Tornado Damage Assistance Application Deadline Moved To Dec. 19

December 8, 2016

A new assistance application deadline is now in place for those impacted by the February tornadoes in Century or Ferry Pass.

The new deadline to apply for funding commitments for tornado assistance from the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program (SHIP) in Escambia County is Monday, December 19. The deadline was December 31, but it was moved to December 19 in order to comply with state requirements.

Many Century and Ferry Pass homes were severely damaged or totally destroyed in the tornadoes. To provide relief to tornado survivors, the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners entered into an agreement with Northwest Florida Community Housing Development Corporation Inc. to provide up to $50,000 in SHIP disaster funding per property to help fund replacement housing for eligible homeowners.

NFCHDC has recently broken ground on the first of several replacement homes for low income survivors of the Feb. 15 tornado that hit Century. So far nine clients from that storm have been approved by the county under the SHIP program to work with NFCHDC. Three of the SHIP sites have been cleared and are ready for construction.

Additionally, NFCHDC has partnered with the Escambia County Housing Finance Authority to provide replacement housing for tornado survivors who could not qualify under the SHIP program. Two clients have been approved for housing to date.

This project is a significant collaboration between Escambia County, the town of Century, Legal Services of North Florida, the Escambia County Housing Finance Authority, the Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies, NFCHDC, World Renew, United Way, Pensacola Habitat for Humanity and many other volunteer organizations. These agencies have collectively provided financing, facilitated applicant intake, served as the case managers, worked on legal issues to help owners gain a clear title and now are providing construction oversight and labor.

To apply for SHIP funding you must:

  • Be the owner occupant of the property
  • Meet income eligibility guidelines
  • Have property that was impacted by the February 2016 tornadoes

For more information or to apply for the program, please contact the Escambia County Neighborhood Enterprise Division at (850) 595-3011.

Comments

2 Responses to “Tornado Damage Assistance Application Deadline Moved To Dec. 19”

  1. Courtney on December 10th, 2016 11:53 pm

    My landlord still has yet to fix my home and the repair company he hired made it worse and they told me they have no plans to fix it further and we can’t afford to move.

  2. Retired on December 8th, 2016 12:43 pm

    Glad to see the new homes being rebuilt. I think it really says something about the patience, perserverence, dedication and pure true grit of the people who dug in for the long term. I believe most towns may not have put forth this effort. I look forward to more improvements for Century.