NYC HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF UPDATES (as of October 6, 2005)

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1 HUMAN SERVICES COUNCIL OF NEW YORK CITY, INC. 130 East 59 th Street, New York, NY Phone: (212) Fax: (212) NYC HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF UPDATES (as of October 6, 2005) HUD Webcast Details Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (From the National Low Income Housing Coalition) A September 26 webcast described in greater detail HUD's Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP). While questions still remain about how KDHAP will be administered and who will receive KDHAP resources, the webcast provided more information than was available at the program's unveiling on September 23 (see Memo, 9/23). During a September 29 meeting with housing advocates, HUD officials offered additional information on KDHAP. The FEMA-funded KDHAP will be administered by HUD. The other half of the federal government's transitional housing response is FEMA's Assistance for Individuals and Households Program (IHP). The IHP transitional housing assistance program will offer cash assistance toward housing costs to FEMA-registered households who were homeowners or renters and who were not participating in a HUD subsidized housing program (see Memo, 9/29). HUD's KDHAP program is for all displaced public housing residents, voucher participants, families from other HUD assisted programs (e.g., Section 202, Section 811, project-based Section 8, Section 236) and pre-disaster homeless individuals directly affected by the disaster. KDHAP assistance will be available for up to 18 months. The program is to commence on October 1. Only voucher assisted households who successfully ported out of the affected area and leased up in September will remain in the housing choice voucher system. All others will be transitioned into the KDHAP program. Advocates are concerned about this transfer from the housing choice voucher program to KDHAP. KDHAP, as stated in HUD's webcast and other official documents, does not cover utility costs as housing choice vouchers do, and utility costs alone would cause housing cost burdens for the lowest income households. Further, the value of a KDHAP voucher will be 100% of the local Fair Market Rent (FMR), while the housing choice voucher has a payment standard of up to 110% and, in HUD's September 28 Office of Public and Indian Housing waiver notice (see related article), up to 120% for vouchers in Katrina-affected PHAs. 1

2 How HUD will define pre-disaster homeless people is also of concern. Advocates are working with HUD so that all people from the impacted areas who were homeless prior to the storm are eligible for the KDHAP program. HUD will at least include those counted through the Homeless Management Information System, those included in continua of care data and those accounted for in FEMA manifests developed during evacuation of the affected areas. The value of KDHAP rental assistance, according to the webcast, will be 100% of the local FMR. If actual rent is more than the FMR, the family will pay the difference out-ofpocket. If actual rent is less than 100% of FMR, PHAs will keep the difference. There is no family contribution towards rent provided rent does not exceed the FMR. KDHAP will be administered by local public housing authorities (PHAs). PHAs will determine if rent is reasonable and complete Housing Quality Standards. PHAs will receive administrative fees of $1,000 per household plus 15% of the household's Housing Assistance Payment contract. In exchange, PHAs will coordinate housing search assistance including transportation and temporary shelter while searching for housing. PHAs will cover security deposits, capped at 100% of FMR for the family's bedroom size, and pay utility deposits up to a total of $325. Families will pay for any utilities not included in the rent. When KDHAP ends on April 1, 2007, voucher households will resume normal housing choice voucher program rules, public housing households may return to their former PHA or receive vouchers from former PHA if the public housing unit has been demolished or disposed, and multifamily households will have the first right of refusal to return to their multifamily project or will get a housing choice voucher. There has been no statement by HUD or FEMA as to what will happen to homeless individuals enrolled in KDHAP at the program's expiration. NLIHC has a side-by-side comparing the KDHAP and FEMA IHP rental assistance programs available at: To view the webcast, see: Employee Leave Donations For Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief (By Thomas J. McCord, Esq. and Marjorie S. Fochtman, Esq. Publication of Nixon Peabody LLP, September 14, 2005) Disasters can sometimes bring out the best in people and organizations, and the Internal Revenue Service is no exception. In Notice , the IRS announced the reinstatement of a policy that allows employers to establish leave donation programs. Under such programs, employers can allow employees to donate their vacation, sick or other paid leave in exchange for cash payments by the employers to qualified charitable organizations assisting in disaster relief efforts of Hurricane Katrina. 2

