RALEIGH — Eligible North Carolinians whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Matthew have until May 31 to apply with ReBuild NC for help with repairs or rebuilding.

The help comes from single-family housing recovery programs available through the state’s Hurricane Matthew Community Development Block Grant — Disaster Recovery funding, according to information from the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency, which administers ReBuild NC.

To date, North Carolina has awarded more than $11.4 million in CDBG-DR funds to 327 households to repair or reconstruct homes damaged by the storm, with hundreds more applications for assistance currently being processed. Overall, North Carolina has put more than $904 million in Hurricane Matthew recovery funds on the ground.

Help through the ReBuild NC program is currently available for people whose homes were damaged by Hurricane Matthew or hurricanes Matthew and Florence. Homeowners who suffered damaged solely during Hurricane Florence will be able to apply for similar help in the future. North Carolina is awaiting notification from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department on the availability of CDBG-DR funding for homes impacted only by Hurricane Florence.

Homeowners who wish to apply should call 2-1-1 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays to schedule an appointment at an application center in Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Lenoir, Pender, Robeson or Wayne counties. A complete list of centers, including hours of operation and addresses, is available online at https://www.rebuild.nc.gov/application-centers.

Homeowners who have no way to travel to an application center can call 2-1-1 to request assistance. All homeowners impacted by Hurricane Matthew are strongly encouraged to apply for assistance, regardless of where they are in the recovery process or if they’ve completed repairs. Information on the CDBG-DR homeowner buyout program, as well as the small rental assistance and multi-family rental assistance programs, will be announced soon.

For more information, visit rebuild.nc.gov.

Staff report