by MAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) – Ashley Prince and her family have been searching for “normalcy” for years.
Two years ago, the tornado that tore through Mayfield took the roof off their rental property “like a bailout.” She and her fiance Dylan watched from inside as the mile-wide storm crashed over the water tower behind their house, picking her up in a frenzy. The ordeal left her with a badly injured leg.
What followed was a month-long journey to put their lives back together. That meant spending about a year with Ashley’s parents, then a year in temporary housing, where they currently live.
It’s the kind of story that disaster experts say will only become more common as climate change and extreme weather events increase. Academics point to a relief system in the United States that is relatively well-equipped to provide aid immediately after disasters, but not designed for the long-term or worsening conditions of global warming. On top of that crisis is another insurmountable problem: the severe lack of affordable housing across the country.
That landscape leaves people like the Princes — low-income renters — among the least prepared for the coming climate future. Using floods as a case study, research from MIT has shown that disasters lead to increases in rent prices for low-income renters and an increase in evictions.
“People are not ready to think about a possible disaster when they are living in precarious situations every day,” said Smitha Rao, an assistant professor at Ohio State University who has worked on the front lines of disaster relief. before studying it.
After a disaster, families typically have several options for rebuilding, said Michelle Meyer, associate professor and director of the disaster reduction and recovery research institute at Texas A&M University. If they have homeowners insurance or renters insurance, they can file a claim with the company. Then there are sources of financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which last month changed its application process with the intention of making its grants more accessible.
At the same time, families can apply for loans from the US Small Business Association, but applicants must meet eligibility requirements and repay the loan. In addition, local community organizations often provide meals, clothing and other assistance, sometimes for weeks or months after the disaster.
But once those programs start to go down, in a year or two, many families still haven’t recovered. Volunteers and local organizations fill the gaps with expanded temporary housing and new permanent housing. But they also face challenges, as volunteers are spread thin.
In Ballyna Bocht, several programs have made progress on a few dozen houses, into which families have begun to move. But the tornado destroyed hundreds of houses, hitting rents hardest.
Part of the mission of Camp Graves, the non-profit organization that provides temporary housing where the princes now live, is to help families regain their independence.
But people in vulnerable populations are particularly at risk of missing out on these opportunities. All seven families currently on the waiting list for Camp Graves are Hispanic, Black, multiple or single parent, office manager Cassy Basham said. In addition, residents with pre-existing medical conditions or disabilities say they face additional challenges in finding accessible housing.
Experts say the intersections between affordable housing and climate change can be felt everywhere. Mennonite volunteers working on housing in Mayfield saw this firsthand, describing previous experiences in hurricane-ravaged Southern areas where they repaired leaky roofs that were in some cases covered with tarps on for as long as two years.
Meanwhile in Ballyna Bocht, however, temporary housing is a place of safety for many. On a snowy day this January, Ashley sat at the kitchen table with her kids, helping them with chores. It’s the kind of moment they hope to have more of when they become homeowners. The princes are awaiting approval for a permanent home being built by The Fuller Center for Housing, a non-profit center that helps build and repair homes for people in need, at little or no cost. cost to the families.
Meanwhile, however, the princes find joy in the little things. A taller artificial tree for this Christmas. A separate bedroom for the children and a new coffee pot. And time together.
That, after all, is the most important routine.
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Associated Press reporter Joshua A. Bickel contributed to this report.
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Read more about AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment
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Follow Melina Walling on X: @MelinaWalling.
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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage is financially supported by multiple private foundations. AP is responsible for each and every subject. Find AP standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and covered areas of funding at AP.org.
