Information for people with disabilities and their families who have
been affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Housing News: Katrina's Impact Is Only the Beginning
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September 23, 2005-Of more than 300,000 housing units destroyed
by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the
National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) estimates that 71
percent were occupied by people earning 80 percent or less of
median income for their area-many of them with mental or
physical disabilities. Now Hurricane Rita appears likely to add
thousands of Texans to the number left without an affordable
place to live. Expected to hit land Saturday morning, Rita
could displace more people than Katrina did.
The good news --though only for the moment-- is that
legislative actions that would continue to deplete affordable
housing resources have been postponed and Congress is set to
approve creation of an Affordable Housing Trust. However, the
Administration is sidelining the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the only federal agency with a focus on the
housing and community development rights and needs of
low-income people. This is unfortunate.
Read details at
http://www.bazelon.org/takeaction/2005/9-23-05katrinahousing.htm
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Take Action
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* Call, write or email members of the Senate Banking, Housing
and Urban Affairs Committee
(http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/committees.tt?commid=sbank)
and the House Budget Committee (http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/committees.tt?commid=hbudg)
and urge them to enact an Affordable Housing Trust bill
that addresses the needs of low-income individuals and
their communities.
* Urge your Senators and Representative to vote for $3.5
billion in new funds for emergency housing vouchers, housing
production and rehabilitation and housing search assistance.
and to approve an additional $3.5 billion for emergency capital
funds both to rebuild in the affected areas and to add housing
stock to the communities that are receiving relocatees.
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For More Information
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The National Low Income Housing Coalition's newsletters and
alerts offer reliable and current information about the
Administration's and Congress's response to the hurricanes:
http://www.nlihc.org
The Bazelon Center's August 22 Action Alert, Action Needed to
Stem Loss of Housing:
http://www.bazelon.org/takeaction/2005/8-22-05housing.htm
A September 23 Washington Post article by Spencer Hsu and Ceci
Connolly, Housing the Displaced is Rife with Delays:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/2/AR2005092202352.html
The Republican Study Committee's Budget Options 2005: Operation
Offset (pdf file):
http://johnshadegg.house.gov/rsc/RSC_Budget_Options_2005.pdf