Responding to Storm-Damaged Residents & Communities
In the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, tens of thousands of families have been displaced from their homes and don’t know when – or to what conditions – they will return. Recovery and rebuilding will be a long and arduous effort, particularly for families already struggling on the margins of the economy.
We have supported housing and community organizations on the ground before, during and after the crucial recovery and rebuilding phases. And we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and do it again, partnering with residents and community groups, housing organizations, and the nonprofit, private and public sectors to ensure that the recovery and rebuilding processes are effective, equitable and inclusive.
The Enterprise Hurricane Community Recovery Fund
Building on this experience, Enterprise has launched the Enterprise Hurricane Community Recovery Fund to respond to short-, mid- and long-term needs, with a goal to raise $10 million in support of storm survivors.
We are rolling out the fund with $500,000 and will begin making grants immediately while we identify additional sources.
To begin, the fund will support nonprofits serving displaced low-income residents and doing the necessary hard work of cleaning up neighborhoods affected by Harvey, Irma and Maria.
Resources are critical at this moment and we hope you will support the Enterprise Hurricane Community Recovery Fund.
Urging Congress and the Administration to Act Now
Experience also has taught us that effective recovery always begins by listening to residents and local officials. Although the process is never fast enough to meet the real and immediate needs of survivors of natural disasters, we have recommended five policy actions Congress and federal agencies must take now to shorten the amount of time and money needed to help people return home again and prepare communities to undertake infrastructure repairs.
Vital Technical Tools
We have developed timely technical resources to help support mold remediation and other clean-up efforts, emergency planning, and storm-resilient design, construction and building operations. Our fund will help make these tools and trainings widely available to support what will be a herculean effort to repair and rebuild the single and multifamily homes pummeled by these storms.
And when the time is right for rebuilding, we will develop critical storm-damage analyses and demographic community profiles to shape and drive the rebuilding process. We will help guide and support nonprofits as they adjust their business operations to tackle rebuilding while creating unique financial tools that generate new private-sector capital to fill market gaps and meet the needs of low- and moderate-income families.
It’s been said that Hurricane Harvey will transform a generation. We must act now to ensure that the storm’s scars create resilience rather than desperation. We must do everything in our power to connect people to not just safety, but opportunity.
Recover today, rebuild tomorrow. We’re in it for the long haul in this devastating hurricane season, and we’re in it for good.