Supporting the individuals, families, small businesses, and neighborhoods of Biloxi, Mississippi.
Achievements
In its beginning, Hope CDA partnered with and coordinated local churches, Oxfam, and over three dozen relief organizations to provide food, shelter, and basic medical care to the thousands of families whose homes were damaged or destroyed. Since then it has:
- Coordinated the rehabilitation of over 650 homes and the full construction of over 35 homes.
- Of those 650 homes, over 325 were cases initiated and maintained by Hope’s case management staff, with construction work directly supervised by Hope’s construction management staff.
- Established a revolving loan fund for homeowners, closing on over 100 loans. This loan fund, offers a $20,000, 0% interest, 10-year forgivable loan product to families who have or qualify for nearly enough funding for the rehabilitation or full reconstruction of their home. The loan fund product leverages program participants’ monies by filling in the gap and enabling them to complete their projects.
- Obtained over $5M in assistance funding for families rebuilding their homes. In addition to offering its own loan product, Hope staff work with homeowners to apply for and secure public and private grant assistance funding.
- Completed a participatory community planning process, engaging over 500 families in an extensive survey and over 300 residents in community meetings, resulting in a report that articulated an inclusive vision for the future.
- Provided a single point of entry for residents to access critical services, and maintained case files for over 2,000 families.
- Coordinated and provided technical and logistical support to dozens of unaffiliated volunteer relief organizations who have come to Biloxi, ensuring efficiency and synergy between these groups as they distributed supplies, stabilized salvageable houses, and eventually engaged in rebuilding. Weekly meetings of relief and recovery organizations to exchange information and practices continue to this day.
- Provided office space and logistical support to major partners, including the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio (“GCCDS”), Architecture for Humanity (“AfH”), the National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies (“NAVASA”), and two volunteer agencies: Hopeforce and BFS Compassion First.
- Opened a productive relationship with state government, advocating for communities on the ground. Working with senior members of Governor Haley Barbour’s staff, Hope’s policy recommendations were heeded in the design of the second phase of the State of Mississippi’s homeowner grants, commonly called “Phase II Grants.” These grant eligibility guidelines include many previously excluded low-income groups Hope had identified. Further evidence of this relationship was the State’s $40,000 contract with Hope to provide outreach services for the Phase II grants.
