[FoCHAT] 6/14/07 Update from the Citizens' Road Home Action Team

[Melanie Ehrlich]

Dear Road Home Applicants and Other Concerned Citizens,
   
  You may remember that there was a resolution on May 31 sponsored by myself and KC King, new members of the Housing Task Force and Board Members of the Citizens' Road Home Action Team, which specified the following:
   
  1. The LRA Housing Task Force recommends that the Road Home Program Statement of Principles (which was adopted at the May 10 LRA Board Meeting) be posted at the Road Home website. (These Principles were adapted with modifications and additions from CHAT's Bill of Road Home Rights.)
   
  2. The LRA Housing Task Force recommends that the ICF-applicable Principles from this document be incorporated into the weekly progress reports (pipeline reports) from ICF (the contractor) to OCD (the immediate oversight state agency for the Road Home Program (RHP).
   
  3. The LRA Housing Task Force recommends that ICF pay out of its contract for an review of operations by an independent agency with expertise in handling or advising big, complicated programs.
   
  This resolution passed unanimously with yes votes from Adam Knapp, a leader of the LRA, and Suzy Elkins, head of OCD.
   
   
  Follow-up:
   
  Point 1 has been done. Please see these at:
   
  http://www.road2la.org/about-us/principles.htm
   
  While they are watered down from CHAT's original document and not all inclusive, we think you will be pleased with these, the first applicant-oriented benchmarks for what should be done by the RHP. (Note that policy does not come from ICF but from OCD and LRA and CHAT is working with them on policy aspects of the Principles.)
   
  IMPORTANT: FOR CHAT TO MONITOR HOW WELL ICF IS FOLLOWING SOME OF THESE PRINCIPLES, PLEASE TAKE OUR NEW, EASY ONLINE SURVEY AT
   
  http://chatforfairness.org
   
                                                                chatforfairness.org  
   
  You are encouraged to take the survey whether or not you took the last one and whether or not you have received your grant. There is room in the survey for important comments like delays that you have encountered, problems getting information about your grant, or problems with acceptance of a LA certified-appraisal if you submitted one.
   
  Please tell your friends and neighbors to take it too! Our last survey has been used in many ways to improve the program. This one should be even more useful.
   
  Some representatives from CHAT had a very good discussion today with top officials of OCD and the larger state organization (Dept. of Administration, DOA). We are hoping to have within two weeks word from OCD that many of CHAT's suggestions for new benchmarks (goals) for the RHP are incorporated into pipeline reports from ICF. Mike Spletto agreed to CHAT's request to post the pipeline reports at the Road Home website, which will be a breakthrough in one measure of transparency of the program.
   
  We are working on the third point but LRA is telling us that the beginning phase of the in-flight review will soon be initiated (perhaps July 1).
   
  CHAT members Barbara LeBlanc and Joe Middleton
   
  had photos of themselves and their devastated homes and quotes in an AP article:
   
  http://www.theolympian.com/national/story/134840.html     or 
  http://www.thenewstribune.com/tacoma/24hour/nation/story/86801.html or
   
  http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LA_ROCKY_ROAD_HOME_LAOL-?SITE=LABAT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT  (Baton Rouge Advocate) or
   
  http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/wwl061207jbroadhome.3f551a58.html  (no photo here)
   
    CHAT is also cited in this article 
  'Road Home' gap worries La. homeowners  by Becky Bohrer     Anything that any of you can do to publicize the enormously unfair lack of adequate funding for the RHP to a national audience, please do. If you are a member of any national group that you can inform about our terrible problems here with the RHP shortfall, please spread the word to them.  CHAT will very shortly start another campaign of letter-writing to the US Congress as we were encouraged to do today by Mike Taylor, head of DOA.  CHAT learned today at the meeting with OCD and DOA officials, that these officials are really trying hard to work the RHP out of financial and red-tape problems, many of which come from the federal government and just have to be dealt with by finding alternative pathways or coping mechanisms.  Stay tuned for the next letter-writing campaign and if any of you have a little time to help from your home computer or phone with outreach to legislators (state or US), church groups, media
 contacts about the big and so worrisome problem of the RHP shortfall, please send an email to chatlra at yahoo.com offering your help.  Please tell your friends and neighbors to join CHAT (no fee, no required work) if they care about Louisiana's future:  http://chat.thinknola.com                           chat.thinknola.com                   Best wishes,  Melanie  Melanie Ehrlich  Founder & Co-Chairman, CHAT   
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