The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs launched on Monday the Home Recovery Alabama program, providing grant money to homeowners whose houses were damaged by Hurricanes Sally or Zeta in 2020 and have yet to be repaired.

“Hurricanes Sally and Zeta impacted many homeowners and landlords who still have not been able to repair their properties,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said in a news release. “This program will help them make the necessary repairs and resume a normal life.”

Designed to provide assistance to low-to-moderate income homeowners and landlords with rental homes in the nine counties more impacted by the hurricanes, the funding provided by the program is a grant, not a loan. That means it will not need to be repaid as long as the homeowner complies with the grant program rules. The Home Recovery Alabama program is funded by Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Last year, Congress and HUD allocated $501 million in CDBG-DR funding to south Alabama for ongoing efforts to recover from the two hurricanes. $280 million of that is dedicated to the home recovery program: $42 million for rental properties and $238 million to serve low-income homeowners who occupy their homes, according to the release.

To qualify, homeowners must have owned the property when the hurricane made landfall in 2020 and still own the property. The property must be located in Baldwin, Mobile, Clarke, Dallas, Escambia, Marengo, Perry, Washington or Wilcox counties. The money cannot be used as reimbursement for repairs, the release says.

The remaining CDBG-DR funds will be given to county governments and municipalities to carry out their own projects, including infrastructure, economic development and future storm mitigation efforts. The funds may be used by municipalities for housing projects so long as the projects are not single-family housing.

If you’re interested in applying or learning more about the program, go to homerecoveryal.com or call (251) 265-7958. There is also an app, called Alabama Home Recovery, that can be downloaded from either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. You can also apply in person at an intake center (see below), which are open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Mobile: 110 Montlimar Drive, Suite 299, Mobile, AL 36609

Jackson: 1455 College St., Jackson, AL 36545

Foley: 200 East Laurel Ave., (Hwy 98), Foley, AL 36535

Selma: 124 Broad Street, Selma, AL 36701