Over a year after Hurricane Beryl and a derecho windstorm made thousands of homes uninhabitable, TMO (The Metropolitan Organization) leaders and allies persuaded the City of Houston to boost funding for home repair from zero to $100 Million, using federal disaster recovery dollars.
When the city first received the $315 Million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), local officials proposed to dedicate $0 towards housing despite official city reports identifying housing as the city’s top unmet need. Instead, the city planned to fund other areas such as backup power generators and public safety vehicles.
TMO and other community organizations encouraged the city to revise their proposal to invest in home repairs, participating in all three public hearings and testifying at City Council.
"I support TMO(‘s) requests (that) the City of Houston allocate at least $100 million from the federal disaster recovery fund to help families who still need home repair from Hurricane Beryl,"
said TMO leader Udavine Sampson Barnes. "I would like to thank our mayor and city council for showing empathy and understanding through action."
After finally committing to invest $50 Million, leaders continued pressing City Council to allocate at least $100 Million to repair homes still damaged by extreme weather events.
In response, Mayor John Whitmire and the Housing and Affordability Committee Chair revised the plan to double the city's investment, leveraging the creation of a $100 Million home repair fund.
The additional $50 Million is expected to be approved on August 14th. Until then, TMO is working to ensure that the housing assistance infrastructure gets established swiftly and that those most in need are identified and prioritized.
This is the latest in TMO’s disaster recovery efforts of listening to affected families, deliberating solutions with those directly impacted, and demanding a response from the local government.
[Photo Credit: HTV Live and Video Archive, City of Houston]
Houston Mayor John Whitmire Changes Course, Calls for $50 Million in Federal Disaster Aid to go Toward Housing, Houston Public Media [pdf]
TMO Leaders Demand Action, Accountability on Slow Hurricane Beryl Response, Houston Defender [pdf]