Courtesy NASA
VENTNOR Nearly six and a half years after Superstorm Sandy, hundreds of local families are still struggling to get back into their homes and communities are facing more frequent flooding events and worsening weather.
The New Jersey Organizing Project, a grassroots organization that advocates for transparency in recovery spending and family support during disaster recovery, is hosting a community meeting 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 27 at the meeting room on the second floor of the Atlantic County Library/Ventnor, 6500 Atlantic Ave.
The meeting will share information about the availability of a new round of funding for the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation, or RREM program, rental assistance, and how to get relief from clawbacks.
The meeting will also address how to deal with future severe weather events and frequent flooding. New Jersey is second only to Florida as being vulnerable to sea level rise. Community members will discuss flood mitigation strategies and renewable energy.
Gov. Phil Murphy recently announced the availability of a supplemental round of funding for homeowners still maneuvering the RREM program. The application process for the new pot of federal funding will begin in June. The $50 million supplemental fund is available to homeowners who have yet to finish, or even start, construction because they lack sufficient financial resources.
NJOP was formed in 2014 by nine Superstorm Sandy victims and has since grown to more than 4,300 members. The organizing project has fought for and won rental assistance for Sandy families, transparency in Sandy spending, and foreclosure protections. Led by communities on the front lines of climate change and disaster, NJOP builds power to address the threats, health challenges and economic inequality New Jerseyans face and works for reform in disaster recovery systems to benefit families and to make communities better prepared for flooding and future storms.
For more information, see newjerseyop.org.
