What We Know About Their Housing Needs-
The scale of the problem:
As of September 19, 2005,
144,560 households had applied for FEMA assistance in
Texas. The ten counties with the largest number of
applicants are listed below. 202 counties reported at
least one application.
Source: FEMA.
What do we know about their needs?
Two sources:
1) survey of evacuees in Houston shelters;
2) survey of housing agencies and providers in Texas.
Houston shelter survey:
Random sample of those housed in the Astrodome, Reliant Center, Houston Convention Center, 5 Red Cross shelters, carried out Sept 10-12, 2005. 680 respondents, from the population of 8,000 in these shelters. Equally divided between men and women. Overrepresents most needy.
Will they stay? What option do they have?
34% report they will stay in Texas
29% report they will stay in Houston
Characteristics of respondents: working poor
74% had household incomes below $30k last year
32% had households incomes below $10k last year
67% were employed (52% full time)
11% were retired
13% were unemployed
49% reported HS or GED as highest level of education
45% have children under age 18
93% are African-American
Left unanswered: Needs of evacuees staying with friends or in hotels
Will they stay or return? What resources do they have to draw upon?
Survey of housing agencies and providers:
TDHCA survey of agencies and developers they do business with. 120 respondents. Represents rural and exurban areas.
Income groups/household types most in need?
Left unanswered: Needs as seen by agencies and providers in urban areas where evacuees most concentrated
Are evacuees in large cities different from those in rural or suburban areas?
Do these differences translate into different needs?
What do we know about rental housing in our large cities?
Indicators of shortage of rental housing for households below half of regional median income, by county, 2000
Source: author’s calculations using HUD data. For details contact ejmueller@mail.utexas.edu
Sources: HUD; agency website. (*)
Data compiled by Elizabeth Mueller, Rosie Tighe and Tommi Ferguson, Texas Affordable Housing Project, UT Austin, 10/10/05