Housing Post-Harvey, What Progress Has Been Made?
Long-term success will require close partnership among businesses, nonprofits, philanthropists, and local, state and federal government to rebuild in a more resilient way in preparation for future extreme weather.
HOUSTON—One year after Hurricane Harvey, there’s been progress, but long-term success will require close partnership among businesses, nonprofits, philanthropists, and local, state and federal government, Marion McFadden, senior vice president of policy with Enterprise Community Partners tells GlobeSt.com. Recovery funds should be used to rebuild in a more resilient way, preparing for a future of growing risks from extreme weather, she says.
“The city council’s requirement to elevate properties in the flood plain is an important example of that kind of change,” McFadden observes. “We need to pay particular attention to low-income communities. Houston’s low-income residents were more concentrated in flood-prone parts of the city and have fewer resources to help them rebuild their lives after the storm.”
McFadden says Congress should require flood resilience criteria for all federally funded projects, and require homes and infrastructure developed with support from programs such as community development block grants to be built with the next Harvey or Michael in mind.
For more than a decade, Enterprise has helped people and communities recover and rebuild after disasters. Enterprise has developed disaster preparedness tools, technical resources and access to wide range of capital.
Enterprise’s strategies for advocating for federal resilience policy includes explanations of the role of the federal government, listing of potential allies in advocating for the recommendations, and relevant examples of current or previous local, state, and federal actions.
Enterprise’s ready to respond/tools for resilience were developed to help affordable housing organizations make buildings resilient, prepare staffs to handle emergencies and ensure residents remain safe.
For example, Enterprise brought its years of experience in affordable housing policy and finance to address the unprecedented disaster on the Gulf Coast during Harvey. Specifically, $300 million was invested in rebuilding, $200 million was provided in low-income housing tax credit equity, $88 million was offered in grants and loans, $13 million was provided in new market tax credits, and 10,000 affordable, safe, sustainable homes were preserved or developed, GlobeSt.com learns.
A specific program is the Enterprise Hurricane Sandy recovery and rebuilding program, an ambitious three-year effort to upgrade and strengthen the region’s affordable housing, develop the disaster-preparedness of neighborhood-based organizations, and support a more resilient civic infrastructure in highly vulnerable low-income neighborhoods. Enterprise’s policy leadership and data analysis play a critical role in ensuring an effective recovery process.
Moreover, Enterprise and partners have created a $15 million disaster recovery loan fund for affordable housing and community development organizations working to restore communities struck by the 2017 hurricanes and the California fires.
And finally, the funding for rapid recovery and rebuilding collaboration includes the Enterprise community loan fund, Mercy loan fund and NeighborWorks. Lower-interest loans of up to $1 million are meant to provide a bridge for organizations awaiting insurance payments and other funding.