One year after the Fort McMurray wildfire, far fewer uninsured homeowners are looking for financial help than previously thought.
Organizations helping the uninsured and underinsured build or buy new housing haven’t been receiving the response from applicants they expected. However, the organizations warn that might still change.
“There’s definitely a need there,” said Crystal Lewis-Wilton, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Wood Buffalo, one of the organizations helping homeowners get back on their feet.
“We are surprised. We expected [it] to be larger, to be honest with you,” Lewis-Wilton said.
Habitat for Humanity is part of an umbrella group that’s helping wildfire victims. Called NGOs Supporting Uninsured and Underinsured Residents (NSUUR), the organization announced three new modular homes had arrived in Fort McMurray Tuesday for families participating in the program.
150 applications, many unproven
Although NSUUR received about 150 applications, many could not prove they lost their homes or that they are in financial need. NSUUR requires applicants to submit tax returns and other financial disclosures to demonstrate eligibility.
“We are looking for those people who are unable to recover on their own,” said Glen Kauffman of the Mennonite Disaster Service, another group helping in the housing effort.
But Kauffman and other members caution the low numbers don’t mean help is no longer needed.
Kauffman suspects many of the most vulnerable who lost their homes haven’t decided yet whether they want to rebuild, sell or walk away from their lots.
“That’s what we are finding more in Fort McMurray — that it’s taking people longer to decide what they would like to do,” Kauffman said. “I think part of that is because of the economic situation and the downturn in oil.”
The May 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire destroyed over 2,400 homes and structures, earning the title of Canada’s costliest insured disaster.
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