Noah Patton, National Low Income Housing Coalition
Innovation and Description: Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC)
NLIHC leads the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition of more than 850 national, state, and local organizations, including many working directly with disaster-impacted communities and with first-hand experience recovering after disasters. We work to ensure that federal disaster recovery efforts reach all impacted households, including the lowest income seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and other at-risk populations who are often the hardest-hit by disasters and have the fewest resources to recover afterwards.
Other Participants:
Nearly 900 local, state, and national organizations
Primary Disaster Justice Benefits:
The creation of racially and socially just public policy ensuring that disaster survivors can access the housing resources they need to fully recover following disasters. The DHRC has worked with congressional and agency partners to reform FEMA’s title documentation requirements for the Individual Assistance Program, drafted and coordinated advocacy around the permanent authorization of HUD’s long-term disaster recovery programs, craft a uniform disaster application system and more. During specific disasters the DHRC has worked to extend housing resources, preserve access to housing assistance programs and ensure that resources are being allocated equitably to those with the greatest needs.
Secondary Disaster Justice Benefits:
By supporting and coordinating advocacy across different disaster recovery areas, the DHRC’s work helps spread best practices and disaster recovery strategies focused on those with the lowest incomes. It also allows for the identification of programmatic failures that can be addressed via administrative or legislative reform.
Would you recommend others (disaster survivors, disaster-impacted communities) learn more about the activity, project or program to consider adoption of a similar one?
Please reach out to join the DHRC! While we ask that press and media representatives refrain from attending our weekly working groups, anyone else is welcome!
What refinements additional to the ones you have implemented would you recommend others consider if they wish to adopt the activity, project or program?
If the ability of a community to recover from disasters is impacted by the level of inequality, then those working to address that inequality can also have significant impact on disaster recovery!