HUD DETAILS NEW KATRINA DISASTER HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Up to 18 months of rental assistance available for displaced families

WASHINGTON - The Department of Housing and Urban Development today released details of an ambitious new program to provide up to 18 months of temporary rental housing to tens of thousands of families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. HUD and a network of approximately 2,500 public housing authorities will jointly administer the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program.

HUD is offering local housing authorities a detailed briefing on the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program. In the coming days, HUD will also offer specific technical assistance to local housing agencies to assist them in managing this new disaster housing program.

"This new program will offer hope and healing to thousands of families who lost everything," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "Working closely with public housing authorities across America, we want to speed assistance to those who need it most and get them back on the path to self-sufficiency."

Evacuees must register through FEMA by calling 1 (800) 621-FEMA or applying online for Federal disaster assistance. It is important that individuals and households promptly update their FEMA registration information with any change of address or new telephone numbers so they may receive assistance in a timely and direct manner. Displaced families will decide where they would like to move. Upon arriving in their new community, the evacuated family will meet with the local public housing authority that would help them to find a suitable place to live.

Families will be given a rental subsidy based on 100 percent of Fair Market Rent in that community. Eligible families include displaced public housing residents; Section 8 voucher holders; other HUD-assisted households; and, pre-disaster homeless individuals who were directly affected by the hurricane.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

###