Judge Orders Extension of FEMA Aid for Puerto Rican Storm Evacuees

On July 3^rd, Judge Timothy S. Hillman of the United States District Court of Massachusetts ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue to pay for temporary housing for Puerto Ricans displaced by Hurricane Maria for another 20 days. The aid was supposed to end on July 1st, but civil-rights advocates filed a class-action lawsuit arguing that withdrawing the assistance would put some households at risk of homelessness. The court asked both parties to submit briefs, and may hold further hearings to determine whether an additional extension is warranted.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Massachusetts received the third-most evacuees of all 48 continental states.  In June, State House News Service reported that according to Governor Baker, statewide roughly 1,900 households totaling nearly 4,600 people were registered for FEMA disaster assistance. Massachusetts also has the highest population of families receiving temporary sheltering assistance after Florida and Puerto Rico. As many as 340 families are still living in hotels across the state.

All of this comes as members of Congress urge FEMA and HUD to activate the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), which would provide temporary rental assistance and services to the hurricane survivors.  The program was implemented after previous major disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. For DHAP-Katrina, the median duration of rental assistance was just under 15 months. Despite large-scale damage and displacement, FEMA has refused to set up DHAP as part of its recovery efforts.

Eight United States Senators, led by Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, introduced the “Housing Victims of Major Disasters Act of 2018” on May 31.  A similar bill, introduced by Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) is co-sponsored by Massachusetts Representatives Richard Neal and Seth Moulton.

In an op-ed published on MassLive’s website, Senator Warren and Senator Markey wrote, “FEMA is putting hundreds of families in Massachusetts at risk of homelessness. Existing state and federal housing assistance programs are already oversubscribed and can’t pick up the slack. These families have nowhere else to turn.”