucher. The program will allow those who are currently staying in hotels to find a longer term set up, and will end the cycle of two week extensions that is currently making displaced families feel like they are constantly on the edge of eviction.
“This new program will allow displaced families now living from week-week to secure more stable housing. It is a better bridge from displacement to permanent relocation in their former homes. The Disaster Housing Assistance Program has supported over 30,000 families in past disasters and now after Superstorm Sandy, it’s important that displaced New Yorkers have the means to affordable housing while they search for a more permanent home,” said Schumer. “I am pleased that FEMA and HUD have stepped up to the plate to reinstate this critical program so that displaced individuals can move forward after Superstorm Sandy.”
After Superstorm Sandy, many New Yorkers living in New York City, Long Island and the Hudson Valley were forced to evacuate from their homes. As a result, FEMA activated its Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program which provides short-term housing assistance to displaced individuals. The TSA program is authorized in brief increments, such as every two weeks, and in February, Schumer pushed for a more long-term TSA program so that individuals would not be left with uncertainty and anxiety of being evicted from hotels and motels.
The DHAP-Sandy program provides Sandy victims with affordable longer-term housing options through the provision of a temporary voucher modeled after the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. The voucher is intended to assist those households who remain in hotels and motels with an affordable housing option while they search for a permanent housing solution as well as households who are in their homes now despite having incurred significant damage, and need alternative housing in order to undergo critical renovation to their homes. The voucher rental payments go directly to landlords to help families displaced by Superstorm Sandy and will help families find transitional housing that is affordable.
After Hurricane Katrina and Ike, the DHAP program supported 37,000 families who were not previously HUD assisted. The program was also utilized to house families displaced by Hurricane Gustav.
