New Report on Child Homelessness

America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness provides a comprehensive snapshot of our nation’s homeless children, both nationally and state-by-state. The report is a call to action. It offers policy and program solutions to this growing tragedy.

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[Greg Coppa]

, wrose@ibhs.org

IBHS SAYS ASSISTING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS TO PREPARE FOR AND RECOVER FROM DISASTERS IS CRITICAL

March 24, 2009/TAMPA – The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) today released a white paper to underscore the importance of considering vulnerable populations – including poor, elderly, disabled, non-English speakers, and others needing special assistance – in disaster planning and property loss prevention initiatives in high-risk areas.

The Importance of Reducing Disaster-Related Losses for Vulnerable Populations by Debra Ballen, IBHS senior vice president of public policy and general counsel, cites data from numerous studies to support the need to do more to protect these citizens, who often live in the most vulnerable housing and lack resources to make vital evacuation plans or undertake loss reduction measures.

Some examples: nearly 150 apartment complexes, home to more than 93,000 renters in Houston’s blighted neighborhoods, were severely damaged in 2008 by Hurricane Ike. Also last year, California wildfires left hundreds of mobile home park residents instantly homeless.

Speaking at the dedication of a Habitat for Humanity home today in Erie, Pa., IBHS President and CEO Julie Rochman said, “Natural catastrophes often wipe out already scarce affordable housing or displace people who have fewer resources to recover. Improving the resilience of vulnerable populations must be a national priority, public health objective, economic imperative and humanitarian obligation.”

Ms. Rochman also commended Erie Insurance and Erie Habitat for Humanity, who partnered with IBHS to build the first Fortified…for safer living® home in Pennsylvania. The program’s criteria exceeds building codes to make homes more durable and ensure they can provide a secure home to families for years to come. The Fortified program is cited in the new IBHS white paper as an affordable solution for encouraging disaster-resistant construction, noting that more than a dozen Habitat for Humanity homes in several states have been built to this standard.

IBHS also recommends that federal and state loss mitigation grant programs recognize the immense needs and limited resources that vulnerable populations have, noting that many may live in housing owned, managed and maintained by government entities.

Beyond limiting the displacement of vulnerable populations and sustaining affordable housing, investing public funds in hazard mitigation programs also will create economic activity, minimize property damage, and reduce the cost of response and recovery, according to IBHS.
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The paper also points to the critical role that can be played by community-based human service and faith-based organizations. Proper planning will allow them to be a lifeline of survival following a disaster so they must prepare to be called upon when disaster strikes.

To read The Importance of Reducing Disaster-Related Losses for Vulnerable Populations visit the IBHS Web site www.DisasterSafety.org.

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