HUD, FEMA Include Hurricane Gustav Families to Housing Assistance Program to Begin November 1st

Families who were affected by Hurricane Gustav will be eligible to receive temporary rental payments and case management services.

Families displaced by Gustav will be eligible for the Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP), which will also be utilized by thousands of other families impacted by Hurricane Ike. Slated to begin November 1, 2008, DHAP-Ike will help these families find intermediate housing as they rebuild their lives.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) agreed on a program that mirrors the successful program that housed families following the 2005 hurricanes, which continues to support more than 30,000 families.

HUD, working with an extensive network of public housing agencies (PHAs) that already administer the DHAP program for families displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and HUD's regular rental assistance program, will oversee and manage the program.

Initially, HUD will provide full rental assistance to approved families. Beginning May 1, 2009, families will be responsible for paying $50 per month. Every month thereafter, the family's portion of the rent will increase in increments of $50 until the program ends in March 2010. This approach has been successful in leading families closer to complete housing independence under the original DHAP program.