Metro HRA helps families displaced by hurricane

Evacuees rely on a network of support agencies

High snows and blustery winds are a far cry from the moist warmth of the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Mississippi. In spite of the dramatic climate change, however, sons, daughters and grandchildren living in Minnesota provided a powerful lure to many families displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Jennifer Ryans, whose son, Mickle, will turn 2 this February, returned to Minnesota because she had grown up in St. Paul. A graduate of Como Park High School, Ryans was able to return to the Twin Cities with an aunt, but had no place of her own when she arrived. “We stayed with my sisters, my cousins, my aunts we just bounced around,” she recalled. “I didn’t want to go into another shelter.”

St. Paul native Jennifer Ryans and her son, Mickle, returned to Minnesota from Biloxi after Hurricane Katrina. With Metro HRA’s help, they were able to find a place to live.

Times were tough after the hurricane, Ryans explained. “I spent three weeks without power, food, or water,” she recalled. “We used flashlights to get around. The sewers backed up. It was no place for a young child.”

Metro HRA helped evacuees

Jennifer and Mickle Ryans were among more than 300 families that chose to relocate in the Twin Cities. They turned to the Metropolitan Council for assistance when its Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) was selected to process rental assistance requests for the new arrivals.

Between Labor Day and early January, HRA staff answered phones, gathered family information, obtained eligibility determination from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and processed payments so that displaced families like Ryans’ could receive three months of rent payments through FEMA’s Interim Sheltering Program.

Each family’s request took nearly seven hours to process, and there were critical situations when the HRA worked with landlords to place families in as little as one day. “Many of the families were living with relatives or friends, some were in hotels,” said Renee Klitzke, one of eight HRA staff members who handled the bulk of program-related duties. “We did our best to get them into a place they could call their own.”

Evacuees showed ‘battle scars’

Klitzke said the hurricane victims did not have high expectations when they contacted the HRA. “I saw a lot of people who had battle scars and a sense of defeat from their ordeal. They didn’t have a lot of faith in government, and were grateful to speak to a live person.”

“Our clients came here with nothing, and expected nothing,” said Tami Bayne-Kuczmarski, an HRA staffer who led the Metropolitan Council response. “It was difficult for people even to get to our office and pay for parking.”

Evacuees made heroic efforts to enroll. “One of my clients had just undergone surgery, and came to a briefing straight from the hospital, without a formal discharge. He felt he had to make a choice — between his health and a place to live.”

Staff reported that the losses, courage and gracious manners shared by their clients inspired them during long hours and periods of high stress. “I couldn’t help each person monetarily,” said Bayne-Kuczmarski, “but I could invest my work.” Klitzke agreed. “It was good to be able to do something.”

Staff heard many memorable stories

Tamara Witt, a supervisor in the department, said some of the stories staff heard from families were especially memorable. “One man told us he hadn’t wanted to leave his home,” she recalled, “so would not evacuate and had to swim away. Another client arrived at our offices with his semi truck. He had been on the road when the hurricane hit, and his truck was his only remaining possession. It was a challenge to find him a parking spot near our downtown St. Paul offices.”

Klitzke recalled a family that had four teenage daughters, with everyone living in one small hotel room. “These were not small children,” she said, “it had to be incredibly difficult to have all of these 'grownups' living in such a small place for an extended time.”

One of the most poignant memories for many HRA staffers involved a New Orleans family. “Three of the five family members had disabilities,” Witt recalled, “and one had been mugged during the family’s first weekend in Minnesota. I wanted them safely settled in a new home.”

The victim took a few hours to return her appointment call, Klitzke recalled, “This woman apologized to me for the delay. She had been at the hospital to have her ribs re-broken so they could heal properly. She could have been so bitter about her reception in Minnesota, but she was just grateful to receive help through the program.”

Several agencies provide support

Displaced families relied on a network of supporting agencies. The HRA processed requests for tenancy approval and landlord payments on behalf of FEMA and the Minnesota Finance Agency. The Minnesota Department of Human Services assisted families with furniture and security deposits. Housing Link provided a list of participating landlords for families to use. And, while Metro HRA worked with displaced renters and home owners who were not receiving housing assistance at the time of the hurricane, the Dakota County Development Agency assisted families who held housing vouchers back home.

The program received more than 300 formal inquiries, with 224 families completing applications and 170 families placed by January 1. Benefits are scheduled to expire February 28.

“This experience made me grateful to live in the U.S.,” said Ryans. “It showed me how much we take for granted, and made me think about life in countries where people are really struggling every day.”