The Alternative Housing Pilot Program (AHPP) is a one-time, four-year pilot to identify and evaluate better ways to house disaster victims. It resulted from a $400 million Congressional appropriation in 2006 and is identified as a key program in FEMA’s National Disaster Housing Strategy. Designed as a grant program to address housing needs, five of the 29 AHPP projects submitted were awarded to four states. Project implementation is underway. Each project and managing agency explores a different solution to locally acceptable transitional and permanent disaster housing. Common among the projects is an element of Gulf Coast recovery since all projects must ensure that individuals continuing to receive housing assistance from the 2005 hurricane season are given first priority for occupancy. Vital to the success of the program is evaluation and integration of lessons learned. To evaluate the success of the units and each project’s impact on individual recovery, HUD is performing building and social science research for FEMA under an interagency agreement. Once completed, HUD will present their findings to Congress and FEMA. The AHPP program increases the range of federal disaster housing options. Each project demonstrates a significant number of units that differ from standard FEMA solutions. At the conclusion of the program, AHPP initiatives will yield worthy alternatives for consideration by FEMA’s Joint Housing Solutions Group (JHSG) and Congress. Brief descriptions of each AHPP project follow: Alabama / The City of Bayou La Batre ($15,667,293): The city will develop two new housing communities and a new housing authority. The homes can accommodate up to a six-member family, use cement fiber materials, withstand winds of up to 140-150 mph, and can be detached and reset on another foundation within a 500 mile radius. Louisiana / The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) ($74,542,370): Katrina and Dovetail Cottages will be used on group sites and as infill development in southern Louisiana. The Katrina Cottage refers to a single-family unit with two to three-bedrooms layouts. The Dovetail Cottage is a multifamily design with one, two, and four bedroom layouts. Most Katrina Cottages will be built with a steel frame, which differs from the privately available Lowes Cottage. Mississippi / Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) ($281,318,612): Mississippi Cottage and Park Model ($275,427,730): The Park Model is similar in size to a FEMA travel trailer but is built to more stringent codes and uses rot, moisture, and mold resistant materials. The Cottage is a larger two and three bedroom unit complying with both the HUD code and local building codes, exceeding both in many areas. The axles and wheels can be removed for installation on a permanent foundation. MS Eco Cottage ($5,890,882): The Eco Cottage is a highly energy-efficient temporary disaster housing unit that can also be used as permanent housing. The design emphasizes green building technologies, durability, and an open interior to accommodate families of various sizes. Texas / Texas Housing and Community Development Agency (TDHCA) ($16,471,725): The “Heston Home” is single-family pre-fabricated, panelized house that can be disassembled to fit in a standard 8’ x 20’ shipping container. This unit can be pre-positioned, stored flat to allow multiple units to be transported simultaneously, and constructed in as little as eight hours by a six person crew. Alternative Housing Pilot Program Fact SheetFact Sheet Alternative Housing Pilot Program Benefits The Level I and II programs combine emergency management, continuity, leadership, and instructional development courses and opportunities to recognize those individuals committed to continuity planning and provide them with a wide variety of tools necessary to continue government operations and further efforts in continuity and emergency manage- ment in this day and age. Recent Accomplishments Since the inception of the program on April 16, 2008, 20 individuals have attained a Level I, Professional Continuity Practitioner status, with several more pending certification. With the piloting of the Devolution Training and the Written Comprehensive Exam in January 2009, at least 35 individuals are expected to attain Level I and 20 individuals attain Level II, the Master Continuity Practitioner, by June 2009. COOP Awareness The one-hour Continuity of Operations (COOP) Awareness course is designed for all public sector employees. The course provides a fundamental understanding of COOP, terms, objectives, and benefits to public sector departments and agencies. It gives a brief overview of the elements of a viable COOP capability. This awareness course provides information on how a COOP event might affect employees, the department or agency, and an employee's family. Introduction to Continuity of Operations (COOP) This five hour web-based course is designed for a broad audience - from senior managers to those involved directly in- volved in COOP planning efforts. The course provides a working knowledge of the COOP guidance found in Federal Continuity Directive 1 (FCD 1), Federal Executive Branch National Continuity Program and Requirements, Effective Communication Being able to communicate effectively is a necessary and vital part of the job for every emergency manager, planner and responder. This course is designed to improve the continuity practitioner’s communication skills. It addresses basic com- munication skills, how to communicate in an emergency, how to identify community-specific communication issues and using technology to as a communication tool, effective oral communication and how to prepare an oral presentation. COOP Manager’s T-t-T Course This course is designed to provide continuity of operations training for Program Managers. The course identifies the processes, resources and tasks necessary to implement and manage a successful COOP program. COOP Planner’s T-t-T Workshop The goal of this workshop is to provide continuity practitioners the tools and practical experience they need to im- prove their Federal Department or Agency COOP plans. Introduction to Incident Command System This course describes the history, features and principles, and organizational structure of the Incident Command System (ICS). It also explains the relationship between ICS and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Principles of Emergency Management The goal of this course is to introduce the fundamentals of emergency management as an integrated system, sur- veying how the resources and capabilities of all functions at all levels can be networked together in all phases for all hazards. National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) This course explains the purpose, principles, key components and benefits of NIMS. The course also contains “Planning Activity” screens to give students an opportunity to complete some planning tasks during this course. Fact SheetFact Sheet Alternative Housing Pilot Program National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) This course explains the purpose, principles, key components and benefits of NIMS. The course also contains “Planning Activity” screens to give students an opportunity to complete some planning tasks during this course. National Response Framework This course introduces students to the concepts and principles of the National Response Framework. The course also describes the roles and responsibilities of entities as specified in the National Response Framework. Exercise Design This course provides fundamentals of exercise design. It is designed to prepare continuity practitioners to design and conduct a small functional exercise for their organization. Determined Accord The goal of the Determined Accord tabletop exercise is to assist in increasing a Department or Agency’s continuity readiness for a pandemic event. It also focuses on mitigating vulnerabilities during a continuity influenza pandemic outbreak and identifying gaps or weaknesses in pandemic planning in organization continuity plans, policies and procedures. NARA - Emergency Planning and Response for Vital Records and Essential Information This course provides the knowledge and skills required to identify, protect and make readily available the vital records in the event of a disaster. It also teaches students how to incorporate records emergency planning into agency continuity plans. Exercise Evaluation and Improvement Planning This course introduces the basics of emergency management exercise evaluation and improvement planning. It also builds a foundation for exercise evaluation concepts as identified in the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). Instructional Delivery for Subject Matter Experts This course is designed for Subject Matter Experts. Participants will learn how to account for room design, material organization and the impact of the instructor/presenter on the environment. Leadership & Influence This course is designed to improve the student’s leadership and influence skills. It addresses topics such as how to lead from within, how to facilitate change, how to build and rebuild trust, and using personal influence and political savvy. Building Design for Homeland Security This course outlines a methodology to determine the risk of a building’s infrastructure and related critical functions against various terrorist threats, and highlights potential protective measures. FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Fact SheetFact Sheet