Galveston Housing Authority

The Disaster Housing Assistance Program (DHAP- Ike) officially began in Galveston on November 1, 2008 and is scheduled to end in March of 2010.

As a brief overview, the DHAP- Ike eligibility criteria and process is as follows:

Family eligibility for DHAP-Ike is determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
FEMA then provides that information to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
HUD then performs several checks and then assigns a family to the appropriate Housing Authority as requested by the family.
The Public Housing Authority (PHA), including the Galveston Housing Authority (GHA), contacts the family, provides an orientation to the family about the DHAP program and supplies ALL required paperwork (Lease addendum, Disaster Rent Subsidy Contract form)
The family is required to sign a family obligation statement stating they understand and accept the obligations in order to receive benefits from FEMA/HUD.
When the family finds a suitable unit of their choice, the PHA and owner of the proposed property execute what is called the Disaster Rent Subsidy Contract (DRSC) in order to begin the DHAP-Ike assistance on behalf of the family.
The monthly rent subsidy is paid directly to the owner under the DRSC by the first of the following month if the appropriate paperwork has been received prior to the cutoff date.
An incremental rent transition of $50 per month will commence beginning May of 2009 where the tenant's portion of the rent will go up by $50 per month until the entire rent amount is paid by the tenant.

As of the end of January 2009, HUD has referred over 5300 of the FEMA assigned families to the Galveston Housing Authority (GHA). Over 5,050 families have been contacted, over 4,000 of those families have come to GHA and signed a family obligations form stating they understand the requirements of the program, and over 1,600 families have executed DRSC's with the GHA and Landlords. Every family who has an executed DRSC and whose COMPLETED paper work has been submitted within the timeframe established per the time the DRSC was signed, has received their rental assistance subsidy.

There have been a small number of the 1,600 families whose balance is under dispute and being investigated for various reasons that may render them ineligible; i.e., families renting shared space, a discrepancy in contract amounts, a discrepancy in family unit size, families renting from family members, etc. No one should be evicted by their landlords solely due to non-payment by GHA. Once these issues have been resolved according to federal guidelines, the payment will commence.

Approximately thirty families per day are visiting the Island Community Center (ICC) to submit or correct their paperwork. Every day, more and more units become available for rent in Galveston County. GHA has landlord orientations every Thursday at 3:00 p.m. at Holland House located at 2810 61st Street. Families who are still looking for units are encouraged to attend these meetings to connect with landlords who are participants in the DHAP program. Additionally, GHA has listings of available units in Galveston and Galveston County updated on a daily basis.

GHA's landlord liaison, Ms. Alberta Stoneham, (409) 765-1970, is available to provide assistance and answer any questions regarding the program and rental rates that landlords may have. This is also the number for families to call to be directed to a staff-member who will be able provide assistance and answer any questions that tenants may have.

GHA staff has willingly taken on a challenge that is larger than five times its pre-disaster capacity so that we can serve Galvestonians effectively. The GHA staff takes pride in assisting Galvestonians to attain self sufficiency with dignity and respect while investing millions of federal housing assistance to landlords of Galveston in re-building their properties while helping Galveston residents.