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National Council on Independent Living
1916 Wilson Blvd, Suite 209, Arlington, VA 22201

NCIL Principles on Housing Policy In Light of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

In the aftermath of two devastating hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, which have ravaged the Gulf Coast from Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas in the West to Mobile, Alabama in the East over the past couple of months, the needs of the hundreds of thousands of persons with disabilities who

lived in this region before these storms have all too often been brushed aside.

Many of the impacted communities have astonishingly high rates of disability - 23.2% in New Orleans, 23.4% in St Bernard Parish (LA), 21% in Jefferson Parish (LA), 27.1% in Hancock County (MS), and 21.3% in Jackson County (MS).

GOVERNMENT REACTION HAS BEEN INADEQUATE: Unfortunately, our fears about the governmental response to Katrina and Rita have been justified. Stories have begun to appear in newspapers making it clear that basic needs of persons with disabilities impacted by Katrina and Rita are not being met. Furthermore, instead of committing to investing new money to rebuild these communities and make them model accessible, affordable, livable communities, many in Congress have talked about the need to reduce spending on public housing across the remainder of the country. The ripple effects of Katrina and Rita are spreading far and wide as the survivors of these hurricanes are being settled across the 50 states, without any indication that authorities are matching accessible housing with those who actually need it. Persons with disabilities who were not in the Hurricanes' paths may become secondary victims of the hurricane if displaced individuals are put ahead of them on waiting lists for accessible, affordable housing. Developers striving to make New Orleans into a tourist town and to reduce the supply of low-income housing there appear to be getting the upper hand, which could displace many people for good. Visitability and accessibility do not seem to be priorities for those most connected with the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. Congress needs to get the message: Many persons with disabilities have been adversely impacted by Katrina and Rita. Congress and the Bush Administration have an obligation to put in place a housing policy framework that will ensure that their needs are addressed.

NCIL PRINCIPLES ON HOUSING POLICY IN LIGHT OF HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA
1) Shelters and other temporary housing need to be accessible to, and to honor the civil rights of, persons with disabilities.
2) Relocation dollars in adequate amounts are a MUST.
3) Essential to match housing with individuals' needs.
4) Need to WATCH for ripple effects on local Public Housing Authorities and persons with disabilities.
5) Congress SHOULD NOT deduct the emergency supplemental funds apportioned to public housing in the Sarbanes amendment from the overall resources allocated to housing in the standard appropriations process.
6) Ample Home Accessibility Modification funding is a vital component in an effective post-Katrina/ post-Rita housing strategy.
7) Right to Return Home.
8) New Housing Stock Should Exceed Fair Housing Act Amendments/ Section 504 Requirements and Mandate Universal Design.
9) FEMA and HUD need to coordinate with HHS to ensure that persons with disabilities are not institutionalized for lack of accessible, affordable housing and to make certain that those who have been institutionalized are located and returned to the community at the earliest feasible opportunity.
10) HUD and Congress ought not to be indiscriminate in providing for and granting waivers from targeting provisions in public housing.
11) Disability Advocates Must Be Fully Included in and throughout the Policymaking and Policy Implementation Process.

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