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Pilot program to help rural Mainers repair homes damaged in Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas

A downed tree on a house on Shaw Street in Rockland, Maine, on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.
Keith Shortall
/
Maine Public
A downed tree on a house on Shaw Street in Rockland, Maine, on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023.

The federal government is expanding a pilot program intended to help low income residents in rural Maine repair storm damaged homes if they live in Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas.

Department of Agriculture Rural Development Director Rhiannon Hampson says this program is for the state's most vulnerable residents who have fewer resources available to recover from a natural disaster.

"I don't want people feeling guilty. That pragmatic northern New Englander who says 'I can do it myself. I don't need charity'. This isn't charity, this is your tax dollars that the federal government has stored for you," Hampson said.

The pilot program lowers the age to apply to 18 years old from 62, reimburses costs spent on repairs from previous Presidential Disaster Declaration areas, and can finance relocating mobile homes and manufactured housing to safer locations.

The Presidentially Declared Disasters covered by the program are:

  • December 23-24, 2022, in Franklin, Knox, Oxford, Somerset, Waldo, or York counties.
  • April 30-May 1, 2023, in Franklin, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Sagadahoc, and Somerset counties.
  • June 26, 2023 in Oxford County.
  • June 29, 2023, in Franklin County.

Applications must be submitted directly to the Rural Development State Office. Call 207-990-9100, email the office or visit their website for information.