Responding to Disaster : Biloxi EITC Coalition
April, 2006
The 2006 tax season has been far from ordinary. The recent hurricane disasters along the Gulf Coast have presented new challenges for tax preparers that were never present in previous years. In this month’s program profile, we feature the Biloxi EITC Coalition, which was presented with several challenges.
Free Tax Preparation Site at Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center
The Biloxi EITC Coalition, in its third tax season, recently changed their lead agency to Mercy Housing and Human Development, which is located in Gulfport, Miss. Gulfport was hit hard by the hurricanes. The Coalition suffered a loss of five tax sites, four of which were flooded. One of those sites was preserved through repair, and another was relocated; the other two were damaged beyond repair. The fifth site was lost as a result of employees leaving the site. Despite these challenges, the coalition still completed more tax returns then last year.
The Biloxi EITC Coalition has already completed approximately 700 returns, as many as they did in the whole of last year. Much of the coalition’s success can be attributed to grants that have come from the Knight Foundation, Community Foundation of Greater Jackson Mississippi, and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). “We appreciate all support we have received from these organizations. If it weren’t for this support, we wouldn’t be able to have this much success”, Project Director Jan Lukens said.
A couple of sites under the Biloxi EITC Coalition umbrella changed their marketing strategy, which helped outreach to more individuals in the area. One of the coalition’s sites put out a television ad in conjunction with the National Community Tax Coalition which resulted in that site completing 250 tax returns. Jan Lukens predicts that this site will complete 300 returns by the end of the tax season, a dramatic improvement from last year‘s 100 returns.
Another source of success is the number of volunteers. With the help of the National Community Tax Coalition and the IRS, the Biloxi EITC Coalition was able to train nearly 80 volunteers this tax season. Virtually all returning volunteers and approximately 40 new volunteers participated in the effort. It is important to recall that all these volunteers were experiencing property damage and/or loss as a result of the hurricane disasters. Despite hard times however, volunteers pulled together to help free tax preparation succeed. “Site managers and volunteers had their own property damage and losses, but they still helped out with this effort. We’d like to thank those people for their dedication," said Lukens.
In the months to follow, affordable housing will become an increasingly important issue around the Biloxi area. The Biloxi EITC Coalition is attempting to promote asset building through EITC. They would like to see individuals receiving EITC to place their money into an IDA, which then can later turn into a down payment on a house. This is particularly important because of the severity of the damage to apartment buildings and several houses.
It is incredible that a coalition facing so many hardships can still produce results. The Biloxi EITC Coalition has come together to help individuals prepare their taxes cost free. This is particularly important because several individuals who suffered losses as a result of the hurricane disasters have very little income. If these individuals owed money on their tax returns, they would be losing a majority of their income. The Biloxi EITC Coalition has worked hard to be successful this tax season, and will continue to do so in future tax seasons.
Story by Anthony Andras
