National Disaster Housing Strategy 

Release Date: July 21, 2008
Release Number: HQ-08-142Factsheet

The Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act called for a National Disaster Housing Strategy and provided FEMA with the opportunity to describe how the Nation provides housing to those affected by disasters and chart a new direction to better meet the needs of disaster victims and communities. A draft version of the Strategy is available for public comment and is being reviewed by key partner, including FEMA's National Advisory Committee, the National Council on Disabilities, Federal Departments and Agencies, the American Red Cross and organizations representing tribal, State and local governments for review and comment.

OVERVIEW

The Strategy provides the overarching vision, goals, and principles for a national disaster housing effort. It complements the 2008 Disaster Housing Plan, which describes the specific actions that FEMA will take this year to support State and local officials in meeting the housing needs for disaster victims. The Strategy will bring together all levels of government, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to meet the urgent housing needs of disaster victims and enable individuals, households and communities to rebuild their lives following a disaster.

DISASTER HOUSING PRACTICES

The Strategy draws on best practices and lessons learned to identify actions that must be taken to improve disaster housing assistance, an effort that involves renewing our focus on planning, building baseline capabilities, and providing a broader range of flexible disaster housing options. It describes key principles, responsibilities and roles, current practices across sheltering, interim housing, and permanent housing. The Strategy recognizes that disaster housing is more than simply providing a structure. It must address human needs and make the connection to community-based services.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The Strategy also discusses future directions for how we as a Nation can work together to achieve the goals within the Strategy. This includes reviewing best practices and innovations to develop and establish baseline capabilities and core competencies, validate roles and responsibilities, and improve the range, quality, and timeliness of disaster housing services provided by communities, States, and the Federal Government. For example, the Strategy calls for innovative approaches to meet diverse needs of disaster victims and reduce shelter demands by improving resilience and accelerating repairs. It also moves toward State-managed, federally supported interim housing programs and calls for a broader range of interim housing options to meet diverse needs.

IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGY

The Strategy calls for a National Disaster Housing Task Force, to be jointly led by FEMA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the American Red Cross. The Task Force will encourage development of operational plans to support disaster housing, help build disaster housing baseline capabilities, improve national disaster housing resources, and work collectively to achieve the vision and goals within the Strategy

COMMENT PERIOD

All who are interested in disaster housing are urged to review the draft National Disaster Housing Strategy and to submit comments during the 60-day comment period that runs through September 22, 2008. Please use the comment form available online at www.regulations.gov, in Docket ID: FEMA-2008-0009.

FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Last Modified: Monday, 21-Jul-2008 15:18:01