SBA Disaster Loan May Help in Recovery Process

RIDGELAND, Miss. — Disaster survivors in Mississippi who apply for assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and are referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration are advised to submit an SBA loan application to ensure that the disaster recovery process continues.

If you are a homeowner or renter and SBA determines you cannot afford a loan, you may be considered for FEMA’s other needs assistance program, which provides grants for disaster-related medical and dental care, funeral costs and vehicle repairs. Survivors may also be eligible for assistance from other organizations.

There is no requirement to take out a loan if one is offered from SBA.

Next to insurance, SBA is the primary source of funds for real estate property repairs and replacing lost contents following a disaster. Renters and homeowners alike may borrow up to $40,000 to repair or replace clothing, furniture, cars or appliances damaged or destroyed in the disaster. Homeowners may be eligible for low-interest loans up to $200,000 for primary residence structural repairs or rebuilding.

May 24, 2016, is the last day survivors can register with FEMA and apply for SBA disaster loans for physical damage.

Loan applications may be submitted online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ or mailed to:

U.S. Small Business Administration

Processing and Disbursement Center

14925 Kingsport Rd.

Ft. Worth, TX 76155-2243

For additional information, contact the SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or TTY 800-877-8339, email DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov or visit sba.gov/disaster.

Survivors with questions regarding the FEMA application or appeal process, or who need to register for assistance, can go online to DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362 (voice, 711 or relay service). (TTY users should call 800-462-7585.) The toll-free lines are open 7 a.m. to

10 p.m. seven days a week. Multilingual operators are available.

For more information on Mississippi disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4268 and www.msema.org.

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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.

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 800-621-3362 (voice, 711 or video relay service). TTY users can call 800-462-7585.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is the federal government’s primary source of money to help business of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters rebuild and recover after a disaster. SBA low interest disaster loans repair and replace property losses not fully compensated by insurance and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.