ReportWire

Pasco County using large federal grant to help hurricane victims

Written by

ReportWire

in

[ad_1]

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pasco County has received nearly $600 million in federal disaster recovery funding to help residents rebuild after Hurricanes Helene, Milton, and Idalia. 

The $585 million Community Development Block Grant will support long-term recovery efforts, with a major focus on helping homeowners repair, rebuild, and strengthen their homes against future storms.

Of the total grant, $200 million will go toward Pasco County’s Better Future Individual Homeowner Program. 

What You Need To Know

  •  Pasco County hosting an in-take event next Monday for it’s Better Future Individual Homeowner Program from 8:30am-4:30pm at 15029 14th Street Dade city

  • The program is being funded with a Community Federal Block Grant for storm recovery totaling $585 million 

  •  Residents needing help filling out applications can call (727) 228-4936

  • For more information on the program visit https://www.pascocountyfl.gov/government/better_future.php


The program targets households whose homes were damaged by recent hurricanes and who earn 80% or less of the area median income (AMI). 

Limited funding is also available for households earning up to 120% of AMI.

County officials say the funding comes at a critical time, as many families are still living in damaged homes more than a year after the storms — often because they didn’t qualify for FEMA assistance or fell through the cracks of earlier aid programs.

The application period for the homeowner program is now open, and Pasco County will also host an in-person application intake event next Monday to help residents complete the process.

Chuck Lane, Director of Disaster Recovery Resources for Pasco County, emphasized the importance of finishing applications despite the complexity.

“The biggest barrier to a program like this is people don’t finish their applications,” Lane said. “There is a lot of documentation required, and the application has 17 steps. But stay the course. Don’t give up. This program is worth it. We can’t help you if you don’t complete the application.”

County officials say this is only the first phase of the Better Future rollout. Additional funding initiatives are scheduled in the coming months, including a disaster recovery program for small businesses impacted by storm damage to launch in February and a $100 million housing initiative aimed at building new homes and expanding access to homeownership in Pasco County.

Officials say these investments are designed to support long-term recovery while strengthening the community against future disasters.

 

[ad_2]

Jason Lanning

Source link

More posts