Disaster Recovery Centers Provide Assistance for People with Disabilities

BATON ROUGE, La. — Disaster Recovery Centers in the state of Louisiana are providing services to ensure that Hurricane Isaac survivors with disabilities have ready access to disaster assistance programs.

The centers are providing American Sign Language, Signed English or Tactile Sign Language interpreters to people who request these services.  In addition, video phones as well as caption phones for survivors who are deaf or hard of hearing have been installed at all locations. 

“Disasters affect everyone in the community”, said Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Coordinating Officer Mike Hall. “We want to make sure that everyone has accurate, timely and accessible disaster assistance information.”

There are 27 State/FEMA recovery centers operating in 18 parishes. They open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until further notice. For a list of open centers in Louisiana go online to www.fema.gov/disaster/4080. Specialists from the state of Louisiana, FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration are on hand to answer questions and provide information on the types of assistance available to survivors.

Individuals can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 1-800-621-3362 or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585. If you use 711 Relay or Video Relay Services, call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

The major disaster declaration for Hurricane Isaac now makes available federal assistance to eligible survivors in 21 parishes: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington and West Feliciana.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, visit online at www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

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.

SBA is the federal government’s primary source of funding for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations fund repairs or rebuilding efforts, and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).