Temporary Housing Solutions

Over the years, a variety of temporary housing schemes have been suggested to FEMA but the agency lacked a mechanism for assessing the adequacy of these schemes in a consistent and quantitative manner.

In September 2006 MMC was tasked by FEMA to assist in developing and evaluating innovative and practical strategies and solutions for providing temporary housing that incorporates safe building and hazard mitigation standards and practices. To conduct this project, the MMC has supported the Joint Housing Solutions Group (JHSG), an interagency working group tasked with developing innovative and practical solutions to temporary housing needs after large disasters.

Initial activities were focusing on contributing to the development of a tool for evaluating alternative housing solutions in a quantitative manner. An MMC Board Oversight Committee was formed and a working group was established to bring together resources needed as the work progresses.

Given recent legislative changes, the MMC also will help FEMA evaluate nontraditional temporary housing solutions that are viable alternatives but that have been outside existing federal authorities. In cases where a nontraditional solution appear to provide viable solutions, the MMC will formulate recommendations on how and where they might be used and whether any further modifications of existing authorities or new authorities would be necessary to permit their use.

The evaluation tool, called the Housing Alternative Tool (HAT), has been developed and is presently being tested. Several MMC representatives joined with the JHSG and a subcontractor in field testing the tool with manufacturers of various temporary housing candidates across the nation. The FEMA policy decision to restrict the use of the traditional FEMA travel trailers has placed more emphasis on pre-evaluation of vendor products to meet the needs for future response. An Internet-based version of the tool is available for use by housing manufacturers and the field testing is continuing.

Although this task has been completed, the MMC Board is in the process of drafting a white paper on the need for peer-to-peer mentoring in the post-disaster environment. Consideration is being given to recommending a pilot program involving code officials and some of the associations representing the nation’s smaller communities.

Serving on the MMC Board Oversight Committee are Ken Ford, Philip Ganderton, Michael Gaus, David Godschalk, Gerald Jones, David McMillion, Dennis Mileti, Ann Patton, Timothy Reinhold, L. Thomas Tobin, Brent Woodworth, and Eugene Zeller.