April Thomas, 206.321.3850, april.thomas@sierraclub.org
San Juan, Puerto Rico -- Yesterday, National Public Radio released an in-depth report on the ways in which federal disaster funding exacerbates economic inequality by favoring wealthy communities. In response, disaster-impacted advocates in Puerto Rico, South Carolina and Texas confirmed that this dynamic is common in their communities - particularly in Puerto Rico, where thousands of homes still have “FEMA roofs” composed of blue tarp, nearly eighteen months after Hurricane Maria.
“Puerto Rico is still waiting for the federal disaster aid we were promised,” says Adriana Gonzalez, Environmental Justice Organizer for Sierra Club de Puerto Rico. “Only a small fraction of the funding committed by Congress to support Puerto Rico’s ongoing recovery from Hurricane Maria has been released by HUD. More than half of applicants for FEMA funding after Maria were denied because they lacked formal titles to their homes. NPR’s analysis is spot on: people with power and privilege are much more likely to benefit from federal disaster funding because of the implicit bias built into these programs, while low-income families and people of color get left behind. Communities in Puerto Rico also face a clear disadvantage in federal aid relative to people in U.S. states that voted for Trump. People from Puerto Rico to Alabama all deserve equal treatment by our federal government.”
“This reporting from NPR confirms what we’ve experienced here in Texas,” said Bryan Parras, Dirty Fuels Gulf Coast organizer in Houston. “The poorer you are, the harder it is to access federal disaster aid. Low-income communities are being abandoned rather than getting the investment needed to rebuild. And in addition to the issues of class and race examined by NPR, people with disabilities and undocumented people also face additional barriers to accessing federal aid. With over half a million undocumented people in Houston going unsupported, our community is struggling to recover. As natural disasters, worsened by climate change, grow in frequency, these federal aid policies will continue to exacerbate economic inequality in our nation unless we support support a just recovery for all our communities.”
“Hurricane Florence devastated our communities,” said Reverend Leo Woodberry, pastor of Kingdom Living Temple in Florence, S.C. “The torrential rains caused massive flooding and many of the waters in North Carolina and South Carolina contain pollutants from hog farms, chicken farms, herbicides, pesticides, storm water, and wastewater. In rural areas where many low-income and people of color reside, the wells where folks get their drinking water were contaminated. Our church, Kingdom Living Temple, had to step in because the disaster relief available wasn’t enough for our communities. Even now, many of our members are still struggling to get back on their feet after losing everything. It can be impossible as a working person to navigate the bureaucracy to access aid, and often policies are skewed in favor of wealthier areas and communities.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.