Rep. Richmond Urges Compassion, Context as Road Home Implementation Continues

Washington, DC -- Today Congressmen Cedric Richmond (LA-02) urged HUD to consider the context in which many Louisiana residents entered into the Road Home agreement and to exercise flexibility and forgiveness where appropriate with the recovery of elevation grants to homeowners who have made good faith attempts to restore their homes.

“The Department of Housing and Urban Development has been an invaluable partner as we continue to recover from the disastrous storms that battered this region nine years ago,” said Rep. Richmond. “The Road Home program provided resources to many vulnerable families and it is important to consider their unique circumstances when it comes to evaluating their compliance with the program. While there are a few individuals who did not utilize their resources responsibly the majority of homeowners made good faith efforts to restore their homes and every homeowner should be treated with the utmost fairness and respect as recovery from non-compliant homeowners continues.”

In a letter to HUD Secretary Julián Castro, Rep. Richmond specifically asked that HUD:

• Continue to consider the context in which many of our constituents made their Road Home covenants.
• Homeowners that made good faith attempts, to restore their homes and follow their Road Home covenants, be treated with the utmost respect and fairness.
• Work with the Office of Community Development to consider an alternative process by which homeowners must demonstrate compliance with their Road Home covenants.
• Exercise flexibility, forgiveness where appropriate, and most of all human compassion and understanding for decisions made in a time of extreme duress, pain and uncertainty.

The letter to Secretary Castro can be found here.