BATON ROUGE – Louisiana’s Office of Community Development (OCD) says that as of today, Tuesday, Nov. 21, the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program has offered grant awards to more than 3,100 homeowners affected by the 2016 floods, totaling $91.7 million.
The release said that to date, more than 45,700 homeowners have submitted the initial survey, more than 38,300 of whom have qualified for the program based on survey responses. While more than 26,700 homeowners have been invited to formally complete an application, the next step in the assistance process, approximately 13,100 ‒ about half ‒ have submitted applications.
OCD encourages those invited into the Restore Louisiana program to complete their applications so they can receive assistance. Applications can be submitted online at restore.la.gov or over the phone by calling (866) 735-2001 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by visiting a housing assistance center in person.
“We know it’s been a long process for homeowners affected by last year’s floods, but as we get the pieces of this federally funded program into place, we are gaining real momentum,” said Pat Forbes, OCD executive director, in a statement about the grants. “We also want to help as many homeowners as we can, which is why we encourage those who are eligible for Restore Louisiana to take the survey if you haven’t already and to finish the application when you are invited to do so.”
All four housing assistance centers are closed on Thanksgiving Day. On Friday, Nov. 24, the center in Monroe will remain closed, though the other three will be open 8 a.m.-5 p.m.:
Baton Rouge ‒ Oak Tree Building at Celtic Studios, 10000 Celtic Drive
Hammond ‒ 130 Robin Hood Drive
Lafayette ‒ 151 Southpark Road, Suite 500
Restore Louisiana survey and application statistics are updated twice a week on the Restore website, restore.la.gov. The site also spotlights several homeowners served by the program.
Meanwhile, Restore Louisiana plans a series of outreach events statewide to assist homeowners who have not filled out a survey or application. The events will also be available to homeowners already in the program to discuss their status with case managers. Dates, times and locations will be announced in December.
