NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Officials in Georgia said the White House denied their request to extend a deadline to apply for Helene relief. This comes as the deadline for western North Carolina relief is set to expire next month.
Governor Josh Stein’s office told Queen City News that North Carolina still has 100 percent reimbursement from FEMA through March, adding that Stein views it as imperative that the funding continues.
“Governor Stein is working with our federal delegation to emphasize the importance of federal investment in North Carolina, including meetings in DC tomorrow. The Governor was very encouraged by the priority that the President has placed on western North Carolina with his assurances that his administration will not forget the region and making it his first trip outside of the capital” said Morgan Hopkins, the Governor’s press secretary.
The need in WNC remains great.
“Speaking as someone who grew up in western North Carolina and has lived here for decades and has been on the ground through this whole disaster and the recovery process, this region needs help. We need resources,” said Katie Russell with Pisgah Legal Services.
The nonprofit, based in WNC, has been working with impacted residents since Hurricane Helene hit in September. They’re focusing on making sure people who qualify apply for the right federal relief. Russell, their director of community engagement, said that housing is the biggest need.
“More than 150,000 units of housing across western North Carolina were damaged or destroyed in the storm, and so that just magnified the housing crisis exponentially.”
Russell encouraged those who need assistance, either individual or housing, to apply before FEMA’s March 8 deadline, “If you haven’t applied for FEMA at the front end, you may be shut out of some those resources ineligible for some of those other resources coming down the pike.”
