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Thousands of Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or have been found murdered across the United States and Canada; these disappearances and killings are so frequent and widespread that they have become known as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis (MMIW Crisis). Indigenous communities in both countries often lack the jurisdiction to prosecute violent crimes committed by non-Indigenous offenders against Indigenous victims on Indigenous land. Extractive industries--businesses that establish natural resource extraction projects--aggravate the problem by establishing temporary housing for large numbers of non-Indigenous, primarily male workers on or around Indigenous land ("man camps"). Violent crimes against Indigenous communities around extractive industry projects have increased with the establishment of man camps while the current legal systems leave Indigenous communities vulnerable against this clear threat. Both the United States and Canada have endorsed international declarations of Indigenous rights, agreeing to protect Indigenous communities from violence, yet the MMIW Crisis in both countries continues. This Note first argues that both the United States and Canada can best further their commitments to international Indigenous rights while also combatting the MMIW Crisis by allowing Indigenous communities to exercise full criminal jurisdiction over non-Indigenous assailants of Indigenous victims on Indigenous lands. This Note then argues that, until full criminal jurisdiction over non-Indigenous offenders is realized, the United States and Canada can help further Indigenous international rights by providing extractive industries with financial incentives to address their role in enabling the MMIW Crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, the severity and frequency of natural disasters has experienced an increasing trend. As a result, the numbers of post-disaster displaced people have reached unprecedented levels. In the United States, the common temporary housing units supplied for increased demand are manufactured homes or travel trailers. There are a variety of temporary housing unit options, including but not limited to manufactured units, prefabricated modular units, prefabricated kit homes, and tenting options. In order to hedge housing disruptions, a diverse portfolio of temporary housing options must be ready for implementation; however, without proper planning the variability in temporary housing options would result in uncertainty within the supply chain for housing the displaced populations. To evaluate temporary housing options in a systematic way and reduce uncertainty in disaster response, this study proposes a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to evaluate temporary housing alternatives and plan in advance for a diverse temporary housing portfolio. According to experts' input, the study reveals that Manufactured Homes are preferred which is confirmed by its ranking under each MCDA methodology. In addition, this study finds that the inclusion of prefabricated kit supplies and modular units benefits the existing portfolio of manufactured temporary housing units. The resulting diversified portfolio of temporary housing hedges risk from the varying range of constraints in temporary housing needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread destruction that follows large-scale natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, challenges the efficacy of traditional temporary housing methods in providing adequate solutions to housing needs. Recognising these housing challenges, the Congress of the United States allocated, in 2006, USD 400 million to the Department of Homeland Security to support Alternative Housing Pilot Programs, which are intended to explore the possibilities of providing permanent and affordable housing to displaced families instead of traditional temporary housing. This paper presents a new methodology and optimisation model to identify the optimal configurations of post-shelter housing arrangements to maximise the overall net socioeconomic benefit. The model is capable of quantifying and optimising the impacts of substituting temporary housing with alternative housing on the social and economic welfare of displaced families as well as the required additional costs of doing so. An application example is presented to illustrate the use of the model and its capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2006, area physicians reported increases in upper respiratory symptoms in patients living in U. S. Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA)-supplied trailers following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. One potential etiology to explain their symptoms included formaldehyde; however, formaldehyde levels in these occupied trailers were unknown. The objectives of our study were to identify formaldehyde levels in occupied trailers and to determine factors or characteristics of occupied trailers that could affect formaldehyde levels. A disproportionate random sample of 519 FEMA-supplied trailers was identified in Louisiana and Mississippi in November 2007. We collected and tested an air sample from each trailer for formaldehyde levels and administered a survey. Formaldehyde levels among all trailers in this study ranged from 3 parts per billion (ppb) to 590 ppb, with a geometric mean ( GM) of 77 ppb [95% confidence interval ( CI): 70-85; range: 3-590 ppb]. There were statistically significant differences in formaldehyde levels between trailer types ( P < 0.01). The GM formaldehyde level was 81 ppb (95% CI: 72-92) among travel trailers ( N = 360), 57 ppb (95% CI: 49-65) among mobile homes ( N = 57), and 44 ppb (95% CI: 38-53) among park models ( N = 44). Among travel trailers, formaldehyde levels varied significantly by brand. While formaldehyde levels varied by trailer type, all types tested had some levels ≥100 ppb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article highlights temperature and humidity's impact on temporary housing units' (THU) formaldehyde emissions. For the authors' study, they collected surface materials from THU to analyze its material specific formaldehyde emission factors, which was tested in a controlled environmental chamber with carbon-filtered preconditioned air. They found that there was a strong positive correlation between temperature and relative humidity and emission factors for all the samples.

