State and local governments, nonprofit organizations and other entities can provide support and guidance to both builders and households to promote "smarter and safer" measures. Key steps include funding training, licensing and incentive programs to encourage builders, contractors and property managers to incorporate these practices into new construction, rehabilitation and upgrades that help reduce property damage and loss of human life resulting from natural disasters. It is also important to provide funding, incentives and training directly to homeowners for home upgrades that make their homes safer.

State and local governments can be directly involved in training and education for making homes safer. The South Carolina Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program, also known as the SC Safe Home Program, provides home disaster mitigation training sessions as well as free symposia that educate builders, contractors, homeowners and property managers on construction, retrofitting and other measures to help make homes more resilient to natural disasters. In addition, these sessions provide information on state income tax credits and other financial benefits that are available to homeowners who upgrade their homes. These sessions also provide continuing education opportunities for other professionals involved with housing, such as realtors, insurance agents, building code enforcement officers and floodplain managers. In addition to providing and supporting education and training, it is also important for state and local governments to provide financing and incentives for homeowners and developers to actually implement these smarter and safer building practices and measures. Funding and incentives are particularly important for lower income families and developers of housing for these lower income families. There are many funding tools available at the federal, state and local levels in the form of grants, tax credits and low-cost loans. Click here to learn more about financing efforts to make homes resistant to disasters.

Funding Education and Training States and localities governments can also fund organizations that provide home disaster mitigation training and education. The Florida Department of Community Affairs provided grants to the Federal Alliance for Safer Homes (FLASH) to develop the Blueprint for Safety program which provides extensive online resources as well formal training sessions for builders, contractors and other residential construction professionals. Click here to learn more about Blueprint for Safety.

---

You are currently reading: Provide education and training for making homes more resistant to disasters Other pages in this section: Measures for mitigating flood damages Measures for mitigating severe wind and rain damage Click here to view a list of key resources related to "smarter and safer" building and rehabilitation practices.