WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced $3 million for the State of North Carolina to support people experiencing homelessness in communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. Funding from the Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) program will help residents and families who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have needs that are not otherwise served or fully met by existing Federal disaster relief programs. This latest action highlights the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to prioritizing lifesaving actions, ensuring delivery of essential services and offering support to storm survivors across America.

“While we are still assessing the full impact of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, we know the breadth of destruction warrants immediate funding to supplement emergency assistance for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness,” said Acting HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman. “HUD is committed to working with state and local leaders in North Carolina, during their long road of recovery ahead.”

While the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Red Cross and local community members have stepped up to assist survivors, the severity of the damage and displacement experienced in the State of North Carolina has exceeded local capacity and more assistance is needed. RUSH funding is intended to address the immediate unmet needs for homelessness assistance and homelessness prevention in declared disaster areas.

The eligible activities for this funding include:

1. For people experiencing homelessness before the disaster: emergency shelter; rapid re-housing, which provides up to 24 months of rental assistance, financial assistance for move in costs, and supportive services; and

2. For people who were at-risk of experiencing homelessness before the disaster: homelessness prevention, which provides up to 24 months of rental assistance, utility assistance, and supportive services for people at risk of homelessness; and outreach assistance, including assistance to meet urgent needs.

RUSH funding provides rapid assistance under the Emergency Solutions Grant program for individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness in eligible declared disaster areas where the Federal Emergency Management Agency has activated Transitional Sheltering Assistance. This funding is available to help communities provide outreach, emergency shelter, rapid re-housing, homelessness prevention assistance, and supportive services.

On July 1st, HUD also launched a new streamlined process for requesting additional flexibility on existing grants after a disaster is declared. Recipients of annual HUD funding may request waivers to unlock and accelerate the use of their funding for disaster response and recovery. With the updated waiver process, HUD is proactively issuing maximum flexibility to communities impacted by disasters. These flexibilities will expedite the recovery process, reduce administrative burden, and allow impacted jurisdictions to quickly tailor programs and activities to address the post disaster needs of impacted communities.

“We have heard loud and clear—everyday counts when states, localities, and non-profits are working to get people safely housed,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Marion McFadden for Community Planning and Development. “Our new waiver process will cut weeks off the time needed for communities to address urgent recovery needs in the wake of disasters.”

The expedited process will allow HUD to quickly provide regulatory and administrative relief to recipients of the following HUD programs: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME), Housing Trust Fund (HTF), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), and Continuum of Care (CoC). To expedite the use of these funds, HUD's state and local partners impacted by declared disasters can now access waivers through an expedited approval process. Examples of HUD's flexibilities include:

• HUD may suspend a cap limiting CDBG expenditures for public services to 15 percent- so that CDBG grantees can pay for additional support services for individuals and families affected by declared disasters. Services could include the provision of food, emergency shelter, case management, and related services to help residents in declared-disaster areas until long-term recovery resources become available.
• When extensive damage and destruction to the housing stock occurs in impacted areas HUD may enable CDBG grantees to replace affordable housing units that were lost as a result of severe weather, waiving restrictions on new construction.
• The HOME matching contribution requirement may be waived for communities in the declared disaster areas.
• ESG may be used for more than the usual 24 months on rental assistance and housing relocation stabilization services for low-income individuals and families. For more information on the new waiver process, please review the guidance here.

HUD’s role in supporting communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters continues to expand as the frequency and intensity of disasters increases. Today’s announcements build on the efforts to bolster how HUD addresses disaster recovery, including the recent establishment of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Office of Disaster Management.

HUD and FEMA recently published a report on the Pre-Disaster Housing Planning Initiative to promote collaborative 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.