BREAKING
NEWS!
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Michael
Turner
Founder/Executive
Director
The
Silver Lining Foundation
9600
Escarpment Blvd
Suite
745 PMB 48
Austin,
TX 78749
Phone:(512)
646-0691
mturner@silver-lining-foundation.org
www.silver-lining-foundation.org
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: ALL FEMA-ELIGIBLE HURRICANE
RITA/KATRINA DISASTER VICTIMS CAN APPLY TO RECEIVE FREE DONATED HOMES VIA THE
SILVER LINING FOUNDATION
CameronCourthouse, Cameron, Louisiana,
April 25, 2009 -The Silver Lining Foundation and FEMA are moving forward to
permanently solve the housing crisis that continues to plague thousands of
displaced hurricane Rita and Katrina disaster victims. In this collaborative
effort, FEMA and The Silver Lining Foundation will be donating manufactured
homes to any Rita/Katrina disaster victims who remain displaced across Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Beginning with the announcement made this
morning at the Cameron Recovery Rally in front of the Courthouse in Cameron,
Louisianaa community wiped out not once, but twice in three years by hurricanes
Rita and Ikethose who remain displaced can look forward to owning their own
home and to finally getting their lives back to normal.
This is a real win-win says Michael Turner,
Founder and Executive Director of The Silver Lining Foundation. This strategy
completes the recovery for those who continue to endure the suffering caused by
the hurricanes 3 years ago and at the same time saves the federal government a
great deal of money.With this plan, Turner added, everyone has the chance to
receive permanent housing that they will own outright. No displaced person will
get left behindso long as they register by the absolute deadline of Thursday,
April 30, 2009, which is the official end of the federally declared disaster
period.
Registration Deadline of April 30, 2009:THOSE
WISHING TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE FEMA MANUFACTURED HOME DONATION PROGRAM MUST
REGISTER WITH THE SILVER LINING FOUNDATION NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, APRIL 30,
2009 TO BE CONSIDERED. THIS IS A FEDERAL DEADLINE NO LATE APPLICATIONS CAN BE
ACCEPTED.
Who is eligible?To be considered at
all, applicants must already be registered with FEMA as a hurricane
Rita/Katrina disaster victim. FEMA will then review those
Rita/Katrina-registered applicants on a case by case basis to determine
eligibility. Some of the consideration guidelines are as follows:
Hurricane
Rita/Katrina victims who owned homes prior to Rita and are back in homes
that they own are NOT eligible.
Hurricane
Rita/Katrina victims who rented prior to hurricane Rita and are living in
rented homes that are NOT part of a housing assistance program like DHAP
are NOT eligible.
Anyone
currently enrolled in the FEMA sales program is NOT eligible
Any
hurricane Rita/Katrina victims still living in FEMA temporary housing or
are currently in a housing assistance program ARE potentially eligible.
Where can donated manufactured homes be
placed?Donated manufactured homes can be placed on private property or in
commercial manufactured home communities regardless of whether or not they are
located in v-zone flood areas. Proper permitting must beobtained from the local government where the manufactured home is to be
placed.Those units already in place in an authorized area may stay at their
present location and be donated to the applicant currently registered in that
unit.
Note regarding the placement
of manufactured homes in v-zone flood areas during 18 month declared disaster
periods:All local governments have the unilateral authority to grant
temporary permits to place manufactured homes on the ground and hook them up to
utilities so long as the home is either elevated or removed from the flood zone
at the end of the declared disaster period. The National Flood Insurance
Program, the State of Louisiana, FEMA and the federal government do not in any
way restrict or sanction local governments from issuing permits as described
above during declared disaster periods.
After hurricane Rita, low lying communities including
Cameron, Louisiana issued housing permits in this manner so that manufactured
housing units could be placed on the ground and hooked up to utilities during
the declared disaster period.
Program details:Recipients of the
donated units must be approved by FEMA and must be prepared to pay for
installation costs and all other costs associated with the home and the
donation program. Additional information on the The Silver Lining Foundation
donation program can be found at:
http://www.silver-lining-foundation.org/FEMA_donation_program.html
How to register:To register, simply
email the name, RITA/KATRINA FEMA ID number, phone number and address of the
applicant tomturner@silver-lining-foundation.org,
call in and leave this information in our company voice mailbox at 512-646-0691
or fax it in to (512) 301-8596. REMEMBERTHURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009 IS THE LAST
DAY FOR REGISTRATION. NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE GRANTED.
DISASTER RELIEF VIDEO Dilana Loud
Silence See for yourself, the devastation caused by hurricanes,and the
tragedy that our fellow Americans continue to endure.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01C6WNBYdukDisaster
relief music video, produced by Livin the Music (www.livinthemusic.org) and Silver
Lining Foundation, featuring Dilana performing her original track "Loud
Silence" from her upcoming album.
The Silver Lining FoundationTransforming
the Future of Disaster Housing
The Silver Lining Foundation is a 501(c)3 not for profit
organization that was founded with the mission of transforming the way that
disaster housing is provided in the United States. The organization was founded
by Michael Turner, who saw the limitations of the current system through his 3
years of experience providing disaster housing in conjunction with FEMA.
As the managing partner of a number of
companies that are involved in the manufactured housing industry, Turner has
firsthand experience of the many shortfalls of and problems with the current
system. He established The Silver Lining Foundation out of his concern for the
unmet housing needs of disaster victims. Based upon his business experience and
his experience with both disaster victims and those who live in manufactured
home communities, Turner recognized that there were better and more cost
effective solutions to these problems--solutions that could serve more people
more quickly, at a much lower cost to the taxpayer, while providing disaster
victims with better options and longer-term solutions.
The strategies promoted by the Silver Lining foundation
will provide quicker, more human solutions to the problems of disaster housing
with the potential of reducing the cost of providing disaster housing by an
order of magnitude when compared to the current system. With these strategies a
zero could literally be dropped from both the cost and time that it is
currently taking FEMA to manage and implement disaster housing solutions.