New September deadline looms for program

As the three-year anniversaries of hurricanes Katrina and Rita approach, 14,000 Louisiana residents are scurrying to have grant applications ready for the Road Home program’s Sept. 5 deadline.

The program, which is funding $10 billion in recovery grants for homeowners  affected by the storms, provides a maximum of $150,000 for eligible homeowners who wish to repair their home or purchase another home in the state, said Christina Stephens, a spokesperson for the program.

There are 1,549 applicants in Iberia Parish, and representatives from the Road Home program were at the Holiday Inn in New Iberia Thursday to answer questions and meet one-on-one with 369 area applicants who are having problems with completing their applications.

Some applicants were having problems with providing correct documents showing proof of residency before and during the storm, while others are trying to settle legal issues, Stephens said.

The deadline to settle legal issues is Oct. 5, and Stephens said the Sept. 5 deadline for documents can be extended based on individual needs and extenuating circumstances.

“For a lot of people, the fall after the hurricane was a difficult time,” said Stephens. “They’re having to go back now and get things in order, and we’re trying to work with them as much as we can to make sure we’re not denying them funding if they’re eligible.”

Stephens said the main requirement for eligibility is that applicants had to own and occupy the house during the time of the storm.

Other restrictions state the applicant’s home must have been classified by FEMA as having “severe damage,” or if not must have had at least $5,200 worth of home damage, according to the Road Home Web site.

If not completely destroyed as deemed by FEMA or a Road Home inspector, the home must have sustained at least 601 square feet of roof damage, at least 1 foot of water or damages that severely affect the structure of the home.

The grant amount will vary for applicants, and any money received from FEMA or insurance companies after the storm will be subtracted from the grant total, Stephens said.

Applicants can appeal to the state Disaster Recovery Unit if they are unsatisfied with the results of the application, Stephens said, adding there are 2,300 appeals statewide.

In Vermilion Parish, 2,249 Road Home applications were received, and Erath City Councilman John LeBlanc said he and his constituents have had problems with the application and appeal process.

LeBlanc applied for the program and said his pre-storm appraisal value was too low. He filed an appeal, then hired a licensed appraiser, who valued his home at a significantly higher amount than the Road Home appraiser.

“It’s been quite a process to get it corrected,” he said. “I appealed over a year ago, and I still don’t know if it's been corrected.”

Other Erath residents were denied grant funding because they did not sustain at least 1 foot of water in their homes during the storms or did not meet the Road Home criteria for severe damage.

Many homes in Erath are not completely repaired, LeBlanc said.

“People’s homes have shifted,” said LeBlanc. “Cabinets came away from the wall and floors were damaged, but they were denied. Just because people didn’t have standing water in their homes doesn’t mean they didn’t have damage from the flooding.”

State Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, said although St. Mary Parish did not see as much damage as other areas, his constituents also are facing multiple Road Home problems.

Several legislators do not approve of the Sept. 5 deadline because of the lack of advertising and proper notice for applicants, Jones said.

“If they continue going in that direction, then there are more than 14,000 people who could be caught,” said Jones.

Despite the complications for Erath residents, LeBlanc said the help session in New Iberia Thursday resolved most of the issues.

“It’s a fantastic program,” said LeBlanc. “It’s just a really long process, and that’s a problem. In Southwest Louisiana, we don’t wait around for handouts. We do our own thing.”