According to FEMA, for every $1 spent on mitigation, you can save $6 on future disaster losses. Elevating a home even one foot above its base flood elevation often results in a 30% reduction in annual premiums, making it the quickest approach to lower flood insurance costs.

“There is such a magnitude of homes that are low lying in the area, we felt that there needed to be a ready workforce developed,” Fulton says. “That’s why we proposed the Home Raising Academy, to professionalize and train those people that will need to participate in this industry.”

The idea stems from a 2018 study RES conducted to determine the feasibility of professionalizing the home elevation industry, according to John Sargent, the CEO of RES. In developing the curriculum, they took a “three-legged stool approach,” he says, tying together financing, reduced price insurance, and maximizing public incentives such as tax rebates and grants.

Academy participants attended two-hour-long sessions virtually over the course of four evenings and were introduced to topics such as project management and superintendent skills, ways to reduce homeowner flood insurance rates, and elevation project funding sources.

RISE and Shine: Resilient Enterprise Solutions

First-of-its-kind Home Raising Academy trains public and private sector professionals