Why this matters
The Jan. 22 storm that flooded mostly vulnerable southeastern San Diego neighborhoods is over, but its impact will be felt in the city for years to come.
Hundreds of San Diegans whose homes were devastated by historic flooding in January will soon receive more help from the city, including undocumented residents who have previously been ineligible for federal aid.
The San Diego Housing Commission last week unveiled a new flood recovery program, available to city residents who received temporary hotel lodging from the county in the wake of the floods.
Only those residents who resided in the city of San Diego at the time of the flood and are receiving the temporary lodging will be eligible, said Housing Commission spokesperson Scott Marshall. The program will help residents find housing, provide financial assistance or direct them to other community resources. It will prioritize the financial assistance for those who were not eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, payments — some of whom were left out because of their immigration status.
The commission will contact eligible residents with information on how to apply.
As of mid-May, 443 households — more than 1,000 people — in San Diego have stayed in hotels since the storm. Officials have not said how many of the participants are believed to be undocumented.
The average monthly income of these families — $1,700 per household — is substantially lower than the rest of the county. Many say their homes will not be ready for dwelling by the time the lodging program expires, according to the Housing Commission.
County supervisors voted in late April to extend for a second time its hotel voucher program to June 21, allocating $4.2 million for the new Housing Commission program.
On Jan. 22, a heavy winter storm damaged hundreds of homes across the county, especially in vulnerable and predominantly Latino and Black neighborhoods such as Southcrest, Encanto and National City.
City Councilmember Henry Foster’s district in southeast San Diego was hit particularly hard. He said that while he’s grateful for the work government leaders are doing to help those harmed by the floods, he’s skeptical of the urgency to find them permanent housing in less than a month, when the lodging program ends. He said he asked Mayor Todd Gloria to take “immediate action.”
“This has been a very challenging time for District 4 and the impact that we have seen with this flooding,” Foster said during a meeting last week.
The city has received heavy criticism for its response to the storm. Officials were hit with a $100 million lawsuit earlier this month, with hundreds arguing that years of neglect and poor maintenance of stormwater drains damaged their properties.
The Housing Commission’s new program could offer additional resources in the future. Officials are searching for an organization experienced in storm response that will assess flood-damaged homes and then contract with a company to restore them.
Type of Content
News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
