In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, North Carolina faces significant funding challenges in restoring damaged homes, as revealed to state lawmakers. These challenges not only impact the reconstruction of homes but also the provision of temporary housing for displaced residents.
The state of North Carolina received $1.4 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through a Community Development Block Grant to aid in recovery efforts. Of this amount, $860 million is allocated for repairing homes owned by residents. However, the program, managed by Renew NC, is struggling with funding shortages, threatening its ability to assist all eligible applicants.
Stephanie McGarrah, who leads Renew NC, emphasized the severity of the situation to the Subcommittee on Hurricane Response and Recovery. “We will stop serving people if we don’t have enough money. We will serve what we can serve,” McGarrah stated, addressing a concern from Sen. Ralph Hise.
HUD mandates that assistance prioritizes individuals earning 60% or less of the area median income, as well as people with disabilities, elderly residents, and families with children. As it stands, Renew NC has approved 2,500 applicants for home repairs, with an average repair cost of $276,000, a figure expected to increase as more complex projects arise.
To date, 30 homes have been rebuilt or repaired. Meanwhile, Gov. Josh Stein has appealed to Congress for an additional $13.5 billion for storm recovery, including $8 billion for the HUD program. Despite this, HUD Secretary Scott Turner remarked during a visit to western North Carolina that “the money is there. It just has not been used in its totality.”
Lack of Temporary Housing Delays Repairs
A major bottleneck in the recovery process is the shortage of funding for temporary housing, which forces some applicants to decline aid or impedes construction progress. McGarrah explained the predicament: “What’s happened is we’ve started to have applicants who just won’t move. They don’t have anywhere they can go, so they won’t move and we can’t repair or rebuild their homes.”
This issue is further exacerbated in rural areas of western North Carolina, where temporary housing options like hotels are scarce. McGarrah proposed a $60 million solution to use existing state funds for temporary housing, a measure aimed at easing the transition for affected residents.
Historically, HUD-funded recovery initiatives in North Carolina have faced similar challenges. The Rebuild NC program, intended to aid after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence in 2018, was described as a “disaster” by State Auditor Dave Boliek, requiring a substantial state-funded bailout.
In an effort to avoid past pitfalls, Renew NC has implemented measures to ensure applicants only relocate once construction is confirmed, with limits on the duration of temporary housing based on project complexity. “We’ve made a few changes to this program from previous storms so that we don’t run into the same challenges that they had,” McGarrah noted.
