CRS has a highly successful program for camp closure in Haiti . . .
. . . but we need your support to continue the work.
CRS has already closed two camps, resettling
100% of the camps’ families.
More than two years after the earthquake, hundreds of thousands of Haitians are still living in camps scattered throughout Port-au-Prince. Conditions are worsening because of a reduction in international funds for water, health, sanitation and camp management. Land owners are becoming impatient because the camps are on their property, and many people are facing the threat of eviction.
Step 1 Preparing to leave the camp Participants receive life skills training and psychological support.
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OUR PROGRAM WORKS CRS has successfully closed two camps, resettling 100% of the families living in each camp. We expect to finish closing a third camp in August 2012. Our program is so effective that CRS has been named co-chair of the Returns Working Group, and the International Organization for Migration is launching a pilot project based on CRS’ model.
Step 2 Leaving the camp Participants choose from among three resettlement options.
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Step 3 Following up Participants receive family health insurance and cash grants to meet basic needs.
The key to the program?
Life skills training and psychological support. A TA R G E T E D R E S P O N S E To permanently close camps, CRS offers a targeted solution to help every family find a safe home, including those families that do not have access to land. In line with the Government of Haiti’s 16/6 camp closure program, CRS offers families a choice of three housing options: • A one-year rental subsidy • A transitional shelter • A repair of a damaged home
LIFE SKILLS TRAINING A N D P S YC H O L O G I C A L SUPPORT CRS’ program is unique. Participants attend a six-module series of life skills training sessions before leaving the camps. This not only equips camp residents with the skills and information they need to make a successful transition out of the camps, but also helps them develop a sense of personal responsibility and agency for the long-term success of their family. Many people are still suffering from trauma, grief and anxiety. CRS’ program provides psychological support to help them recover their mental health and self-confidence for a successful transition.
94% of families are still
in their new home 6–12 weeks after the move. A SMALL INVESTMENT FOR A BIG DIFFERENCE The program costs approximately $1,000 per household, an average of $250 per person. This includes all program costs and the following support: • Life skills training in six modules • Psychological therapy • Choice of a one-year rental subsidy, a transitional shelter or a repair of a damaged home • Small cash grant to meet the family’s short-term needs after the move • Six months of health insurance for all members of the family The surrounding community also benefits from successful camp closures. Neighborhoods become safer, healthier and less crowded.
Participants reported improvements in multiple areas of their lives after the move: Family reunification (1%)
Other (9%)
Improved health (25%)
Sense of peace (38%)
Increased security (27%)
Camps where we’ve worked Petit Place Cazeau
Nan Bannan
231 households 1,049 individuals 100% resettled
243 households 1,057 individuals 100% resettled
Terrain Pere Solino (pending) 680 households 2,859 individuals
Two-thirds of the people have already left the camps. But those still living there are among the most
vulnerable. WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL LIVING IN CAMPS? The housing solutions that the international community initially developed—erecting transitional shelters, repairing damaged homes and building new homes—were only able to reach a limited number of families. In order for families to benefit, they had to own or have access to land.
The families without access to land were not able to leave the camps via these housing solutions. Approximately 80% of the families that remain in camps today were renters before the quake. They have no home or land to return to.
H E L P U S F I N I S H W H AT W E S TA R T E D With hundreds of camps remaining in Haiti, there is an urgent need to continue camp closure and family resettlement at a rapid pace, scaling up our efforts to help families leave the deteriorating conditions of the camps for safer, healthier homes. This is our chance to help families truly recover. If we wait, we risk a new humanitarian crisis.
Camp population 1.5 million
390,000
July 2010
June 2012
IS THERE ENOUGH HOUSING STOCK TO ABSORB A R E N TA L P R O G R A M ? A study by the International Organization for Migration and J/P Haitian Relief Organization in April 2012 points to continued availability of rental housing, with an estimated 20,175 rental properties open in Port-au-Prince at that time. While this does not provide enough housing for every single displaced person in the
metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, rental subsidies are just one part of the answer. Other solutions include transitional shelters, renovations and new construction for permanent housing. The housing market is continually growing as people build and rebuild in the city. Together, these solutions can meet peoples’ needs.
W H AT H A P P E N S A F T E R O N E Y E A R ? CRS has not operated resettlement programs in Haiti long enough to do a one-year follow-up assessment. However, the program conducted unannounced home visits 6–12 weeks after participants moved out of the camps. We found that 94% of participants were still living in their new home.
We conduct life skills training not only to help people leave the camps but also to help them prepare for life outside the camps, where they will need to plan for their own futures and accept responsibility for their families. As participants change their attitudes and behaviors, they begin to make positive choices and plan for the future.
MARIE ANDRÉE’S STORY When CRS first launched the program in the camp where Marie Andrée lived with her family, she did not trust that CRS would fulfill its promise to help people leave. But after participating in life skills training and finding a new home with the support of CRS, Marie Andrée says that her life has changed for the better. She is now committed to improving her life, and she has even adopted a girl whose
mother was killed in the earthquake. The family made this decision together, wanting to help their fellow Haitians after so much help poured in from around the world. “I love waking up in the morning and breathing the air outside of the camp,” Marie Andrée says. “I feel joy in my heart each day, and I owe it all to God and to CRS.”
For more information, contact Joanna Heil, joanna.heil@crs.org, or Jeffrey McIntosh, jeffrey.mcintosh@crs.org. Photo of Marie Andrée’s family and thumbnail on interior center panel by Jack Reybold/CRS. All other photos by Nate Jayne for CRS.