HAA Blog

 As we have seen time and time again, horrific conditions unite people. When tragedy strikes, we respond with compassion, self-sacrifice and generosity. Unity allows us to weather immediate disaster.   

 When Houston was hit by historical flooding on April 18, the Houston Apartment Association saw this as an opportunity to come together. HAA Executive Vice President Jeff Hall took the initiative to reach out to HAA board members to put together enough resources to help affected flood victims and displaced residents. HAA donated $25,000 and 14 board member companies including Camden who donated $10,000; Camp Construction who donated $7,000; Greystar who donated $5,000; Dinerstein Companies who donated $5,000; Alliance Residential who donated $4,000; Vesta Management Services who donated $3,000; J Allen Management who donated $2,500; FSI Construction who donated $2,000; Westdale who donated $1,500; Professional Apartment Services who donated $1,500; SMI Realty who donated $1,500; Southhampton Management who donated $1,500; Creative Property Management who donated $1,000; Jeff Hall who donated $1,000; Liberty Group who donated $500; and Veritas Equity Management who donated $500. 

 On Friday, HAA President Alison Hall presented a donation of $69,00 to the City of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner for the Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund. Up-to-date donations from board member companies have reached $73,000.

 “We applaud Mayor Turner for his leadership in establishing the Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund, working effectively and energetically with the community, including affected apartment owners, managers and residents, and acting swiftly to help Houston recover and be as prepared as possible for the next time,” HAA President Alison Hall said. 

 We expect to donate $100,000 on the behalf of HAA and the multifamily industry through our wide membership base.  

 “This is just the beginning, not the end, of donations from HAA member companies to the Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund,” Alison Hall said. “We are encouraging all of our members to make a donation.” 

Already, we have seen a huge turnout from our member companies - Reliant, an NRG Company donated $100,000 and Winthrop Management donated $200.

We're keeping a running tally of our industry's contributions. Email Mercedes at msanchez@haaonline.org when you made a donation. There is a lot of work to do and many flood victim residents to help, which we can make happen through this fund. 

 Donations may be submitted online via www.houstonemergency.org.

 There is no better time for the multifamily industry to come together to help support the many properties and residents that were affected by such disaster. 

 The fund is currently supporting post-flood projects for 17 apartment properties in Greenspoint containing 5,262 affected units. That includes 1,943 units with flooding damage and 210 uninhabitable units. An apartment becomes uninhabitable when six to seven feet of water enters a unit, and will require more turn around time than those that require basic renovations such as new carpeting or minor sheetrock repair. 

 Mayor Turner directed the City of Houston to do the following to assist housing and personal needs of our flooded neighbors. The city is housing 434 people in 141 hotel rooms whose apartments are now uninhibatable, with the largest concentration at the Baymont Inn & Suites in Greenspoint. 

 The city is working with apartment owners of the 17 properties with first floor damage and its inspectors to issue permits as quickly as possible to make sure residents have a safe, clean and livable space. 

The City of Houston has contracted with Catholic Charities to provide case management services to our hotel residents, helping coordinate services for the daily needs of residents (food, medicine, etc). The assessments of our caseworks will be vital in helping bring resources to families who have lost most of their material possessions.

The City’s Health Department mobilized 124 employees and 65 volunteers for door to door assessments for families in the effected units. In hitting 1,727 doors, the City of Houston is committed to the health and safety of the residents remaining in units damaged by flood waters. 

The Solid Waste Department continues to focus on heavy debris pick up with an emphasis both on quality of life has well as public health concerns such as mosquito breeding (Zikha virus) as well as to facilitate a quicker clean up and repair of the effected complexes. 

In the future, the city plans to coordinate with non-profits providing services in the area, especially in the areas of furniture and clothing donations, as provided by our case management needs assessments.   

They have placed a special focus on seniors and the disabled, which will be a focus of the Department of Neighborhoods in coordination with other City of Houston departments.

In order to better address the long term needs caused by flooding, the City of Houston will be naming a Flooding Czar to better coordinate the various jurisdictions involved in mitigating the effect of heavy rains and flooding.

To volunteer or donate to the Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund, visit www.houstonrecovers.org and don't forget to email Mercedes if you or your company make a donation.