APPENDICES APPENDIX A: LISTINGS OF DISASTER RECOVERY AGENCIES IN AFFECTED SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES .21 HURRICANE VICTIM - DO YOU NEED: Home Repair Assistance? SEE... SBA Disaster Loan, p. 6 Individual and Family Grants, p. 6 Cora Brown Grant Program, p. 7 State Housing Fund Programs, p. 11 Farmers Home Administration; County Listings, p. 9 Rental Assistance? SEE.. Transient Housing, p. 2 Temporary Housing? SEE. Permanent Housing? SEE... Individual and Family Grants, p. 6 VA Home Loan Adjustment, p. 7 National Federation of Housing Counselors, p. 13 DISASTER AREA COMMUNITY - DO YOU NEED: Temporary Housing? SEE......................... Initial Response, p. 2 Home Repair Assistance? SEE...................... Office of Economic Policies and Programs, p. 10 Housing Predevelopment Loans? SEE............... Water and Wastewater Facilities? SEE............ Farmers Home Administration, p. 9 Office of Economic Policies and Programs, p. 10 Water and Wastewater Treatment Technical Assistance? SEE... I. INTRODUCTION On September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo hit the coast of South Carolina, inflicting extensive damage and necessitating the largest federal disaster relief effort since 1969. By October 2, twenty four of the State's 46 counties were designated as part of the disaster area. These counties include about 1,839,800 persons, accounting for 55 percent of the state's population and 63 percent of its nonmetropolitan population. Eighteen of the 24 disaster-area counties are nonmetropolitan. The most serious problem facing the hurricane victims may be the scarcity of local institutions with ready access to potential recovery resources and with the ability to coordinate relief efforts. The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) has prepared this guide to short- and long-term housing and community development resources as a partial response to that critical need. It is intended for use by disaster-stricken individual households as well as by community organizations acting on their behalf. It is hoped that the Guide will inform local efforts to more efficiently match resource with need. Moreover, it is hoped that the Guide's identification of existing contact persons and agencies will serve to increase coordination among them and to stimulate the further development of community-based resources, such as housing development corporations and advocacy agencies. Following this Introduction there is a brief narrative describing the initial response which federal and other disaster agencies have made in the first weeks following the hurricane. This is followed by a discussion of assistance resources. First there are digests of several programs specifically designed for use in disaster recovery situations. This section is followed by one providing generalized discussions of key agencies and the regular programs they administer that are relevant to housing recovery. In each case, the Guide provides the address of the agency office or offices from which more detailed information can be obtained. The next section of the Guide briefly discusses the special problems of meeting the housing needs of the lowest-income. While there are no simple or universally applicable solutions to these special problems, some creative approaches have been developed in other states which may suggest comparable or complementary approaches in South Carolina. The appendices to the Guide contain a county-by-county listing of housingrelevant local agencies and contacts for each of the 24 designated counties. Agencies that offer direct assistance as well as those that can assist in identifying helping agencies or other resources are included. II. INITIAL RESPONSE TRANSIENT HOUSING The first stage of response to hurricane disaster is to supply shelter to those whose homes are no longer usable. This "Transient Housing" phase includes utilization of Red Cross, Salvation Army and similar shelters (in South Carolina the Red Cross reports that 21 shelters with a capacity of about 2,000 persons were in operation in early October), doubling up with friends and relatives and use of hotels and motels where no other facilities are available. Response to Hugo is now past this stage. TEMPORARY HOUSING As soon as possible, federal and other disaster agencies attempt to move into a second stage of assistance, classified as "Temporary Housing" aid. Here, three mutually exclusive approaches are utilized: minimal repair grants, use of existing rental resources, and FEMA mobile homes. Minimal Repair Grant Under this option, homes which can be made adequate for resumed habitation immediately with repairs costing up to $5,000* have those repairs paid for by the disaster relief program. It should be noted that where a homeowner has insurance which will cover the needed repairs, this source of funding must be used in lieu of a Minimal Repair grant. Use of Existing Resource Where uninsured damage exceeds the $5,000 limit, efforts are made to place households in "Existing Resources." These are generally available rental units in the community suitable to the household's needs (measured in terms of bedrooms). They can include existing housing currently in the Farmers Home Administration inventory of acquired properties, but in most affected counties of South Carolina this is a fairly limited source. In any event, rent-free occupancy is provided to the currently homeless for as much as eighteen months, pending long-term repair or replacement of their own homes. • This amount may be increased if FEMA determines that large numbers of households can be assisted by such an adjustment. |