The Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group is among some 2 dozen organizations that have signed and were expected to deliver a letter this week to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) seeking an extension of the Rental Assistance Program for Sandy-impacted homeowners still trying to rebuild.

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Sue Marticek, OCLTRG executive director, pointed out that the Toms River-based nonprofit agency continues to open new cases daily, 16 months after the Superstorm.

"Hundreds and hundreds of people are still short on their budgets to get back home," said Marticek.

Three major challenges that continue to take a tremendous financial toll on Sandy victims include low flood insurance payouts, lack of clarity on the state's Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program, and contractor fraud, according to Marticek.

Marticek pointed out that in addition to the Sandy Homeowners/Renter Assistance Program (SHRAP) and  tenant-based Rental Assistance Program (RAP), the OCLTRG provided more than $1.1 million in assistance to clients. She estimated the group is still assisting at least 500 people who remain short of funds to get back home.

"Unfortunately, the charity dollars are starting to wind down and pretty much by June, will be gone," Marticek said.

Without continued assistance from the DCA, Marticek warned, "It is going to leave a tremendous amount of people at a huge disadvantage for trying to finish their construction project. They'll end up going into foreclosure. They'll end up using their resources for construction to keep their heads above water."

Marticek noted they're were many things in the disaster that were beyond people's control. She reiterated, "I think we have to do something to continue the possibility of them getting back home, and I think if we cut off their rental assistance, it is going to take a chunk of people out of the recovery."

Marticek expressed concern that if families have to come up with alternative recovery plans, they could be forced to rent an apartment instead of a home, or even be forced to leave New Jersey.

The following is the petition in support of extending the Rental Assistance Program:

Charles A. Richman, Commissioner
Department of Community Affairs
101 South Broad Street PO Box 800 Trenton, NJ 08625-0800

February 8, 2016

Dear Commissioner Richman,
Families are reaching the end of the allotted nine month period for the Rental Assistance Program. Many of those families are still not home, and the financial strain that will come from again paying for temporary housing has the potential to undo the work we have all done to get families home.

It’s been over three years, and 69% of the families in the Rehabilitation, Remediation, Elevation, and Mitigation program are still working to get home. Sandy was devastating for many financially and emotionally. Many families have put all they had into getting this far, and invested both charitable and taxpayer dollars into their recovery. None of us want to see our progress undermined and watch families fall through the cracks again.
We’re writing to request that the DCA open the opportunity for families, for whom the lack of additional rental assistance will create a hardship, to apply for an extended period of rental assistance. That extension period should be based on a realistic assessment of where they are in the rebuilding process and support them until they are home. The need is critical now for several reasons. In the past, we’ve seen gaps in support result in challenges for families that could prevent them from permanently returning to their homes and communities. Non-profit organizations have, also in the past, been able to help subsidize rental assistance for many. Three plus years after the storm, our funding is seriously depleted, and many service organizations are winding down or significantly shrinking their footprint and no longer have the funding to fill in the gaps.
These gaps in support can have devastating effects on recovery efforts. For example, in between when the SHRAP program ended and RAP began Bud and Sue Kenneally from Keansburg fell into foreclosure. After the storm, they were able to keep up with both a mortgage and rent using their savings and the state's SHRAP aid program. After SHRAP ended, while awaiting a new mortgage assistance program, all their savings were depleted and they fell behind on their mortgage. Though they were able to move back to their home right before Christmas, they’re in foreclosure proceedings now and may lose their home for good.

Nonprofit and faith-based organizations have spent millions helping Sandy impacted families cover rent. We are in a very different phase in the recovery at this point and no longer have these resources to offer. What concerns us is that both
taxpayer dollars from the RREM program and NFIP settlements; as well as our investments to help people hold on or close gaps will be for naught.

Colleen Forrest from Little Egg Harbor was working with a RREM pathway C builder over the summer. She was assured by the builder that her flood insurance would cover the escrow needed for her to participate in pathway C. It did not. And after shutting off her water and electricity and moving out with the assistance of RAP, she learned not only could she not be in pathway C, but that builder wouldn't work with her in pathway B. In December of last year it was like she was starting from scratch. Her rental assistance runs out in February. And while RREM has been helpful in releasing her funding to get moving with another contractor she doesn’t know where her rent money will be coming from moving forward.

Our fear is that without continued rental assistance many families will lack the necessary funds to both keep a borrowed roof over their heads and finish building their permanent home.

Now is not the time to undermine the recovery we’ve all worked for. For those families who find themselves still out and without rental assistance it is critical that you offer the opportunity for continued support for rent.

Sincerely,

cc:
Anthony Marchetta, Executive Director New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency
David Reiner, Deputy Commissioner Department of Consumer Affairs
Samuel Viavattine, Sandy Recovery Division

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