Mobile County Gets More Katrina Housing Funds

Posted on: Feb 10th, 2011 | News and Announcements

The Mobile County Commission will put to work another $354,000 to help Hurricane Katrina housing victims when it votes to accept the new Disaster Recovery Funds at its meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at Government Plaza. Only those people who have already applied for assistance will be candidates for the new funding. The new allocation brings to almost $22 million the funding that has flowed into Mobile County to help people whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the 2005 storm. ?We really appreciate the continuing support we get from ADECA to make all our citizens whole again,? said Mobile County Commissioner Mike Dean, whose District 3 suffered the most because of its location along the coast. Mobile County officials have been working steadily since the devastating storm to allocate the federal pass-through funds to local victims. It required that the county set up a unique process and procedure for fund distribution that addressed all legal requirements, while moving the money as quickly as possible to what was initially a large and distressed population. The Mobile County Commission has lobbied Congress for more Katrina recovery funds and has supported the efforts of non-profit and advocacy groups to help Katrina victims. ?The new funding has been a hopeful sign that we will continue to assist more of the people who were affected,? said Mobile County Commission president Merceria Ludgood. The current allocation comes on the heels of another $328,000 received in November of 2010, supplementing the large grants allocated soon after the disaster. The County of Mobile was able to assist almost 300 people with initial funds. But the needs outstrip funding and Mobile County will continue to administer additional money as it becomes available for qualified applicants. ?Both county and state officials are sensitive to the numbers of applicants who are burdened with unexpected bills for storm damages,? noted County Commissioner Connie Hudson. ?We appreciate the partnership we have with the state and will continue to deliver assistance as we can.?