Many of us filed complaints against the Restore Louisiana Homeowners Program (RLHP) after the 2016 floods. Most all generated no logical answers. In fact, most of the 2016 Restore program policy and procedural manuals weren't actually written until 2019 and 2020. It took homeowners that never dropped out of the program and continued to fight for their grants that made the difference.
Some of those homeowners from 2016 still work behind the scenes reviewing disaster recovery concerns and provide assistance when possible and when time allows.
I often find that the state office of community development will shield itself with call center front line people that most often are poorly trained and don't off real-world disaster solutions or even attempt to work the problem. Most call center people assigned to homeowners will simply relay information, copy and paste from the homeowners policy manual and repeat back to your your schedule every week. Keep in mind you have 7 days to respond to any email that asks for a response or additional information or your account will be placed as inactive and terminated after 30 days.
Your appeals process will never be explained to you in detail and you'll most likely never know about the exceptions panel or board that can create waivers if a logical argument is presented that is backed by HUD CDBG-DR policy and National Objectives.
Most of the assistance that can be provided is related only to matters of the HUD CDBG-DR Grant program code named Restore Louisiana Homeowners Program and has 3+ websites you need to visit weekly to stay up to date on their policy changes which happen often.
If you are having eligibility issues and are over 62 years of age with income under 80% AMI because you didn't have a FEMA inspection provided by FEMA when you applied online you'll need to contact FEMA to schedule an inspection even if it's an arm-chair inspection. If you never registered with FEMA and are under 80% AMI you need to recreate a FEMA account at disasterassistance.gov and answer every question related to your homes damage. If you are uninsured, underinsured, out of pocket legal expenses, personal property damage or vehicle damage because of a disaster you need to make sure you have your FEMA account number and that you have been inspected or you are scheduling an inspection.
I am not a "Not for Profit" or a "Non Profit" organization that is paid to offer assistance and I don't plan on forming a NFP because of the restrictions that are placed on them. I'll also not sugar coat things, if your plants were damaged and your house was not and you want FEMA or HUD to award you money so you can replace the plants in your yard I can't and wont help.
If you have damage from the storm that is not covered by insurance, FEMA IHP grants or NFIP flood insurance then you need to file for unmet needs with the Restore LA program which is actually HUD's CDBG-DR program managed by the states Office of Community Development which is funded 100% by federal tax dollars via HUD. Got the picture? It's your tax dollars that you paid and you should be able to qualify for financial relief from unmet needs.
The key is never give up or get discouraged by what the states temporary hired call center people say. You have options as long as you qualify based on HUD policy you should be good to apply and have your unmet needs reviewed.
Use the form below to file your complaint that you have with the Restore Louisiana Homeowners Program.
Disclaimer: Not all complaints are valid policy complaints. Add only details related to the reason Restore is not working with you. Please leave emotions out of the complaint unless it's about an individual that works with the Restore program.
Types of complaints and issues I can assist with:
- Missing documentation appeals.
- Responding to termination and rescind letters.
- Contractor Green Building Standards disputes.
- Case Manager emails and phone calls that are threatening in nature or cause you concern.
- Policy and Procedure reviews.
- Case oversight
- Assistance with letter writing and document preparation for both homeowners and legal counsel.
- Review of disaster debt burden
- Motivation to stay in the fight for as long as it takes to reduce your disaster recovery debt.
You're welcome to use the form below to get the process started. Their are no easy fixes, but nearly all issues do have solutions.
States Official Complaint Processing involves one email address
Office of Community Development – Disaster Recovery Unit
Email Address: ocd@la.gov (OCD-DRU)
Send by Postal Mail:
Office of Community Development – Disaster Recovery Unit
P.O. Box 94095 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095
ATTN: Executive Director
The OCD-DRU should response within 15 working days of the receipt of your complaint.
The OCD-DRU is required to follow the Citizen Complaint Procedure that is detailed in Section 2 of the states Administrative Manual.
