Grant money awaits owners of storm-damaged Louisiana homes – American Press

Thousands of residents in hurricane and storm-ravaged parishes in Louisiana completed the Restore Louisiana survey, and were invited to apply for grant assistance to repair or rebuild their homes, and haven’t. The deadline to do so is Oct. 31.

One Lake Charles couple did complete the survey, were invited to apply and they’re glad about it. Thursday, the homeowner and representatives from Restore invited City of Lake Charles officials and media to tour a newly-built 1,500 square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bath charming cottage with front porch with enough room for enjoying the perfect weather Southwest Louisiana residents have been enjoying lately.

Restore Louisiana has selected contractors to build these homes, and owners get to select  details such as interior and exterior color. Or, homeowners can choose their own licensed contractor.

Houses are built to Fortifiede FORTIFIED Gold standards. Windows are resistant to winds of up to 150 mph. The shingled roof is installed using more nails per square foot than the standard roof.  It has a sealed roof deck and locked down edges. The house is on piers with a foundation that extends below the ground. Walls are anchored to the foundation and other reinforcements create a continuous load pairing path. Under the beautiful vinyl plank flooring is an added layer of insulation. Appliances are energy saving. It’s a house built to withstand high winds and leave the owner with lower utility bills.

The owner told Mayor Nic Hunter that filling out the initial survey was easy. His wife heard about Restore Louisiana from a news report not long after the Office of Community Development, the state agency coordinating the program, started making trips to Lake Charles to tell the media and residents about the program. She called her husband, an over-the-road truck driver. As soon as he could, he completed the survey, using his cell phone. They were invited to apply for funding and approved, and their house was constructed in six-and-half months.

It didn’t happen overnight. As the mayor pointed out, federal dollars were slow to make their way to Louisiana, but in the meantime, the Office of Community Development (OCD) was putting a plan in place to administer the Restore Louisiana once funds were allocated.

“It (the application process) is as easy as we can make it,” said Pat Forbes, the executive director for the OCD. “But the reason we’re giving this tour today before the deadline is to show that no amount of headache is worth missing out on the opportunity to have your home rebuilt and ready for the next storm. We have folks to help you get it done.”

Due to federal recovery timelines, homeowners who do not submit applications by the Oct. 31 deadline, and do not have a damage assessment completed by the end of 2023, may experience delays in reimbursement processing, as receipts, involves and remitted funds documentation will be required of proof that repairs are completed prior to Dec. 31, according to a press release from Restore Louisiana.

“The state has extended the deadline to allow ample opportunity for homeowners to complete applications and potentially qualify for repair reimbursement,” Pat Forbes, executive director of the Louisiana Office of  Community Development, said. “I hope those who have been invited to complete an application but have not  yet done so will take advantage of this opportunity. Our goal is to administer as much recovery assistance as  possible to Louisiana homeowners, so we encourage them to act now.”

Homeowners can submit their applications in three different ways: Into their account at restore.la.gov, call 866.735.2001 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or visit one of the program’s mobile support locations throughout the state, where  representatives will be available to assist homeowners with filling out the application and submitting  necessary documentation. For a list of upcoming dates and times, visit restore.la.gov/events. Visit
restore.la.gov/resources to learn more.

The Restore Louisiana program is a federally funded, state-administered program providing grant funding to  homeowners affected by Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida and the May 2021 Severe Storms to help with  home repair, reconstruction and/or reimbursement for completed repairs. Since the program’s launch in February 2022, more than 39,135 homeowners completed the survey, the first step in qualifying for assistance, and more than 23,700 have been invited to submit an application. As of Oct.  9, the program has offered more than $380 million in funding to 4,846 eligible homeowners.

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The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Louisiana Office of Community Development. For more information, visit restore.la.gov.