Labor Department Approves $5M in Initial Funding to Support Tennessee after Helene

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) received the approval of up to US$5 million in initial emergency grant funding to Tennessee to support disaster-relief jobs and training services in 12 counties to help respond to Tropical Storm Helene.

On Sept. 26, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 storm and quickly moved across the Southeast, weakening to a tropical storm that inundated eastern portions of Tennessee with floodwaters. The flooding led to deaths and damaged and destroyed businesses, homes, and critical infrastructure. Lifesaving and safety operations continue as officials struggle to reach some of the most affected areas in rural, remote, and mountainous conditions. Transportation and debris removal are high priorities for the state; 19 sections of state routes are closed and six state bridges are impassable, five of which were destroyed.

“The Employment and Training Administration is committed to ensuring workers in Tennessee affected by Tropical Storm Helene have access to grant funding and assistance,” said José Javier Rodríguez, Employment and Training assistant secretary. “This Dislocated Worker Grant provides critical support by providing jobs to affected workers while helping Tennessee in its recovery efforts.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued an emergency declaration on Sept. 27, and a major disaster declaration on Oct. 2, enabling the state to request federal assistance for recovery efforts in the following 12 counties: Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington.

The National Dislocated Worker Grant–supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014–allows the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to provide people with temporary disaster-relief jobs and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to address immediate, basic needs for those displaced by Tropical Storm Helene. The funding also enables the state to provide training and services to individuals in the affected communities.

The department’s Employment and Training Administration oversees National Dislocated Worker Grants, which expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that lead to significant job losses.