Millions in recovery grants available for Richwood, other WV communities

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., local officials and banking executives met in the flood-ravaged town of Richwood, WV on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017 to announce $2.3 million in funding available for flood recovery and housing grants.

Pat Bond, founding general partner at Mountaineer Capital LP, Charleston, and chairman of the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, presented the ceremonial check at Richwood Town Hall, representing grants made through FHLBank’s Affordable Housing Program and a special flood relief program targeted directly to households affected by the flooding. The grants were provided by FHLBank Pittsburgh through member financial institutions United Bank, Summit Community Bank, Pendleton Community Bank, Bank of Monroe and Mars National Bank.

“Management and the Board of FHLBank Pittsburgh considered what we could do to provide help for neighbors like Erica Jones in what the National Weather Service called a ‘one-in-a-thousand-year event,’” Bond said. “We are privileged to make these grants available through our member financial institutions.”

Jones, a mother of four, lost her home in the June 23 flood and is living in a rental unit while awaiting FHLBank funding to build a new home.

“The damage from last summer’s flooding was profound, but I am so proud of the way West Virginians have joined together to rebuild the affected communities,” Capito said. “It is wonderful to see community groups, faith-based organizations, businesses and local funders working together with government officials to offer relief and hope. I applaud FHLBank Pittsburgh, our neighbor to the north, for setting aside significant funds to help in our recovery.”

Richwood was one of the hardest-hit communities during the June flood, which saw 12 counties declared as disaster areas.

“We are a resilient community, and with the amazing support of everyone here today and many others, we are winning,” said Richwood Mayor Bob Henry Baber, who hosted Tuesday’s event. “We have a long, long way to go, but it’s good to pause and celebrate how far we’ve come.”