Storm Victims Must Reapply for State Aid
BETHEL SPRINGS, Tenn. – Despite more than $100,000 of state aid being approved, some uninsured residents are still waiting for help nearly nine months after severe storms ripped through Bethel Springs. “It hit the corner (of my home) and it took the tin off (the roof), and then the rain came in and the sheet-rock started falling through,” homeowner Myrtle Kirk said. The storm hit in late January. In May, McNairy County announced a $175,00 rebuild and recovery grant through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, but no residents have received any money yet. County leaders said application and procedural errors led to initial delays and the process became too overwhelming for them to handle on their own. Now, they have brought in the Nelson Community Development Group from Jackson for help. “It’s difficult to administer a housing program like this, particularly if you have no background in doing it. While their intentions were good, they just had trouble,” Karen Holder, Nelson Community Development Group’s housing manager, said. Residents will have to reapply to get the state money. The group is holding a meeting on November 7 at 5 p.m. at the Bethel Springs Community Center. Officials will be there to walk residents, like the Kirk family, through the process. The Kirks were able to replace their tin roof through personal income so that water would stop leaking on the inside. But as for the damage on the inside of the home, it has had to wait because the home was uninsured. “I’m not living in a full house now,” Kirk said. “I’m living in a partial house. Where I had a three bedroom house, I have a one bedroom house.” “We’ll try our best to go forward as quickly as we can, but I have to follow the rules,” said Holder. “And whatever time that takes, we’ll do it the right way.”
