The mission of Habitat’s Disaster ResponseMore than 50,000 families worldwide have been assisted my Habitat for Humanity.
To develop innovative housing and shelter assistance models that generate sustainable interventions for people vulnerable to or affected by disasters or conflicts. In addition, Disaster Response builds the capacity of the global Habitat community in the areas of disaster mitigation, preparedness and recovery through education, training and partnerships.
The first fundraiser is scheduled midday at the lakeside Winter Park home of developer Alan Ginsburg, a philanthropist and frequent contributor to political campaigns (both Democrat and Republican). He gave $4,600 to then-candidate Barack Obama in 2007 and $2,300 to Obama's Republican rival, U.S.Sen. John McCain, in 2008. He also supported former U.S. Rep. Suzanne Kosmas, D-New Smyrna Beach, in 2010 and is a past contributor to U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park.
The national government said damage from the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident could reach 25 trillion yen or nearly $310 billion, significantly more than the World Bank's recent estimate of $235 billion. The disaster could shrink Japan's gross domestic product by 0.5% in fiscal year 2011, which begins April 1, the government said.
These living situations are in many instances not a matter of choice, but a matter of no other choice. They reflect an affordable housing crisis that has many Americans paying far too much to keep a roof over their heads—51 percent of low-income renters and 43 percent of low-income homeowners in 2007 spent more than half their income on housing. The economic downturn certainly doesn’t help matters. Elevated rates of unemployment, long-term unemployment, and underemployment are greatly harming these families as many find themselves unable to keep up with mortgage and rent payments.Those at risk of losing their housing and doubling-up include:
- Those affected by faulty loan products, who have been removed from their homes via foreclosures while also losing what savings were invested in the home.
- Families who have a history of housing stability but who are one financial disaster—losing a steady job or facing drastic reductions in work hours—away from going over the edge.
- Those who regularly lack housing stability in good economic times and bad. For these families—which are disproportionately headed by single mothers—frequent evictions, doubling up, and/or living in homeless shelters are a way of life.
This reticence has placed the U.S. in the position of doing little more than old-fashioned saber-rattling, intended to show the Kadafi government that Washington still could take military action, and perhaps to convince the world that the White House is not ignoring the violence in Libya. The Pentagon has moved two ships near Libya, and on Monday NATO increased the number of flights by its AWACS surveillance planes that track flights of military aircraft.
