HOUSTON—During the lengthy process of rebuilding, all involved have acknowledged it will take time for normalcy to return for Harvey-displaced residents. As part of this effort, Avenue has unveiled its new housing recovery center, a 4,000-square-foot facility in the Near Northside. The facility is designed to help Harvey-impacted Houstonians navigate the path to home recovery. Berenice Yu, Avenue director of asset building programs, recently discussed how this facility will help residents get back on their feet and the overall process in this exclusive.

GlobeSt.com: The recovery process will be lengthy. What type of time estimates do you predict will be required to get people back on their feet?

Yu: The general guidelines we follow for community recovery indicate that we should expect 100 days for every day of the storm. With Harvey, we saw significant rainfall over a period of 10 days, so we are looking at an estimated 1,000 days for the Houston area to recover.

When calculating recovery for individual homes, the estimates say one day to rebuild for every $1,000 incurred in damage. So, if a household has experienced $50,000 in damage, it would take an estimated 50 days to rebuild. That's not considering time spent securing permits, getting resources lined up and hiring a contractor. Most families are looking at a minimum of six months before their homes are considered livable, and 12 to 18 months for a full rebuild and recovery.

However, those dealing with more extensive damage face a significantly longer path to recovery. Homes that were heavily damaged and need to consider buyouts or elevation grants, which rely on federal funds, can take up to three to five years. This is a significant issue when FEMA is only able to help with rental assistance or hotel bills for several months. Houston also had a shortage of affordable rental units prior to Harvey that has only become more critical since the storm.

With these longer recovery timelines, Harvey-impacted homeowners and renters are in need of critical support services to help navigate the path to home recovery. That's why we have created our housing recovery workshop. In these workshops, we are able to help set their expectations for recovery so they can develop a realistic, sustainable plan for getting out of the hotel and into temporary housing. From there, we can help establish a repair plan to ensure that families are returning to safe, healthy homes as soon as possible.

GlobeSt.com: What is the disaster recovery process, from start to finish?

Yu: Address immediate, urgent and basic needs; secure temporary housing (beyond the hotels/shelters/friend's couch); determine what to do with a damaged house (repair, sell, elevate, etc.); decide how to pay for the repairs and timeline a resident is willing to be out of the house; begin the repairing and/or rebuilding process; improve resiliency of a home to mitigate future flood damage/risk; ensure any insurance/title issues are cleared up; re-stabilize finances.

Avenue's approach to housing recovery (from start to finish) includes attending a housing recovery workshop and counseling to determine financial options and home repair action plan; applying for repair program (depending on clients' eligibility); beginning an action plan to repair the home and move back in; continue working with housing counselor ongoing to secure housing stability and financial stabilization.

GlobeSt.com: How is the center helping those who aren't covered by FEMA assistance?

Yu: One of the leading reasons we have seen clients denied FEMA assistance is that they do not have clear titles for their homes. This is an issue we had seen prior to Harvey, where a family has inherited a home and did not receive the legal documents to prove ownership.

While FEMA regulations require that the agency accept alternate evidence that proves ownership, the denials we have seen from our clients have shown that FEMA is not keeping with this policy. The housing recovery center team has been assisting with filing appeals and referring clients to the appropriate legal channels to address these challenges.

Those who are not eligible for FEMA assistance are eligible for Avenue's home repair program. This program is focused on making the essential repairs necessary to return the home to a safe, healthy and functional space. While additional work will likely be required after Avenue's initial repairs, this process helps shorten the timeline for a family's return from temporary housing.

Although our home repair program is bound by certain criteria, we are also able to help those who might be outside of our eligibility requirements, but are still in need of assistance. Thanks to partnerships with a number of community organizations, we can refer residents to recovery support services that best address their needs and get them back in their homes as soon as possible.

GlobeSt.com: How many people have been assisted so far?

Yu: We have helped about 300 households thus far with mucking and gutting, FEMA applications and appeals, home repair, and through housing recovery education and counseling. We aim to serve approximately 1,000 people for the year through our education classes and another 600 in counseling, with an additional 200 to 500 households receiving assistance with home repairs, depending on funding.

GlobeSt.com: The recovery process will be lengthy. What type of time estimates do you predict will be required to get people back on their feet?

GlobeSt.com: What is the disaster recovery process, from start to finish?

GlobeSt.com: How is the center helping those who aren't covered by FEMA assistance?

GlobeSt.com: How many people have been assisted so far?

Instant Insights /

Center Gets Harvey-Impacted Residents into Housing

Related Stories

Recommended For You