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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 66 December 2024 J O U R N A L partnership with VA to help public housing authorities and VA Medical Centers improve their processes and more quickly transition veter- ans from homelessness to perma- nent housing with wraparound supportive services. "Veterans have given so much to our nation and deserve access to housing, health care, and other critical needs. We must continue investments in stable housing, which are critical to the health and well-being of veterans and their families," said U.S. Depart- ment of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, who also chairs USICH. "This data today shows that the efforts of the Biden-Har- ris administration over the past four years are working." Both the VA and HUD participated in the ALL INside Initiative launched by USICH and the White House to help communities lower barriers to housing, health care, and support for people experiencing homelessness. HUD invested nearly half a billion dollars in first-of-its-kind funding last year to help communities reduce unsheltered and rural homelessness. "This data show that with the right investments in housing and health care, and with strong leadership and coordination across government, home- lessness is solvable," USICH Director Jeff Olivet said. "The challenge now is to end veteran homelessness and use the lessons we learn to help all people without a home." HUD ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL AID FOR HURRICANE HELENE VICTIMS T he U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has announced nearly $4.8 million to support people experiencing homelessness in communities across North Carolina and South Carolina recovering from Hurricane Helene. Through HUD's Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) program, funding will be allocated to the fol- lowing areas to address needs not fully met by existing federal disaster relief programs: • Winston-Salem, North Carolina ($548,000) • Charlotte, North Carolina ($1,000,000) • Greenville County, South Carolina ($162,699) • Lexington County, South Carolina ($108,780) • The State of South Carolina ($2,957,704) The funding announced is the latest response and recovery action by the Biden administration to provide families, business owners, farmers, and other impacted communities with the support and assistance they need following Hurricane Helene's devastating impacts across the Southeast and Appalachia. "When disaster strikes, people ex- periencing homelessness need immedi- ate help," HUD Agency Head Adrianne Todman said. "HUD is committed to partnering with state and local leaders in South Carolina and North Carolina to deliver lifesaving assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene." Calculating the Costs North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper's administration estimates the f looding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina caused at least $53 billion in damages. The state's previous record for storm damage was $17 billion from Hurricane Florence, which struck eastern North Carolina in 2018. Helene, a Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on September 26, caused f looding across Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. CoreLogic calculates that Hurricane Helene caused between $30.5 billion and $47.5 billion in total wind and f lood losses across 16 states. While the Federal Emergency Man- agement Agency (FEMA), the Ameri- can Red Cross, and local community members have stepped up to assist sur- vivors, the severity of the damage and displacement experienced in the State of South Carolina has exceeded local capacity, more assistance is needed. RUSH funding was intended to address the immediate unmet needs for home- lessness assistance and homelessness prevention in declared disaster areas by supporting people who experienced or were at risk of homelessness before the disaster. Funding provided by HUD will allow the state and localities to provide emergency shelter and rapid re-housing, which provides up to 24 months of rental assistance, financial assistance, and supportive wrap- around services. "The RUSH program will fill the gaps in federal assistance, specifically reaching people who are most vul- nerable in the wake of disasters," said Marion McFadden, HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Com- munity Planning and Development. "HUD remains committed to strength- ening our support for disaster-impacted communities moving forward." RUSH funding provides rapid assis- tance under the Emergency Solutions Grant program for individuals and families who are experiencing home- lessness or at risk of homelessness in eligible declared disaster areas where FEMA has activated Transitional Shel- tering Assistance (TSA). TSA funding is available to help communities pro- vide outreach, emergency shelter, rapid re-housing, homelessness prevention assistance, and supportive services. HUD and FEMA recently published a report on the Pre-Disaster Housing Planning Initiative to promote collab- orative approaches to disaster housing recovery challenges, and to bolster state planning for housing recovery before disasters occur. These steps will strengthen the agency's disaster and resilience work and expedite the recovery process for communities so that assistance can quickly reach those who need it most.