Outreach by Email Seeks to Help More Hurricane Matthew Survivors with Housing Recovery

RALEIGH -- Email Initiative Underway to Reach All those who May be Eligible

Raleigh

Aug 2, 2018
A new email outreach effort from North Carolina Emergency Management is reaching homeowners who were impacted by Hurricane Matthew to encourage them to apply for housing recovery program

assistance.

Financial assistance is provided by HUD in the form of Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grants, and it can help storm-impacted homeowners and landlords repair or rebuild damage from Hurricane Matthew. Funding from the program can also be used to reimburse homeowners who undertook and completed repairs to their home after Matthew.

While more than $739 million in recovery funds already are on the ground, some families who are eligible for CDBG-DR grants have not applied, or have not finished the grant application process.

Contact information for the outreach effort was provided by FEMA to help locate homeowners whose property suffered damage during Hurricane Matthew, are likely eligible, and may need additional assistance.

The outreach effort will begin with email communication this week and could expand to include text messages, phone calls and post cards.

“We know there are North Carolinians who were impacted by Hurricane Matthew, but who have yet to apply for assistance,” said NC Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry. “There are programs available to help pay for needed repairs and even reimburse homeowners for repairs they’ve already made, and this outreach will help us assist more people”

Anyone affected by Hurricane Matthew is urged to visit the ReBuild NC website to learn more about program options and to call 2-1-1 to make an appointment to visit one of the ReBuild NC Application Centers to see if they qualify for assistance.

Survivors can apply for assistance at any one of seven Application Centers open across eastern North Carolina. More information can be found online about the centers opened in Bertie, Columbus, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Lenoir, Robeson and Wayne counties.

Hurricane Matthew recovery has accelerated recently with the first rehabilitation project using CDBG-DR funds underway in Robeson County, as well as work commencing on a home in in Sampson County using Disaster Relief Act -17 (DRA-17 funds).

For additional information on Hurricane Matthew Housing Recovery Grants,  Apply Now for CDBG-DR Assistance

“Not since Hurricane Floyd in 1999 has a storm devastated so many North Carolina homes,” said Sprayberry. “Recovery is a long process, but there is help available for those who need it.”

Hurricane Matthew caused an estimated $4.8 billion in damage to North Carolina, damaging nearly 100,000 homes. Click here to read more about North Carolina’s recovery since Hurricane Matthew.

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