By: Gerald Blessey,
Gulf Coast Housing Director, Mississippi Development Authority

Mississippi’s response to Hurricane Katrina is a model for disaster recovery.  Governor Barbour’s pragmatic and compassionate leadership set a new national standard for managing disasters.

In Mississippi’s Katrina response, something historic is happening, defying the stereotype of  “Mississippi last”:  the spirit and leadership of Mississippians are turning adversity into renaissance.

Before the debris was cleared, Governor Barbour, Senators Cochran and Lott and our entire Congressional Delegation urged the federal government to fund an unprecedented public/private response to this massive storm, much like the post-World War II Marshall Plan that our nation used to remake Germany into an economic powerhouse. Six years later, I’m pleased to say Mississippi is nearing completion of such a plan, to national acclaim.

Our generous nation granted more than $5 billion in discretionary Community Development Block Grants.  The state chose to fund three overall recovery priorities: replenish housing stock; rebuild and strengthen public infrastructure; and create projects that retain and attract jobs.

From the start, Governor Barbour made it clear that Mississippians, especially in impacted communities, would lead this effort. He established the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, which brought together local leaders to craft a plan to help their towns recover.

He established a Disaster Recovery Division within the Mississippi Development Authority led by financial professionals from the private sector. Chief Operations Officer, Jon Mabry, and the MDA team implemented a management model based on both internal and external performance timelines, budgets and accountability – all with a remarkably low fraud rate of less than one-tenth of one percent.

Mississippi has targeted much of the recovery spending toward housing needs. Homeowners Assistance Grants helped almost 30,000 Mississippi families who suffered hurricane surge damage.  Of the 40,000 families that were living in FEMA trailers, less than 25 remain. About 7,000 affordable rental units have been constructed or rehabilitated.  For very low-income families, Public Housing Authorities are near completion of nearly 3,000 units, nearly 1,000 more than pre-Katrina.  About 1,200 Mississippi Cottages have been converted from temporary to permanent homes.

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