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Q&A
Resident experience and agency coordination during fire displacement
1:18:46
ยท
160 sec
Council Member Sanchez inquires about the resident experience during fire displacement and the coordination between agencies. Deputy Commissioner Santiago explains the process involving the American Red Cross (ARC) and HPD's Emergency Housing Services.
- ARC offers immediate emergency housing if households have nowhere to go
- ARC searches for available commercial hotels to accommodate displaced residents
- Within 2-3 days, households are expected to begin registration with HPD's Emergency Housing Services
- HPD requires basic proof of residency, which can include various forms of documentation
Pierina Ana Sanchez
1:18:46
thank you.
1:18:47
Now focusing in on the resident experience, mean you know that we have all, I feel like you guys are family at this point.
1:18:55
We've been through maybe 20 fires in District 14, not to mention all of the others just a couple weeks ago.
1:19:01
We had our fire on Burnside and you know we're all on the ground together.
1:19:05
You know that small person shadowing you all and asking many questions and thank you for all the answers.
1:19:11
But focusing in on the resident experience, can we start there?
1:19:16
Residents are on the sidewalk, it is a fire that is resulting in displacement.
1:19:21
Can you walk us through for the American Red Cross HPD, is, you mentioned a little bit about some of the resources that are offered, in what instances are hotels offered, for how long, and what cases cases are those hotel stays extended, and in what cases is financial assistance provided?
AnnMarie Santiago
1:19:45
Sure, thank you council member.
1:19:47
Often on the ground of large events, emergency management is also present and helps coordinate ARC and their response, determining whether or not we can service everyone at the site of the event or whether other locations might be needed to handle that.
1:20:09
The American Red Cross will immediately offer emergency housing if the household has nowhere to go.
1:20:17
Their process is to find, excuse me, hotels, commercial hotels basically that have availability.
1:20:25
Obviously these are unpredictable events and there's no telling on any given day what that availability might be at any of the hotels that they partner with.
1:20:36
So they do their best to find locations.
1:20:40
Within two to three days the expectation after ARC has communicated again, not just at the site but has done additional outreach to the household is that they begin to the registration process with HPD's, Emergency Housing Services.
1:20:57
And that is really to register the basic amount of proof that, if you want to call it that, that a family needs to provide, is that they were living at the building.
1:21:10
And we work with the household to determine what that is.
1:21:14
It could be an ID card, it could be a letter from the school, it could be any number of online bills that people pay understanding that they may not have access.