Following President Obama’s disaster declaration for specific counties in Tennessee and Missouri, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan has offered speedy government assistance to people in those jurisdictions ravaged by the tornadoes last month, specifically to home-owners and low-income renters.  The provisions include diversion of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME program funding to disaster relief; granting a 90-day forbearance on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgages now in foreclosure; providing FHA insurance for those who have lost their homes, and 100 percent financing for those eligible for an FHA loan to rebuild or buy; a loan program to rehabilitate a home and make the loan part of a mortgage; and federally-guaranteed loans for state and local governments for housing and economic development, as well as repairing infrastructure.