Town of Hilton Head eligible for additional COVID relief funding. Here’s who will be helped

Hilton Head Island is eligible for more federal COVID-19 relief funding and is passing it on to help people who need it.

The town of Hilton Head could receive $102,899 in new money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help low- and middle-income residents still impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Hilton Head Senior Grants Administrator Marcy Benson said.

Hilton Head will give $100,000 to the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, which will distribute it to local non-profits.

It’s not yet known who will get money this time around. Information on how nonprofits can apply for some of the money was not immediately released.

Hilton Head received $634,989 in COVID relief money from HUD in 2020 via the Community Development Block Grant Program, which the town also gave to the foundation. In the past two years, the town has given the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry $730,833 in aid for local non-profits.

Some of the local groups that receiving funding were the Boys and Girls Club of Hilton Head, Mental Health American of Beaufort/Jasper, and Sandalwood Community Food Pantry.

Twenty-one grants were issued to non-profits who assisted Lowcountry residents with tutoring, rent and food during the height of the pandemic, said Debbie Cahoon, foundation vice president for community investment.

The pandemic is still negatively impacting Beaufort and Jasper residents, she said.

“At a time when we see inflation, there’s a lot of reasons for some of the issues that we have, but COVID-19 is still a big part of what’s going on today. So those needs continue,” Cahoon said.

HUD notified the town they were eligible for more funds because Hilton Head spent all of its COVID relief money, Benson said. Before the island can receive new funds, the town council has to amend Hilton Head’s five year plan and send it to HUD for approval, said Benson, the Hilton Head grants coordinator.

Residents can log public comments with the town through Tuesday, July 5. Comments can be submitted on the town’s website at hiltonheadislandsc.gov.