Vallejo Disaster Recovery Center to Close Nov. 25, But Help is Still Available

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – After serving more than 283 homeowners, renters and business owners who had damages from the South Napa Earthquake, the Disaster Recovery Center at 1155 Capitol St. in Vallejo will end operations at 6 p.m. on Tue., Nov. 25. But help is still available in person, online and over the phone.

To apply for disaster assistance, register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone or tablet at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585.  People who use 711-Relay or VRS may call 800-621-3362.

Phone lines remain open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (PT) seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available to answer questions about disaster assistance and assist applicants who want to check on the status of their applications. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

Officials with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and FEMA urge anyone who still needs help to register now, well before the deadline—Dec. 29, 2014.

For face-to-face assistance, applicants may choose to visit the Napa Earthquake Local Assistance Center at 301 First Street in Napa to meet with specialists from FEMA, Cal OES and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The Napa center remains open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays until further notice. The center will be closed Nov. 27-28 for Thanksgiving.

Disaster assistance includes grants to help homeowners and renters with temporary housing, essential home repairs and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other sources.

Low-interest disaster loans are also available from the SBA for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes, and private non-profit organizations that had damage or losses from the South Napa Earthquake. Disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations.

For more information about disaster loans, applicants may call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or (TTY) (800- 877-8339, email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visit SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Applicants may go to https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela to file an electronic SBA loan application.

For those with unmet disaster-related needs, the United Way operates 2-1-1 that covers Napa and Solano Counties. Available 24/7 in 150 languages, the Bay Area 211 helpline connects callers with hundreds of programs to help people find food, housing, healthcare, senior services, childcare, legal aid and more.

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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.

The Cal OES protects lives and property, builds capabilities and supports our communities for a resilient California. Cal OES achieves its mission by serving the public through effective collaboration in preparing for, protecting against, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating the impacts of all hazards and threats.

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money 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 losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800) 877-8339.