Contact: Jocklynn Keville, PIO
Harris County Project Recovery
Mobile: 832-468-8357
Email: Jocklynn.Keville@csd.hctx.ne


PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release

Harris County Accelerating Assistance to Homeowners
$160 Million in Reimbursements and Repair/Rebuild Assistance in Approval Pipeline

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Amid COVID-19 concerns and economic hardships facing many residents, Harris County Project Recovery is working to ease the burden on flood-impacted homeowners. The county’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) – Disaster Recovery program has submitted nearly $10 million in funding requests to the Texas General Land Office (GLO) to reimburse 245 homeowners for out-of-pocket home repair expenses. An additional $3 million in homeowner applications for rehabilitation or reconstruction of flood-damaged homes has been sent to the Texas General Land Office (GLO) for approval, and inspections have been ordered for nearly 1,500 homes awaiting eligibility approval.

“We’re doing everything we can to get assistance to homeowners as quickly as possible,” said Josh Stuckey, interim director of Harris County’s Community Services Department, which administers the disaster recovery program. “While transitioning to a remote work environment, we have been ramping up with calls and emails to homeowners to get them qualified for assistance.”

The first focus of Project Recovery was providing reimbursements to homeowners impacted by 2016 and Hurricane Harvey flooding. To date, Harris County has submitted homeowner requests totaling $10 million to the GLO for approval and issued $1.4 million in reimbursement checks to homeowners.
Project Recovery recently launched Operation Reach Out, focusing on homes still needing to be repaired or rebuilt as part of the disaster recovery Home Rehabilitation/Reconstruction program. Since February,

Project Recovery staff members have contacted 2,200 county homeowners who applied for disaster recovery assistance, reaching approximately 2,000 and ordering inspections for more than 850 homes. More than 1,200 homeowners have received conditional award letters that total an estimated funding amount of approximately $150 million.

In addition to contacting homeowners impacted by Hurricane Harvey, Project Recovery is also reaching out to those whose homes were flooded in 2016.

The Project Recovery Call Center is fully operational and can be reached at 832-927-4961. Homeowners may also send questions to RebuildHarris@csd.hctx.net or get general program information at www.HarrisRecovery.org.
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About Project Recovery - Project Recovery exists to assist Harris County residents in restoring homes, damaged by floods experienced in 2015, 2016 and Hurricane Harvey, through an array of options including homeowner repair reimbursement; new home construction; homeowner buyout for flood mitigation; affordable rental; local infrastructure improvements and new transit options. Through Project Recovery, the Harris County Community Services Department and other county departments ensure projects are complete, with the goal of improving the long-term resiliency of Harris County.