The Enterprise Foundation sponsored a conference call on response to Katrina. While the speakers did not specifcally address disabilities they did provide useful information based on experience managing disaster recovery such as for the Loma Prieta earthquake, which as noted elsewhere, resulted in accessible built environments.
Experts are calling for long term planning to begin now and emphasized the need for an ADA compliant during the Question & Answer period following their presentations.
Speakers:
o Carol Wilkins, Director of Intergovernmental Policy, Corporation for Supportive Housing (then San Francisco Deputy Mayor for Finance)
o Sally Richman, Director, Policy & Planning, Executive Management, City of Los Angeles Housing Department (then Housing Planning and Economic Analyst, City of Los Angeles Housing Department)
o John Sucich (then Assistant to the Mayor, San Francisco and FEMA Disaster Preparedness Officer)
o Ali Solis, Director, Public Policy, Enterprise (Moderator)
The purpose of the call was to hear from former disaster recovery experts who led the rebuilding in their respective cities. The major recommendations based on their lessons learned are listed below.
Recommendations
1. The media's attention on Katrina will be short-lived. The first six weeks are the most critical time to use the media to: build broad support for the national affordable housing crisis, highlight FEMA and the Red Cross's deficient resource delivery systems and mobilize the field to weigh in with congressional members about the need for additional resources both in the impacted region and across the country in communities that are serving evacuees.
2. The Stafford Act allows for states to administer FEMA funds. The speakers highly recommend that advocates push the states to request this. State administration allows for more flexibility and allows the Governor to provide more immediate assistance.
3. Immediately get the word out to community and faith-based organizations about what resources the evacuees are eligible to receive. Most evacuees are turning to institutions they trust like CDCs and churches to help them navigate the system. (Note: our next call will address this issue.)
4. Flexible housing vouchers are critical and advocates should push for the Sarbanes amendment that passed the Senate earlier this week. (A legislative summary can be found on NLIHC's website:www.nlihc.org) In addition, there is an immediate need for counseling and financial education so that evacuees are making informed decisions about where to relocate, how best to use the resources for which they are eligible, etc.
5. Long-term rebuilding plans with community input must begin now. Speculators and others are already planning to maximize this tragedy as an opportunity for personal gain. (Enterprise convened a call of national community development organizations to begin this process. A national field call will be set up to discuss this group's ideas in the coming weeks.)
The Immigrant Population in the Katrina-Impacted Areas
As we discussed on the call, immigrants and limited-English proficient individuals experience unique barriers to accessing important safety-net programs. Below are preliminary estimates from the press on how many people may be in this situation.
“The Honduran government said at least 40,000 Hondurans could have been affected by Katrina. The government has set up a temporary consulate in Baton Rouge, La., and the ambassador to the U.S. has flown to the region. The Mexican government also has reached out to its people who have helped fuel a wave of migration to the South. Officials said about 40,000 Mexicans were thought to be living in Louisiana, which has historically drawn immigrants across the Gulf from Yucatan state." (Chicago Tribune, Immigrants told to seek help, whatever their legal status, Oscar Avila and Hugh Dellios, 9/8/05).
"The destruction of New Orleans, Louisiana by Hurricane Katrina has devastated what was the largest community of Hondurans in the U.S. Thousands of Hondurans in South Florida and in Central America have yet to learn the fate of loved ones who were living in the New Orleans area. The New Orleans area was home to an estimated 120,000 Hondurans, according to Carlos Siercke, the Honduran consul general in Miami. The Honduran embassy in Washington said some 125,000 Hondurans were living in the area devastated by Katrina. The Honduran government sent a special envoy to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to help find Hondurans; the consulate in New Orleans was destroyed-”disappeared,” according to the embassy in Washington-and the whereabouts of its staff are unknown. A toll-free telephone line was set up for families to call in, Siercke said. Some survivors have begun trickling into South Florida-home to about 60,000 Hondurans-to stay with relatives. New Orleans area Hondurans were responsible for between 20 percent and 30 percent of the $1.3 billion in remittances sent home; that total is now expected to drop by more than $40 million a year. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel 9/2/05)