I’ve previously written about the Road Home program, a $7.5-billion housing program established by Congress this year. Prior to the elections, just 22 people had received access to funds to begin rebuilding. Today’s NYT has an update on the program:
In a sign of painstaking progress for Louisiana’s biggest rebuilding program, the state has sent letters to more than 10,000 families stating how much money they can receive to rebuild their homes under the $7.5-billion housing program Congress financed this year, state officials said yesterday.
While that sounds like great progress, but as you dig into the story we discover:
The number of homeowners who have actually received Road Home grants has increased by just 26 in the last month, to a total of 48. Those homeowners received an average grant of $50,715, according to the most recent statistics from the program.
Some program officials said they thought the delays in closing on the grants stemmed not from bottlenecks in the system, but from homeowners’ uncertainty about rebuilding.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with the New Orlean’s friend that has been feeding me images from the recovery. Since I was familiar with the program, I asked about Road Home – she explained that the uncertainty about rebuilding was more a result of money and time – going into the 16th month, many of these people are just now finding out whether or not they are eligible for recovery funds. Buried near the end of the article:
More than 50,000 applicants have not yet had their first meeting with program counselors. Others, who have been to their appointments and had their property inspected, say they still do not know how much money they are eligible for. {emphasis mine}
Would you like to help Gulf Coast residents start the new year with fresh hope? Contact your representative (and if you’re getting a new one, contact them, too) and encourage them to investigate the pace of lending in this area. It’s one thing to promise help, but apparently delivering it depends on the rest of us keeping an eye out to ensure it is done.
