Weary Quake Victims Tied Up in Red Tape

Thousands of bone-weary earthquake victims, whose hopes lifted when Clinton Administration officials arrived promising quick delivery of emergency housing vouchers, were bitterly disappointed Friday to find that it could be days--even weeks--before housing or other forms of emergency aid will be provided by disaster centers.

Government leaders struggled to cut through a thicket of bureaucratic delays and unravel a potentially embarrassing recovery snafu. By day’s end, there were signs of progress as hastily accelerated paperwork processing resulted in a few lucky quake victims receiving the first of 10,000 certificates that will guarantee them help in paying rent.

After eight hours in line, Felicia Jefferson was the first to receive a housing certificate from the Van Nuys disaster relief center, which promises to pay 70% of her $900 rent for the next 18 months.

“I’ve been working and paying taxes for 18 years now,” said the mother of twin toddlers. “I’ve never been in a situation where I needed to ask for help, but I really need it now so I’m not embarrassed or tucking my head or anything.”

For the most part, the 12 disaster assistance centers were overwhelmed by the enormity of the relief need. In many cases, emotions flared as victims learned that they may have to wait until next month for an appointment to apply for housing assistance.

At midmorning, those coping with the bureaucratic headaches were further unnerved by twin magnitude 4.6 aftershocks. At the aid site closest to the epicenter, in Winnetka Park, several applicants scooted under tables. Sensing impending panic, one person shouted: “Calm down!” Others held hands and prayed. Some wept.

Adding to the chaos at a center in Northridge was a shortage of Spanish-speaking workers. Officials said FEMA’s office in Puerto Rico was sending workers to ease the problem; 1,000 people standing in line in Northridge were enraged when they were asked to board a bus that would take them to a center where the wait would be shorter.

The realization that the nightmare of camping out in cars, parks and emergency shelters was not over was underscored by a massive push by authorities to erect huge tent cities and coax the homeless into barracks-style Red Cross shelters before the expected weekend arrival of rain.

“I don’t understand. . . . They are supposed to have emergency services,” said mail carrier Phillip Denton, who trekked to the Crenshaw Disaster Assistance Center after his apartment building was condemned--only to be told to come back next week. “We work hard for a living and pay taxes. We shouldn’t have to go through this.”

The anger was particularly acute because Clinton Administration officials, including Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt, had stressed that the aid response would be swift--unlike the much-criticized handling of victims of Hurricane Andrew and other disasters.

Federal officials had announced that for the first time, housing vouchers allowing low-income quake victims to quickly rent replacement apartments would be distributed at disaster centers. “People can take that voucher and get housing tomorrow,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry G. Cisneros said Wednesday, fueling the high expectations.

What was not made clear until victims swamped the centers late Thursday and Friday was the small number of people who could be processed. Only about 100 applications were handled at some centers Friday, and future appointments were quickly booked through mid-February, so thousands will not receive help in finding new housing for nearly a month. “I’ve never seen a larger housing emergency anywhere,” Cisneros said in an interview with Times editors and reporters. “It’s stunning to see the extent of the damage. I’m guilty somewhat of raising expectations by talking about it,” he acknowledged. “There are people who believe they can walk in and get a voucher and walk out and get a house.”

The reality, he said, is that to safeguard public funds, officials must be assured that emergency aid goes only to quake victims, not the thousands of otherwise needy families in Los Angeles.

This requirement led to infuriating delays Friday morning at aid centers throughout Los Angeles, as those seeking help were asked to prove that their homes were rendered unlivable by the quake.

Recognizing the severity of the problem, HUD officials moved to streamline the process in the afternoon, permitting some victims to begin hunting for new homes immediately.

To deal with the volume of claims, Witt also pledged to open as many as six additional relief centers by early next week in Calabasas, Culver City and San Fernando and on the Westside. Officials said 2,000 more state and federal workers were en route to staff the network of centers and that mass application sessions, allowing as many as 200 people to meet with a single worker to fill out forms, would begin soon.

Federal and local officials, including Cisneros and Mayor Richard Riordan, huddled in a series of meetings throughout the day, trying to resolve the problems. The city hustled lists of damaged buildings to the FEMA centers to help workers confirm the eligibility of those seeking aid. But incomplete data and computer glitches at the city’s Department of Building and Safety were complicating the effort.

The City Council hurriedly approved a loan program to provide interim rental funds for those awaiting FEMA assistance. The program, organized by the city’s Housing Department, offers $500 immediately and up to $2,000 for first and last months’ rent and security deposits. But even that money has a catch--the funds cannot be released until an applicant has filled out a FEMA application.

While FEMA officials did distribute some emergency food stamps and issue a number of cash grants for housing, much of Friday’s work at the centers appeared to be limited to pushing forms.

One official with the California Department of Social Services, despairing at the pace in the centers, observed tartly: “The only thing (the disaster centers) did today was create one long paper trail. All we did was take applications.”

Adding to the confusion was uncertainty about what aid was available, and for whom. FEMA directly administers two types of disaster grants. Regardless of their income, people whose homes are unsafe can obtain a flat sum of emergency money, based on family size and average rents in the area, to help pay for a place to stay.

FEMA also will pay the mortgages or rents of people who are in danger of losing their homes because their jobs were wiped out by the quake.

“People out there are scared we’re going to run out of money . . . that if they’re not out there first, they won’t get help,” Witt said. “That’s not true.”

But Linda Hooker, who has spent five days in a tent in Granada Hills with her two children, is losing patience. As she stood in a long line of people at the Van Nuys disaster center, she refused to accept the obvious--she would not be getting help finding a new home anytime soon.

“I really don’t know what they are offering. . . . From what I’m hearing, they are just giving out appointments. I don’t know if I can wait.”