EDITORIAL: Housing is next critical step in Irma recovery
Most of the post-storm complaining seems to be directed at piles of dead trees and horticultural debris lining streets. But who would trade coping with that situation over a few weeks for the alternative of living in a potentially unsafe place -- or worse, no place to call home -- a month after Irma's
The plight for members of more than 1,000 households who lost or sustained severe damage to their homes is the next urgent challenge for federal, state and local governments.
As of this week, among those 66,000 in
Nearly 75 households had destroyed homes and more than 1,000 others had major structural damage, meaning more than 60 percent of a home's value, the
Close to home
"I'm not satisfied with the progress,"
A search for available pads for RVs or mobile trailers at more than 40 parks turned up fewer than 10 vacancies, county emergency managers told commissioners Tuesday. With season coming, that wouldn't surprise anyone remotely familiar with
Solutions
To their credit, county leaders aren't just waiting for federal and state governments to solve all of
County staff and commissioners have agreed to redirect money that comes back to
So while
Some important points:
+ The redirected money is available only while the area is under a disaster declaration, so there is urgency for organizations to help get word out to those who could qualify.
+ There are income restrictions. Any household making more than 120 percent of the area's median income can't qualify (for example, that's up to
+ It can't be used for expenses that insurance or a
+ Each county program has a dollar maximum per household, with the highest figure set at
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