Jackson County SHIP Housing Assistance: Waiting-List Priority for Disabled Veterans

Jackson County receives State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) money from the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and spends it under a Local Housing Assistance Plan adopted by the Board. The Apalachee Regional Planning Council administers the programme for the county, which keeps a liaison in its Housing Assistance Office. The veteran priority. The 2024-2027 plan, as amended by Technical Revision 2 and adopted by Resolution 2025-47 on October 14, 2025, says: "A waiting list will be established when there are eligible applicants for strategies that no longer have funding available. Priority will be given in the following order: 1. Special needs and/or special needs disabled veterans 2. First qualified, first served". To receive priority as a special needs disabled veteran, a veteran must be "honorably retired or separated from the U.S. Military", eligible as a "person with Special Needs" as defined in section 420.0004(13), and may be referred by an entity serving disabled veterans. That definition includes a person receiving "veterans' disability benefits". The 2027-2030 plan placed before the Board on September 22, 2026 keeps the same order; its minutes were not yet posted when this entry was written. What the plan funds. Purchase assistance for first-time homebuyers, as a 0% deferred loan forgiven over ten years, up to $35,000 for very low, $30,000 for low and $25,000 for moderate income households including any rehabilitation (the October 2025 revision raised the down payment share to $30,000, $25,000 and $20,000); rehabilitation up to $50,000; demolition and reconstruction up to $150,000; disaster mitigation and recovery up to $30,000; and emergency repair up to $50,000. The September 2026 amendment adds up to $10,000 to relocate residents displaced by a mobile home park closure. Income limits are the SHIP limits Florida Housing posts each year, and the plan caps liquid assets at $15,000, which the 2027-2030 draft raises to $20,000. How to apply. Apply through the county's Neighborly portal linked from the Housing Assistance Office page, or call the county at (850) 482-9637 or the Council's housing coordinator at (850) 488-6211, extension 1. A veteran should say on the application that he or she receives VA disability benefits.