Round 4 of Hurricane Harvey relief funding grants on the way

HOUSTON – Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said the fourth round of Hurricane Harvey flood relief grants is on its way.

The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund is distributing $42.3 million to 27 local nonprofit organizations.

Turner and Emmett said this round of grants is the largest so far and will support those still struggling to recover from the storm.

The fund has distributed a total of $108.8 million, while supporting 123 local nonprofit organizations.

"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," 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."

"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," Turner said. "We're thinking about the longer-term effects of Harvey while working to help those who are still picking up the pieces."

Here is a list of the Round 4 funding 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.
  • 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.

Call 211 for more information about these services.

Click here for a breakdown of the list of grant recipients, the services they provide and the dollar amounts of the grants.