On October 26, I attended a meeting in Coldspring for the GLO (Texas General Land Office ) about their CDBG-R program (Community Development & Revitalization) in cooperation with HUD (Housing and Urban Development) and DETCOG (Deep East Texas Council of Governments). It was an information dispersing and gathering meeting, about their homeowner assistance programs, for those of us who are helping residents who got affected by Hurricane Harvey. The Deep East Texas Region has received $127,884,027.00, from GLO/HUD for the following areas: Jasper, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, and Tyler Counties.
I know that this has been a long process for many of you who lost so much during Harvey, and you may have thought that help had ended, but it has not. In fact, some help is just beginning to be ‘rolled out’ over the next several months. The first step for any of this help will be to gather the documents you will need to start the application process, when applications are able to be submitted. Programs that may be available to residents, depending on their situation, include:
- Assistance – repairs. This could include help with continued repairs or possibly paying for unreimbursed repairs not funded by insurance or FEMA. Repairs may include flood breakaways, septic, elevating, reinforced roof, storm shutters, mold & mildew resistant products, & accessibility,
- Buyouts & Acquisitions. If you have to (or had to) relocate, you may be able to get financial help with this.
- Reimbursements. If you have receipts and had to do repairs through a loan program or out of pocket, you may be able to get financial help to reimburse these $$.
- Replacement. In some circumstances, the most viable ‘fix’ is to replace the unit, on existing property or through a relocations.
I asked questions that I knew were specific to certain individuals in our HLE neighborhood and the one answer that I got consistently is APPLY ! Filling out an application does not cost a thing and they may be able to find funds to help you through this program or others. There may even be help for some of you who may not have deeded rights because of family deaths, etc.. They just want to make sure that people are able to recover without going into financial hardships.
Keep in mind, I am always here and I will do my best to help any of you go through this process or fill out the application. Please, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Started repairing. Was unable to complete due to lack of funds.
You should really apply. Definitely look at the checklist and gather those things together. If you do not have a copy of your deed or property tax records, and need help getting them, let me know. As soon as I know that the applications are available, I will get you a copy.