Homeland Security, HUD offer housing payments to evacuees

The Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development departments announced Friday that citizens displaced by Hurricane Katrina can receive about $785 a month for three months to pay for transitional housing.

The aid is available to citizens who were evacuated from the Gulf Coast and have decided not to live in mobile trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Citizens must register with FEMA in order to receive the payments. The aid will be given to homeowners, renters, people who lived in public housing and those who were homeless prior to the hurricane.

"Our goal is to use existing resources in an innovative way to help all displaced individuals and families move from temporary shelters to more stable, safe and sufficient housing," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "Through this coordinated effort, the federal government is taking quick and immediate action to cut through red tape and deliver immediate assistance to evacuees."

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco criticized the housing program, however, saying, "It does little for Louisiana citizens who want to come home. With no housing available, vouchers do very little for our evacuees."

She called on FEMA and the Bush administration to provide security at hotels and motels and to dramatically increase the delivery of mobile trailers to the New Orleans area.

Chertoff said the new program will cost about $2 billion, which will come from emergency supplemental funding approved by Congress.

All citizens who qualify will receive the payments for up to three months, and some could receive it for up to 18 months if they meet special criteria, Chertoff said. The payments were calculated based on the average fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit nationwide. About 750,000 households have qualified for some kind of FEMA assistance to date, Chertoff added.

"Together we're going to cut through the government red tape ... and we're going to make sure that help is on the way immediately for those who need it most," he said.

Through the program, relocation specialists will be available to assist individuals and families in finding rental units based on the needs of each family.

Chertoff said the intent of the program is to give citizens and families flexibility in meeting their housing needs. The payments can be applied to both public and private housing at any location.

"We're not making people do anything," Chertoff said. "The whole point of this program is to let people decide the fate of their own lives."