Safe Room Grants Available For County Homeowners
COFFEEVILLE – Yalobusha County Emergency Management officials are encouraging homeowners in the county to apply for a new statewide program that reimburses residents for part of the cost of building FEMA-approved storm shelters. The initiative, launched by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and funded through FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, is open to homeowners in all 82 Mississippi counties, including Yalobusha.
Scan this QR code on your smart phone to see more details on the statewide Safe Room Grant Program now open to Yalobusha County homeowners.
During Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, EMA Director Stewart Spence told county leaders the program will reimburse up to $3,500 per household for residents who install qualifying safe rooms on their property. “Basically, you purchase the shelter and they reimburse you up to $3,500,” Spence explained. “And each county gets roughly 38 shelters.”
Deputy EMA Director Jarred Logan said the program will use a drawing to determine which applicants are selected, instead of a first-come, first-serve process.
The application period opened October 31 and will remain open through November 30. Applicants must first submit a short registration form online at my.msema.org under the Safe Room Submission portal. After the application period closes, MEMA will hold a computerized drawing to randomly select 38 homeowners per county to move forward in the process. If all county allocations are not claimed in the first round, MEMA will conduct a second statewide lottery to assign the remaining grants.
Homeowners selected in the drawing will receive an official approval letter via email from no-reply@my.msema.org.
The safe room must be located on land owned and occupied by the applicant. Renters, landlords, and non-residential properties are not eligible. Residents with questions can contact the MEMA Call Center at 1-833-592-6362, which operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Spence and Logan both said the program is an important opportunity for local families to improve storm safety without bearing the full cost. “We live in a part of the state where tornadoes and severe weather are a real threat,” Spence said. “This is a great opportunity to install a storm shelter and get most of your cost back.”
Logan added that the local EMA office is helping share information but is not involved in the application or approval process.
“It’s all handled at the state level,” Logan said. “But we want to make sure people in Yalobusha are aware of this grant. This is a reimbursement program. You must receive an official approval letter from MEMA before installing a safe room. If you install the safe room without approval, you will be disqualified and won’t be eligible for reimbursement,” Logan added.
