A 3,000 unit permanent supportive housing initiative has been funded within the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) $10 billion “The Road Home” housing recovery plan approved by the federal government. Permanent supportive housing units are also included in the Bring New Orleans Back plan. $320 million of federal Community Development Block Grant funds targeted for capital, operating, and support and $300- million in equity from Gulf Opportunity Zone Low Income Housing Tax credits are available to create and sustain these permanent supportive housing units in the hurricane affected areas of Louisiana.

The Technical Assistance Collaborative Inc. (TAC) has worked in Louisiana over the past year to secure the funding and create the policy and advocacy framework necessary for a successful supportive housing partnership initiative in the state. TAC assisted Louisiana supportive housing advocates to create a new Permanent Supportive Housing Coalition to build a solid permanent supportive housing partnership structure in Louisiana . We are pleased to report that 3,000 new permanent supportive housing units are included and funded as an integral component of Louisiana 's affordable housing rebuilding plans. The permanent supportive housing approach is also being incorporated within essential state health/human service policy and system improvements emerging from the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Louisiana Rental Housing Crisis Worse than Projected - A PolicyLink Report

Research Brief on the Effectiveness of Permanent Supportive Housing

Developer Loan Program
The following link provides you with information regarding Louisiana's Loan Fund Program.

http://www.louisianaloanfund.org/

Congressional Hearing on the "Federal Housing Response to Hurricane Katrina"
The hearing took place before the Committee on Financial Services on February 6, 2007. The following documents are the testimonies of Sheila Crowley, President of the National Low Income Housing Coalition; Martha Kegel, Executive Director of UNITY of Greater New Orleans; and James Richardson, Director of the Public Administration Institute, Louisiana State University.

Sheila Crowley Testimony

Martha Kegel Testimony

James Richardson Testimony

Walter Leger Testimony - Mr. Leger is a board member of the Louisiana Recovery Authority and testified in New Orleans on February 22, 2007.

HOME REHABILITATION
Rehab LA Share Grant Program

Louisiana citizens who are over 55 years of age and/or disabled, and own their own home can receive money to restore their disaster-damage homes through the REHAB LA SHARE Grant Program. The program helps older and disabled citizens who live in federally declared disaster areas, like the areas hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Applicants can receive up to $25,000 in grants to bring their homes up to International Building Code Standards.

Just the Facts:
*Open to families with at least one homeowner who is over the age of 55 or disabled and who meet local income guidelines
*Program provides grants up to $25,000 to rehabilitate homes
*Homes must be substandard and located in Acadia, Evangeline, Orleans, Sabine, St. Landry and Washington Parishes (check website or call for updates)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT LOUISIANA HOUSING FINANCE AGENCY
2415 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 Phone: 225-763-8700 Toll Free: 888-454-2001 Fax: 225-763-8710 www.lhfa.la.gov

TAC Position Papers
QAP Talking Points 9-06-06 (opens in PDF)
QAP 07 Final Recommendations 9-06-06

State Agencies
Louisiana Housing Finance Agency
QAP (opens in PDF)
Piggyback Program (opens in PDF)
Louisiana Recovery Authority
The Road Home Housing Programs (opens in PDF)

Federal Legislation
Senator Feingold Bill
The Gulf Coast Housing Accessibility Act of 2006, introduced by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), allocates $200 million to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Section 8 project-based vouchers in the areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. The vouchers will be used to repair or rebuild existing housing and provide affordable housing in new developments that use low income housing tax credits. Of the vouchers, 4,500 shall be used for people with disabilities, elderly families, and individuals and families homeless prior to the hurricanes. Additionally, twenty-five percent of the units built or repaired under the low income housing tax credits will be used for affordable and low-income housing.

The bill gives the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) more flexibility when providing emergency housing to those displaced by the hurricanes and future disasters. The housing stock provided by FEMA should meet the needs of low-income households and persons with disabilities and be within a reasonable distance to services such as health care, day care, job opportunities and transportation. These policies are amendments to the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

Testimonials
Weeks before the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, TAC spent a day visiting the homes of several formerly homeless New Orleaneans now residing in the precious handful of supportive housing programs still in existence in this recovering city.  The visits brought TAC on a journey, guided by housing-based social workers who themselves have endured hardships and trauma of startling magnitude, through hurricane devastated neighborhoods that seemed beyond hope. Yet, the trail led TAC to bright spots amidst the ruin and the stories, portions of which are shared on this website, of how supportive housing can restore lives and solve social and economic problems for members of this community who have complex needs.  The voices of these residents, telling their personal stories, make the case for why and how supportive housing must be a key part of New Orleans ' strategy for rebuilding itself.
“Being here takes a lot of the stress away for me. Now I can get a drink of water when I need one. I can get things done here. Before this, I was in a homeless situation….You know, the necessities of life were hard. I was living pillar to post. Now that I have this place to live I am getting things in order. There is not anywhere else in New Orleans like this kind of housing. There are not many places here that deal with this kind of stuff here in Louisiana …there is a lack of caring for people like me. They need to make more places like this for those who are still out there.” (Group Home Supportive Housing Resident)
“Before I was homeless, I had my own house once that I loved. I fought and fought to hang onto it. Now I am glad to be back in a stable housing situation.” (Neighborhood-based Shared Subsidized Housing Resident)
“If I could tell the people who are in charge of rebuilding New Orleans what we need, I'd tell them that, if it was not for this place, I would still be a bum on the street. I would still have no place to live. I would still be sleeping in a bus stop.” (Group Home Supportive Housing Resident)
“Before I cam here, I was in a shelter. I basically started from zero. Moving here was like a new beginning. It is hope. You feel wanted. I used to feel like an outcast. After the hurricane, I cam back from Alabama , and I felt dead again. Living here makes the spirit of home come alive in somebody that don't have nobody. Now, after moving here, I have a job. My next goal is to get my truck fixed. For anybody who has lived a life like me, this kind of housing helps.” (Neighborhood-based Supportive Housing Resident)
“I was four months on the street. After a time, I got into transitional housing and then on to here. Now I have my own private home and it is like paradise . Here, it is quiet. Here it is peaceful. This gives emotional security for me. I can walk from here to go food shopping on my own and walk to the library. I can go to the Senior Center . I wish that New Orleans could get more money so they can do more around here like they are helping me.” (Neighborhood-based Supportive Housing Resident)
“Living here has been more independent for me. I feel more secure about myself since coming to live here. I have roommates so this is not totally living on my own. But I have independence and it makes you feel better about yourself. I just needed to be myself. Moving here and changing my environment was the most important thing to happen in my life. It has changed everything for me. It has just changed my mood about life.” (Neighborhood-based Independent Supportive Housing Resident)
“We lost half of our residents in Katrina. But, after the Storm, we more than made up for those we lost. Now we are seeing more elderly people who lost their homes. The shelters are full, and it seems the displaced people are going to stay that way because there is nowhere for them to go . We are seeing the same kind of folks we served before the Storm. But now there are more issues. There is more substance abuse. There is more dual diagnosed. We pray a lot.” (Supportive Housing Director)

Links to TAC LA Partners

Melville Charitable Trust

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

National Low Income Housing Coalition

National Alliance to End Homelessness

Corporation for Supportive Housing

Unity for the Homeless

Victim Information

Victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita can find information and help at: http://www.louisianarebuilds.info