“Restore Louisiana” funds and programs to be rolled out soon

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Big announcements at the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury meeting Thursday night as funds are nearly available for the “Restore Louisiana” project to get people back into affordable housing.

At the Louisiana Office of Community Development, it’s Pat Forbes’ job to deliver disaster recovery grants from HUD. He said, unfortunately, there’s too much business here in Lake Charles.

But now, a major breakthrough for people still needing help with repairing or finding new homes following recent natural disasters.

“It took way too long to get funds appropriated for this recovery,” Forbes said. “But they were finally appropriated in September and we are going through all the steps of making that money available and we hope to have it available within the next month or month and a half.”

The objective? Getting people back in homes - whether it be in rentals or by repairing their current ones. However, as rent hikes skyrocket, it’s a priority to provide low to moderate income units as well as a middle income loan program.

“We will be building affordable rental housing that will be affordable for up to 35 years,” Forbes said.

Several programs like that will be rolled out as soon as funds can be accessed.

The project’s survey is the first step in applying for program assistance. After you complete the initial survey, the program will provide periodic text and email updates on next steps and program launch.

By the end of summer, access to these funds should be available.

For a link to the survey, CLICK HERE.

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