Recovery center opens today
By Steve Herring
Published in News on November 30, 2017 7:11 AM
The Wayne County Hurricane Matthew Housing Recovery Application Center is scheduled to open at 10 a.m. today in the Wayne County Veterans Services Office, 2001-D, E. Ash St.
Scheduling an appointment by calling 919-366-4074 is the first step in the application process for residents to see if they qualify for grants under the federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funding for homes damaged by Hurricane Matthew.
Resident can also go online at rebuild.nc.gov and sign up for an appointment.
It is not a walk-in center. Appointments must be made by phone or online.
Centers are also open in Cumberland, Edgecombe and Robeson counties. Those counties, along with Wayne, were the four hardest hit by Hurricane Matthew.
The Wayne County center will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, beginning today.
It will be closed Dec. 6, Dec. 11, Dec. 18 and Jan. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon, and all day on Dec. 25 through 27 and Jan. 1.
Gov. Roy Cooper and N.C. Emergency Management Director Michael Sprayberry were in Goldsboro Tuesday afternoon, Nov. 21, to visit the center.
By mid-December, application centers will be open in other counties, Cooper said.
During his visit, Cooper encouraged people to call or go online to schedule an appointment.
The application process is being handed by consultants with AECOM, a global infrastructure firm. The company also conducted the N.C. Resilient Redevelopment Planning process for the N.C. Emergency Management.
At the center Wayne County residents can apply:
* To repair/reconstruct homes.
* For reimbursement for repair work already done.
* For a buyout.
Mobile home owners can apply to repair or replace their home, and landlords with eight or fewer units can apply for assistance under the small rental assistance program.
Renters can apply for temporary rental assistance.
Applicants will need to bring as many of the following required documents with them as possible:
* Photo ID.
* Proof of legal residency.
* Proof of ownership if applying as a homeowner.
* Proof of being current on mortgage payments, and not be in default.
* Proof of valid lease, if applying as a renter.
* Proof of occupancy at the residence at the time of the disaster.
* Copy of the most recent 1040 tax return for all adults in the household or three months of consecutive pay stubs for all adults.
* Copies of insurance payments received for any Hurricane Matthew-related damage to the home.
* Copies of other assistance received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Small Business Administration or other federal, state or local disaster entities including charities.
Residents can expect the application process to take up to two hours.