FEMA Help Is Still Available

BATON ROUGE, La. – It is now more than a month since the record flooding and storms of August caused widespread damage throughout Louisiana. Many families and individuals lost their home or residence and were forced to find other solutions for their shelter. If you or anyone you know is still having problems finding suitable accommodations, it is not too late to register with FEMA for assistance with your housing needs.

FEMA cannot duplicate insurance payments, but survivors should register even if they have insurance because underinsured applicants may receive help after their claims have been settled. And remember that FEMA grants do not have to be repaid. FEMA assistance is nontaxable and will not affect your eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid or other federal benefits.

Applying for disaster assistance is essentially a two-step process – registering with FEMA and completing a U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loan application. This process ensures that you will be considered for all programs you may be eligible for. There is never any charge for registering or applying. If approved for the loan, you are under no obligation to accept it. But the examination of your SBA application will determine what other types of assistance you may be eligible for.

Disaster survivors may register the following ways:

• Online at DisasterAssistance.gov with any computer, smartphone or tablet.
• By phoning 800-621-3362 (FEMA). Applicants who use 711 or Video Relay Service may also call 800-621-3362. Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY may call 800-462-7585. The toll-free numbers are open from
  7 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.
• At a disaster recovery center. To find the nearest one, go online to the disaster recovery center locator at asd.fema.gov/inter/locator.

A free multilingual guide to the types of assistance available can be found at fema.gov/help-after-disaster.

Various forms of housing assistance are available to survivors of the Louisiana flood, from voluntary agencies, grants from FEMA, loans from the Small Business Association, the State’s Shelter at Home program, Transitional Sheltering Assistance, to long-term recovery led by HUD.

Download Original