Home

Welcome to Enterprise's first periodic report on what we are learning
and how we are working with our partners in the Gulf Coast region. We
want to provide timely information and perspective from some of the
individuals and institutions most deeply involved in relief and recovery. We also will assess policy developments affecting the rebuilding at the federal, state and local level. The geography spans New Orleans to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to inland communities--and cities outside the coast that are home to many hurricane evacuees. Enterprise will email these reports every few weeks for as long as conditions warrant. Please share them with your partners and send your suggestions for upcoming topics to Nicole Gudzowsky.

On the Ground: Healthy Home Repair
Many homes in the Gulf Coast region sustained damage too severe to
warrant rehabilitation. But a sizeable portion--potentially hundreds of
thousands--can be decontaminated and repaired. The latter offers a less
expensive, more sustainable approach than demolition that can help
residents return to their communities sooner. The good news is that
there appears to be strong support for healthy home repairs in the Gulf
Region, as The Times-Picayune, the leading newspaper in New Orleans, recently reported.
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/living0/113420022586760.xml?nola

Rehabilitating damaged homes can pose serious health risks to people
unable to properly protect themselves from extensive mold contamination
and pest infestations. To avoid potentially widespread public health
problems, Enterprise, the National Center for Healthy Housing,
Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, NeighborWorks America, and Columbia and Tulane Universities are developing best practices and
how-to advice for contractors, community organizations and homeowners
involved in home decontamination and rehabilitation.

Through the Healthy Homes Demonstration Project, we are testing four New Orleans homes that sustained low to moderate flooding to assess the best remediation and safety protocols and verify hazard-abatement costs based on varying contamination levels. The pilot protects workers through
careful preparation and post-rehab testing.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation provided lead funding for the healthy homes initiative. Enterprise has spent or committed over $70,000 to date toward this program, which has earned the endorsement of New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin. We will share preliminary results in January.

Of course, home-repair issues extend beyond health and safety matters.
We must also weigh costs and feasibility. The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) rules and general guidance on where and how damaged homes can be rebuilt and repaired present some complications.

For example, under FEMA's 50 Percent Rule, a structure is "substantially damaged" when the cost of restoring the structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50 percent of its market value prior to the damage. If the cost to fully repair the structure to its before damaged-condition is equal to or greater than 50 percent of the market value prior to damages, then the structure must be elevated (or flood-proofed if it is non-residential) to or above the level of the base flood, and meet other
program requirements. This well-intentioned policy could prevent entire
communities from being rebuilt in New Orleans and Mississippi Gulf Coast
communities.
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/press/katrina_after/floodplain_management_faq.pdf

FEMA's flood zone maps, also well intentioned, are proving practical
impossibilities to implement for many Gulf Coast communities desperate
to recover and rebuild. A recent New York Times article examines how the "looming changes are already causing divisions along the coast."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/12/national/nationalspecial/12flood.html?hp&ex=3D1134450000&en=3D46470b61f6a327d1&ei=3D5094&partner=3Dhomepage

Policy Update
Much of the $60 billion that Congress appropriated for recovery remains
unspent. And many members of Congress are reluctant to provide additional resources without offsetting cuts to other programs. Yet, more federal support appears headed to the Gulf Coast as senior Republican leaders quietly prepare a package of additional block grant funding for Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran (Miss.) has
proposed an additional $34 billion. Roughly half of the funding would
come from reprogramming previously appropriated unspent funds. Enterprise has worked with state and federal officials to advocate that this funding provide the greatest flexibility possible under provisions available when block grants are used for disaster assistance.

Enterprise prepared a detailed analysis demonstrating the advantages of federal block grant disaster aid versus federal HOME funds (grants for developing and rehabilitating affordable rental and for-sale housing). In this case, disaster aid provides greater flexibility and allows for a quicker
response, according to our analysis.
http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/newsletters/GulfCoast/documents/Analysis.pdf

Separately, the House and Senate have passed bills to provide roughly $8
billion in tax incentives. The incentives include additional Low-Income
Housing and New Markets tax credits, and tax-exempt bond authority to
help the Gulf Coast states rebuild. Both bills could pass by year-end or
in early January.

Partner Profile
Enterprise's rebuilding effort includes forging major new partnerships
that focus on gap-financing products, new organizational infrastructure
and land acquisition for new housing development. Local partners,
already established and working on the ground in the Gulf Coast region,
are key to successful operations. Here, we begin a regular series of
profiles featuring these resilient, mission-focused organizations.

In just over a decade, the Enterprise Corporation of the Delta has made significant strides in its efforts to strengthen communities, build assets and change lives in economically distressed areas in parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
http://www.ecd.org/

Central to ECD's work is its Hope Community Credit Union. Started in 1995, the small church project grew into a vital credit union that has generated more than $150 million in financing for entrepreneurs, homebuyers and community development projects and improved the lives of more than 10,000 low-income individuals in the three-state region.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, ECD/HOPE received a $100,000 grant from Enterprise, which the organization has used to make 22 repair loans.

Through its Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, ECD/HOPE participated in the immediate and long-term storm recovery efforts in Louisiana and
Mississippi. Initially, it routed funds to community partners providing
food, clothing and shelter for evacuees in Louisiana and Mississippi. As
basic needs lessen, ECD/HOPE is targeting funds to support payment
deferrals, provide down-payment assistance and establish loss reserves.

Extending a bridge to people in need, ECD/HOPE will build on its
experience to help residents rebuild their lives, homes, businesses and
communities.

Solutions: One-Stop Help for Homeowners
While coping with despair and dislocation, many residents of the Gulf
Coast region continue to face confusing, cumbersome obstacles to
recovery assistance. At the New Urbanist planning charrette in Mississippi, sponsored by Gov. Haley Barbour last month, Enterprise and other participants developed a business model and concept plan for setting up a series of "Rebuilding Resource Centers."

Initially, the centers would help distressed homeowners with reconstruction financing--financing and technical support in filing FEMA and insurance reimbursements, contracting for home repairs, obtaining financial counseling, etc. Later the center would address other urgent issues, such as reconstructing the rental housing stock and aggregating land for major new housing construction.

Enterprise has disbursed $125,000 in grants to catalyze this effort. We
are gearing up to launch two-to-three city pilot Rebuilding Resource Centers, in partnership with NeighborWorks America (in the city of Biloxi) as well as with Mississippi and Louisiana state officials, local community partners and two of the most-affected coastal cities.

Enterprise Support
Enterprise has committed $820,000 of its own resources and raised more
than $3.7 million in additional funds to sustain our relief and recovery efforts for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Support has come from Arie and Ida Crown Memorial, the Blue Moon Fund, the Home Depot Foundation, Freddie Mac/Freddie Mac Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the James Family Foundation, the MetLife Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. A number of individuals have contributed generously as well. We are deeply grateful for this support.