3 But for the special IRS policy, employees could be taxed when they voluntarily give up otherwise paid leave. Under the policy, the IRS will not seek to tax the payments as constructively received by employees. Although employees do not have to include the payments in their income, they will not be able to claim personal tax deductions. Instead, the employer can deduct the cash it contributes to the qualifying organizations. The IRS previously offered a similar temporary program for charitable relief following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Under the current policy, the requirements are simple. The employer must make the payment to an organization qualified under Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, designated for the relief of victims of Hurricane Katrina, and complete the payment before January 1, Employers are not required to offer such a leave donation program, and the program generally has value only to the extent the employer already allows employees to cashout unused leave or are prepared to have employees take unpaid vacation, sick or personal leave. Employers may also incur some administrative recordkeeping cost to keep track of which employees elect to donate leave, how much leave is donated, converting the leave to an appropriate cash equivalent based on each electing employee s rate of pay, and verifying that the contribution is timely made. Also, both employees and employers should note that donating leave that would otherwise be paid in cash to the employee will reduce the employer s FICA taxes and reduce the employee s covered earnings for Social Security benefit purposes. (Please note that the content in this brief is intended as a source of information and should not be construed as legal advice. Readers should not act upon any of this information without first consulting counsel.) From the National Urban League Dear Urban League Family, I am pleased to update you on the extraordinary work of the Urban League Movement in helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita and our future plans to provide further assistance on the long road to helping people rebuild their lives. Since day one of the disaster, over thirty Urban League affiliates have answered the call, from Texas to California to Tennessee to Illinois and beyond, to connect hurricane victims to immediate shelter, food, clothing, schools, counseling services, government resources, and employment opportunities. In support of some of this critical work, on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York, the National Urban League will formally announce the establishment the Urban League Katrina Fund. This fund will be specifically designated to provide job and housing assistance to evacuees through our affiliates. We will be pleased to announce that Citigroup, Freddie Mac and the Nemiah Foundation are the initial donors of the fund, committing $2.1 million dollars thus far. We hope to raise significantly more through corporate and individual giving efforts that will be promoted on-line, through radio advertising, and through special events. Please 3

4 encourage your friends, colleagues, and private and public sector partners to support the fund by contributing through NUL-GULF or on-line at DONATIONS NYDIS opens Katrina Evacuee Clothing Mart NYDIS accepted an invitation by the NYC Office of Emergency Management and the Mayor's NYC Clothing Bank to support the distribution of new clothing to New York City's Katrina evacuees. With volunteers from various faith communities and clothing from the Mayor's Volunteer Center, NYC Clothing Bank, the Salvation Army, the Attorney General's Office, World Vision, and several manufactures who donated directly, a self-shop clothing mart opened at the Riverside Church on Thursday, September 22 nd, and served over 300 evacuee families in seven days. The Clothing Mart is now at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church at Church and Barclay Streets. Hours of operation are Monday-Friday, 10 am-6 pm. Evacuees must have registered with the American Red Cross or at the DASC, and have a referral form to use at the Clothing Mart. The Katrina Evacuee Clothing Mart will remain open as long as the DASC at 80 Centre St. (map) is operational. Each family is permitted to take 7 outfits (including an interview suit) per person. Families are also given one $4 MetroCard per family member. To support NYDIS s relief work, please contact: Gili Chupak at (212) or KatrinaRelief@nydis.org. REMINDERS DASC Relocation The Katrina Services Center is now located at 80 Centre Street. Hours of operation are Monday - Friday from 8:30am - 7pm. The Center will be closed on Monday, October 10th in observance of Columbus Day. It will reopen on Tuesday, October 11th at noon. DASC Volunteers Volunteers are needed to provide assistance to evacuees as they navigate the system. Positions may include intake specialists, exit interviewers, greeters, runners, technical support, and community buddies. New York Cares is the lead agency for coordinating volunteer activities at both the Welcome Center and DASC. Anyone interested in becoming a DASC volunteer should visit the New York Cares website at Please note that training will be provided to all volunteers. 4

5 Red Cross Volunteer Training Program Are you interested in volunteering to help those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? The American Red Cross of Greater NY is recruiting, training and deploying 2,500 disaster responders to Golf Coast States to help survivors of the hurricanes in the next few months. Information about the Chapter s New Volunteer Training Program, including dates, times and locations, is available now at Registration can be made online or by calling (877) REDCROSS, ext From United Way of New York City United Way of New York City and The Mayor's Volunteer Center have partnered to create which provides an easy way for New Yorkers who want to help to search available volunteer opportunities. Any organization can easily register its volunteer needs on this site. United Way of America's website, also offers information on volunteer opportunities in the affected communities. Thank you to all who have provided offers of assistance and guidance on how to approach the provision of services in NYC. Please continue to keep us informed of your thoughts, efforts, and suggestions. If you are working through your national networks to support the operation, let us know what you are doing, and what opportunities there may be for the human services sector to assist. For more information on HSC s NYC Katrina Relief efforts, please contact Ruthlyn Noel at noelr@ujafedny.org. 5