$42.3 Million More Released From Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund

HOUSTON, TX — Officials from the City of Houston and Harris County announced its next round of allotments from the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, and this is the largest distribution amount yet. The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund will disburse $42.3 million to 27 carefully vetted, local nonprofit organizations to provide additional aid and services to Hurricane Harvey flood victims in the Houston area.

This fourth round of grants brings the total amount distributed by the fund to $108.8 million, fund co-founders Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.

About three-quarters of this round will go toward home repair services, with the remaining amounts going towards behavior health services and legal services for homeowners and renters facing legal issues related to Harvey.

This fourth round of funding is its largest yet and seeks to support those who are still struggling to recover from the storm more than six months after it hit the coast of Texas. Since August, the fund has supported 123 local nonprofit organizations that are focused on providing a wide-variety of support to those who were affected by Hurricane Harvey.

“While many of us are now understandably focused on preventing another disaster like that caused by Hurricane Harvey, we cannot and will not forget that the healing process for so many of our neighbors is still under way," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. “Thanks to the generosity of our donors to the Relief Fund, we are able to help as many people as possible according to their unmet needs.”

Grants complement federal and state funds, and the work of volunteers, to provide flood victims with much needed financial, health, legal and other support. Furthermore, the grants do not go toward rebuilding municipal structures that are funded by taxpayers. The city and county will receive federal dollars in the latest Congress-approved budget.

“The effects of Hurricane Harvey will be felt for years, not just in the physical destruction, but also in the emotional and psychological suffering that comes with any natural disaster,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “We’re thinking about the longer-term effects of Harvey while working to help those who are still picking up the pieces.”

ROUND 4 FOCUS AREAS:

Home Repair Services

$31.6 million in grants is being disbursed to eight organizations to support continued home repair efforts. For example, a grant will be given to the LISC Collaborative, which is composed of five organizations that will work to repair homes across Houston. Funded projects also include volunteer initiatives, such as 4B Disaster Response Network’s Home Repair Blitz that will repair 110 homes in southeast Harris County this month.

Behavioral Health Services

$6 million in grants is being disbursed to six organizations for behavioral health services. Research clearly shows that after a major natural disaster, behavioral health problems caused by all of the stressors of the disaster manifest themselves over a period of two years. The fund is supporting best practices by investing in the integration of behavioral health into primary care in our largest hospital systems, as well as bringing behavioral health services to local area schools, to address this long-term need following the storm.

“In Harvey’s aftermath, communities are experiencing significant post-traumatic stress reactions, anxiety, depression, substance use, and or behavioral problems. With the support of this grant, Texas Children’s Hospital’s goal is to provide a direct service for an estimated 600-800 children annually through tele-psychiatry. We expect the offering and expansion of psychiatric services to demonstrate improved mental health outcomes in these adversely affected communities.” – Carrie T. Rys, Assistant Vice President of Ambulatory Operations at Texas Children’s Hospital

Legal Services

$4.3 million in grants is being disbursed to six organizations to help provide legal services. The grants will continue to help homeowners and renters facing legal issues related to Harvey. Organizations will work on cases that span from consumer protection issues, such as landlord/tenant issues and breach of contract, to title clearance and FEMA appeals. Additionally, the nonprofit organization Disability Rights Texas will focus on issues directly related to assisting individuals with disabilities, including discrimination based on disability, accommodations from service providers and access to educational services.

Homelessness Prevention

The fund is making a grant to the Houston Coalition for the Homeless to provide case management and longer-term housing to 550 households at risk of homelessness after Hurricane Harvey. The residents had nowhere to go from the emergency disaster shelters and were not eligible for FEMA assistance. This funding provides an opportunity for vulnerable Houston-area residents to land in more stable living situations than before the storm.

Top image: Chris Ginter wades through deep floodwaters on September 6, 2017 in Houston, Texas. Houston resident Chris Ginter has been taking local residents to their flooded homes in his monster truck which can drive through waters up to 4 feet deep. Over a week after Hurricane Harvey hit Southern Texas, residents are beginning the long process of recovering from the storm. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)