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Call the PULSE Line to register for plan for rebuild, repair help for uninsured and underinsured

Last Updated Sep 23, 2016 at 12:10 pm MDT

You can now call the PULSE Line at 780-743-7000 to register as uninsured and underinsured with the group that will provide volunteer labour to help repair and rebuild homes that were damaged and destroyed in the fire.

You can also get in touch by emailing nsuurwoodbuffalo@gmail.com.

When you call you’ll be able to complete the rapid assessment to see if you qualify for the support which will also include some donated supplies along with the labour from experienced volunteers with NSUUR, NGO’s Supporting Uninsured and Underinsured Residents, the group made up of Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan’s Purse, World Renew, Mennonite Disaster Services and Fuse Social.

The rapid assessment will assess the following criteria:

  • Must be homeowners (excluding revenue properties) at the time of the fire
  • Must have equity in their home or be able to prove they are in good standing in their mortgage payments
  • Must intend to stay or return to the community
  • Participants must contribute to their recovery

If you don’t qualify you will be connected to other services that can help, including but not limited to the Canadian Red Cross, the United Way and others.

All uninsured and underinsured residents are also encouraged to contact their bank or mortgage lender to find out whether any changes can be made to their payments to help them cover the cost of rebuilding and repairing their homes.

The aim of NSUUR is to start repairs in the second week of October to get families with standing houses home before winter and to start rebuilds in the spring of 2017.

If you are a business looking to donate materials or equipment or a volunteer wanting to donate your time and skills to the repairs and rebuilds you can also call the PULSE Line at 780-743-7000 to register.

Residents can also connect with the RMWB to ask recovery related questions at the Fall Trade Show and Market this weekend at MacDonald Island.

The plan

There is a plan in the works that will support the uninsured and underinsured in the repair and rebuild of homes damaged and destroyed in the fire but organizers say this plan is still in its infancy and they need more information and more partners to come to the table if it’s going to work.

Crystal Lewis-Wilton of Habitat for Humanity and Greg Elsasser, the Acting President and CEO of Wood Buffalo Housing, gave a presentation at Wednesday night’s Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee meeting on the early stages of the plan to help families in need of support to rebuild or repair their homes.

The plan is being developed by the NSUUR Group (NGOs Supporting Uninsured Underinsured Recovery) which includes Habitat for Humanity, Mennonite Disaster, World Renew, Samaratin’s Purse, Fuse Social, Canadian Red Cross, Wood Buffalo Housing & Development, Money Mentors, alongside input from bankers and mortgage insurers, local builders and other businesses.

In the southern Alberta floods in 2013 Habitat for Humanity, Mennonite Disaster, World Renew, Samaratin’s Purse did this kind of work to support repairs and rebuilds for homeowners without insurance in that disaster and they have some experience, on a smaller scale, with the work that lies ahead.

The group has identified some of the potential solutions available for homeowners including a rent to own option, bank refinancing, a second mortgage, and the final resort, filing for bankruptcy.

This program would be designed to help people avoid relying on those solutions, helping them to rebuild with the means they have available to them, however, it would not be available to those for whom filing for bankruptcy is an unavoidable eventuality.

First they need to understand how many people are affected. They’re asking all uninsured and underinsured residents who lost homes or suffered damage in the fire that needs repairs to self-identify by either calling the PULSE Line or emailing nsuurwoodbuffalo@gmail.com.

 

Right now they’ve identified 300 homeowners in need of assistance but feel there will be more to come forward as the plan gains some clarity.

“We’ve heard that 300 number for the uninsured homes that have been complete losses. Within that we also know that there are property owners or homeowners that might have been part of the condo association so the responsibility for rebuilding would fall with the condo association. We know that there are revenue properties within there,” said Lewis-Wilton. “We know that there are some categories that we just wouldn’t be looking to help and it’s just those kinds of numbers that we’re really looking for, so trying to whittle that number down as to what we would actually be serving.”

She said through community engagement sessions and through references from the offices of MLAs Brian Jean and Tany Yao they have spoken to eight people who have expressed a desire for rebuild and repair work.

“With our program we’re really looking to collect that data, get those people coming forward,” said Lewis-Wilton.

At re-entry stations and recovery engagement sessions people have been coming forward with concerns about being underinsured but until now there hasn’t been a group keeping track of this specific group in this way and Lewis-Wilton said they are asking these people who may have reported in other forums to get in touch with them now so they can be included in the planning process.

She said the aim is to have a concrete answer for them as soon as possible as to whether they’ll have support rebuilding or not so they can make essential decisions about their future.

These conversations will allow them to tell residents whether their program will help them, if there are other programs out there that may be able to help them or if they have to start looking at other options.

“They really need to be making decisions fairly quickly and we’d like to prevent some of those families from bankruptcy,” she said. “With the uninsured they’re paying their mortgage payments if they still have mortgage payments, plus they’re covering their temporary accommodation costs, and then they’re looking at how they’re going to find the money to rebuild. So, they’ve got a triple whammy there plus any other things that are coming out. So those families very quickly will find themselves in a situation of insolvency or other negative impacts and they just might not be able to stay in our community.”

Lewis-Wilton said it’s important to keep in mind these families are not among the unemployed or people who have ever relied on supports before.

“We’re talking about people that may have had stable jobs, been contributing members of society but just, due to, whether it’s they didn’t have insurance because they didn’t feel they needed it, they didn’t renew in time, or perhaps they couldn’t afford it due to a temporary loss of job, we’ve had quite a bit of that in the community in the last while, they’ve found themselves in a circumstance that normally finances are not so much of an issue but they really are now,” she said.

Lewis-Wilton said there is a requirement for all residents participate in their own rebuild but said that participation can include helping with the labour alongside volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, Samaritan’s Purse, Mennonite Disaster and other organizations. If a homeowner is physically unable to participate they can take part in the work in another way by registering volunteers, volunteering their time in another capacity or finding another way for the family to contribute.

If the homeowner meets those requirements they would go on to a full financial assessment to see if they meet the needs assessment for the help. If they don’t they may be directed to other support services in the community.

Also needed for the program to succeed will be businesses able to donate materials and equipment to help with the repairs and rebuild. If you’re interested in taking part you can contact any of the participating organizations.