The article reports on the temporary housing program of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which proved to be a short-term housing solution as demonstrated by Hurricane Katrina. It states the program provided temporary solutions to families. It states the housing program was unfair in the formal requirements of federal fair housing law. It states the residents of the housing program were not treated fairly by the local government.

Indoor concentrations of 33 volatile organic chemicals were measured in four unoccupied temporary housing units (THUs) belonging to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA). The highest level contaminants in the THUs include formaldehyde, acetic acid, and 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3- pentanediol diisobutyrate (TXIB) with median concentrations of 448,425, and 38 ppb, respectively. A number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were higher than published concentrations in other dwellings, but whole THU emission factors for most chemicals were either lower than or similar to values reported for newly constructed homes. However, several chemicals exceeded previously measured new building emission rates by over a factor of 5. Materials were collected from the THUs, and emission factors were determined using small chambers to identify the potential source of indoor contaminants. The individual materials were grouped by material type, and emissions were used to derive exposure concentrations for comparison to reference values. Using material loading factors and ventilation rates that are relevant to the trailers, all of the material types we tested had at least two chemicals (formaldehyde and nonanal) with derived concentrations in excess of chronic reference exposure levels or odor thresholds. The extensive use of composite wood products, sealants, and vinyl coverings, combined with the low air exchange rates relative to material surface areas, may explain the high concentrations of some VOCs and formaldehyde. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on issues related to shelters for runaway and homeless youths in the U.S. Data for runaway and homeless youths were analyzed to determine shelter capacity, occupancy, and occupancy ratios. The number of youths who run away or are homeless in the U.S. is estimated from 450,000 to around 2.8 million every year. In 1974, the U.S. Congress enacted the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, which provides support for shelters and Transitional Living Programs (TLPs). These shelters and TLPs offers various services including temporary housing, counseling, crisis intervention, and aftercare and outreach. Federally funded shelters and TLPs constitute only a portion of the youth shelters. The remaining shelters are funded from state and local governments and private sources.

Housing recovery is an unequal and complex process presumed to occur in four stages: emergency shelter, temporary shelter, temporary housing, and permanent housing. This work questions the four-stage typology and examines how different types of shelter align with multiple housing recovery stages given different levels of social vulnerability. This article also presents a Markov chain model of the postdisaster housing recovery process that focuses on the experience of the household. The model predicts the sequence and timing of a household going through housing recovery, capturing households that end in either permanent housing or a fifth possible stage of failure. The probability of a household transitioning through the stages is computed using a transition probability matrix (TPM). The TPM is assembled using proposed transition probability models that vary with the social vulnerability of the household. Monte Carlo techniques are applied to demonstrate the range of sequences and timing that households experience going through the housing recovery process. A set of computational rules are established for sending a household to the fifth stage, representing a household languishing in unstable housing. This predictive model is exemplified on a virtual community, Centerville, where following a severe earthquake scenario, differences in housing recovery times exceed four years. The Centerville analysis results in nearly 5% of households languishing in unstable housing, thereby failing to reach housing recovery. These findings highlight the disparate trajectories experienced by households with different levels of social vulnerability. Recommendations are provided at the end for more equitable postdisaster recovery policies., (© 2020 Society for Risk Analysis.)

Purpose: This article presents a worldview of youth who are victims of homelessness. A view of family dynamics and how they affect the emotional, psychological, social, and physical health of homeless youth is presented., Results: Homeless youth and their families are at high risk for poor health outcomes. Those who present for health care services are least likely to return to the same site for follow-up care., Conclusion: Understanding the dynamics of homelessness and its effect on youth and family will facilitate efforts to engage the family and increase the likelihood for follow-up with the same provider. A patient-centered cognitive approach when managing these youth and their family will improve communication, potentiate engagement, whet creative decision making, and facilitate continuity of care.