More than $2.7 billion in federal funds and donations have either been doled out already, or still available for Texans impacted by Harvey.
That figure includes both state and federal dollars for housing assistance and repairs, along with the J.J. Watt Foundation, Red Cross and Rebuild Texas Fund, which will begin accepting a second round of applications later this week.
“This will be a completely open round of applications, any 501(c)(3) who is serving residents in Houston-Harris County can apply for funding if they are engaged in disaster recovery services,” says Renee Wizig-Barrios, chief philanthropy officer at Greater Houston Community Foundation.
“We're really trying to focus on vulnerable populations such as the elderly, people with disabilities, people who didn't have an address before the storm,” she says. “If you were living with somene else and you didn't have an address, you weren't renting or owning, then you can't even apply to FEMA.”
But it could still take up to 32 months for federal funds to make their way through the process.
“Any family who is still in need and doesn't feel like they have everything they need to recover should call the United Way's 211 hotline and let them know what zip code they're in and they can connect them with services that can help them,” says Wizig-Barrios.