Tillis and Budd push Biden again on housing for Helene victims

HUD announces $1.65B in block grants, Stein names NC GROW appointees

FILE - Debris is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Asheville, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

By A.P. Dillon, North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd have issued another letter to President Joe Biden demanding he order the expedited deployment of direct temporary housing for citizens impacted by Hurricane Helene.

In their letter, dated Jan. 8, Tillis and Budd cited the federal and state funding as “critical to Western North Carolina’s survival,” but that “we must respond differently.”

The senators noted this is the second letter they’ve had to send to Biden requesting that he immediately order Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) direct temporary housing resources into western North Carolina.

“Sadly, we have not yet received your response, and the situation on the ground has only worsened,” the senators wrote.

“While more than 5,600 North Carolina households are currently enrolled in FEMA Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) hotels, FEMA has made little to no progress in deploying direct temporary housing resources,” wrote Tillis and Budd. “Now, 103 days after Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina, only 93 families have been placed in FEMA direct housing. For comparison, at this same point after Hurricane Florence devastated Eastern North Carolina in 2018, FEMA had placed 413 families in direct temporary housing. This is unacceptable.”

“The people of Western North Carolina cannot wait any longer for assistance,” Tillis and Budd wrote in their closing. “Therefore, we again demand you deploy all available federal disaster recovery resources, especially direct temporary housing assistance, and waive any undue regulatory burdens that may impede progress toward getting families out of hotels and back on their property in a warm and safe home for the winter.”

The day prior to Tillis and Budd’s letter, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced $1.65 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for Helene recovery in North Carolina. The funds are part of a larger $12 billion allocation spanning major disasters in other states.

The block grant announcement was made in Asheville by the agency’s chief Adrianne Todman along with Gov. Josh Stein. Of the $1.65 billion, $225 million is designated for the city of Asheville and $1.2 billion to the state for disaster impacted areas.

Per HUD’s press release, “more than 12,000 western North Carolinians are without safe housing.”

Also on Jan. 7, Stein issued a press release announcing appointments to his new Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC) and the new “Division of Community Revitalization” (DCR) housed under the NC Dept. of Commerce.

  • Matt Calabria, Director of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC)
  • Emily Williamson Gangi, Chief Deputy Director for GROW NC
  • Eliza Edwards, Director of Community Partnerships for GROW NC
  • Stephanie McGarrah, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Commerce Division of Community Revitalization
  • Holly Jones, Director of the Governor’s Western North Carolina Office
  • Jonathan Krebs, Western North Carolina Recovery Advisor

NC GROW was established as part of Stein’s first five executive orders as governor, all of which deal with Hurricane Helene.

About A.P. Dillon 1537 Articles
A.P. Dillon is a North State Journal reporter located near Raleigh, North Carolina. Find her on Twitter: @APDillon_