Federal Disaster Aid to Illinois Residents Tops $82 Million

AURORA, Ill. – Federal assistance in Illinois has reached more than $82.4 million, distributed among more than 30,200 individuals and households, since a major disaster was declared in the state May 10.

The latest summary of federal assistance to individuals and households that suffered losses due to the severe storms and flooding between April 16 and May 5 includes:

• More than $82.4 million in FEMA grants approved for individuals and households;
• Of that amount, more than $72 million approved for housing assistance, including temporary rental assistance, home repair costs and assistance toward replacing destroyed homes;
• More than $10 million approved to cover other essential disaster-related needs, such as medical and dental expenses and damaged personal possessions;
• More than 42,000 home inspections completed to confirm disaster damage;
• More than $7.7 million in loans to homeowners, renters or business owners has been approved by the U.S. Small Business Administration; and
• More than 2,300 visits to Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) operated jointly by FEMA and the state of Illinois.

Eleven counties in Illinois were included in the initial declaration, but on May 22, an additional
14 counties were added for individual assistance. On May 31, another eight counties were added.

Residents of 33 counties in the major disaster declaration can now register for federal assistance. The counties include Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Clark, Cook, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Peoria, Pike, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford.

Public Assistance also has been approved for 24 Illinois counties. This program includes funding for debris removal, emergency protective measures and infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges. This assistance is on a cost-sharing basis with FEMA paying 75 percent with the remainder the responsibility of the state and local governments.

Hazard Mitigation teams are located at six home improvement stores throughout the area providing information on how to repair or rebuild stronger and safer to help avoid damage from future storms.

Survivors may be eligible for additional services including federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) for those who worked or were scheduled to begin work in one of the 33 counties declared for Individual Assistance. The assistance extends to self-employed individuals, farm workers and others who have lost income as a result of the storm and flooding from April 16 to May 5. DUA applications are available at Illinois Department of Employment Security offices. For office locations, call 800-244-5631 or go online to www.ides.illinois.gov/myoffice.

Legal aid is another service available to survivors who have legal issues related to the disaster. The Young Lawyers Division of the Illinois American Bar Association provides this free service for low-income individuals and families. Attorneys can advise on a variety of issues, including securing FEMA and other government services; life, medical and property insurance claims; and replacing wills and other important documents. Call 855-875-3362 for more information.

For those feeling symptoms of stress, anxiety or depression the “TalkWithUs” helpline can provide information for adults and children in distress related to this disaster.  Help is available in English and Spanish. The helpline number is 800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746. The service is available
24 hours a day. TTY is 800-846-8517.

It is not necessary to visit a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) to register with FEMA. Individuals can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. People who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. For more information, visit the Illinois Disaster website www.fema.gov/disaster/4116.

Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

SBA low-interest disaster loans may be available for homeowners, renters, businesses and private nonprofit organizations of all sizes to repair or replace real estate, contents and/or personal property damaged in the severe storms and flooding. Information and assistance from SBA is available at
800-659-2955, (TTY) 800-877-8339 or online at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Media Contact: 571-408-1835