Page 30 - The Long Road Home

ECONOMIC AND HEALTH IMPACTS
Photo: Ray Fisk, Down the Shore Publishing
Economic Impacts
New Jersey is often cited as one of the wealthiest states in the nation, which obscures the growing number of residents who struggle to make ends meet. New Jersey ranks ninth, for example, in income inequality nationally.31 New Jersey families were still reeling from the 2008 recession32 when Sandy exposed and exacerbated underlying economic challenges. With the closure of four Atlantic City casinos, Atlantic County lost 8,000 largely union jobs in 2014,33 a higher percentage of jobs than any other major U.S. county that year; Ocean County, the county most devastated by Sandy, was home to 1,000 casino workers.34 By May of 2015, food stamp use had risen 12 percent in Atlantic County. The ongoing impact of Sandy, compounded by layoffs in Atlantic City, has led to rising foreclosure rates.35
After FEMA’s immediate assistance and relief, the state rolled out several programs meant to help financially strapped families get home or get stable. The Sandy Homeowner/Renter Assistance Program, or SHRAP, was announced in late 2013. SHRAP was created to help families experiencing a housing crisis. Families could receive up to $15,000 in assistance for up to six months with paying their mortgage or rent, retroactive or current utility payments, and the purchase of essential furniture and appliances. SHRAP ended near the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, when not even 500 families in the RREM program were home and New Jersey had not announced plans to continue to provide temporary assistance.
On the second anniversary of Sandy, nine Sandy survivors started the newly formed New
Jersey Organizing Project (NJOP) and launched the “Finish the Job” campaign. One of the primary demands of the campaign was for continued rental aid for those paying rent for temporary apartments while still making mortgage payments for their storm-damaged home in the RREM program. It took New Jersey until March of the following year to announce the Rental Assistance Program (RAP), which was housed under the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.36
The first iteration of RAP only helped those in the RREM and LMI programs for six months and only for $825 per month maximum. In May of 2015, the program expanded and rental payments were increased to $1,300 for up to nine months.37 Nine months later, the program ended, but thousands of homeowners were not able to move back to their
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THE LONG ROAD HOME