LINCROFT,  N.J. — Families and individuals in New Jersey who are registered for federal disaster assistance and need a place to live can search through hundreds of rental listings on the FEMA Housing Portal.

The FEMA Housing Portal consolidates rental resources identified and provided by federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA), and also lists rental properties provided by private organizations and property owners willing to help their neighbors during these difficult times.

FEMA recommends that those who use the portal contact the number on the listing prior to traveling to the location of the property to make sure the property is still available. This site is updated regularly, but available housing units are being filled continuously so FEMA encourages users to check back often for the most current information.

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 www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

 

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FEMA Housing Portal Provides Resource to Help Survivors Find Rentals

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of ongoing efforts to ensure families and individuals impacted by Hurricane Sandy get the support they need, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that the agency is increasing the amount of rental assistance that it may provide eligible disaster survivors in New York and New Jersey.  The rental amount, based on existing HUD Fair Market Rates (FMR) for fiscal 2013, is being increased by an additional 25 percent. 

HUD FMR rates are rental cost estimates that include the cost of the shelter and all other tenant-paid utilities except telephone, cable, and internet services. HUD designs annual FMR levels to be high enough to allow for a wide selection of available units, yet low enough so that as many units as possible may be rented and provided to low-income families.

Immediately after the recent disasters in the Northeast, FEMA evaluated the number of available rental resources within Metropolitan New York and Northern New Jersey that might be available to house disaster survivors. It was quickly apparent that the cost of available rental units could become a limiting factor, so FEMA authorized funds to increase the existing rental assistance in New York and New Jersey to exceed current FY2013 levels by 125 percent. The increase will be implemented when the survivor is recertified for a continued need for temporary housing assistance.  Disaster survivors are free to rent properties above the 125 percent FMR, but will only receive assistance up to the 125 percent FMR.

The approved FMR increase is expected to make an additional 1,800 rental resources available for temporary housing of disaster-impacted families in New York, and an additional 1,200 rental resources available for similar families in New Jersey.

The increase in the FMR for New York and New Jersey is one of many ways FEMA is committed to supporting survivors in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states as they begin their disaster recovery efforts.

FEMA encourages all the affected states to take the lead in identifying their local needs and resources by convening state-led Housing Task Forces. These individualized task forces help ensure the states continue to have the authority to select from available temporary housing solutions they deem sufficient to meet the needs of their residents following a disaster. The state Housing Task Forces in New York and New Jersey have already begun meeting with FEMA representatives and recovery housing plans are underway.

Families and individuals in the declared counties who are registered for federal disaster assistance and seeking rental resources can search through hundreds of listings on the FEMA Housing Portal at asd.fema.gov/inter/hportal/home.htm. The site is updated regularly but families are advised that properties listed in the Housing Portal are only potential housing options, and they should contact the property owner to check if the listed unit is still available.

The FEMA Housing Portal consolidates rental resources identified and provided by a variety of federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Veterans Administration (VA), but also lists rental properties provided by private organizations and property owners willing to help their neighbors during these difficult times.

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.

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FEMA Announces Temporary Housing Rental Assistance Increase in New York and New Jersey

Following is a summary of key federal disaster aid programs that can be made available as needed and warranted under President Obama’s major disaster declaration issued for Connecticut.

Assistance for Affected Individuals and Families Can Include as Required:

  • Rental payments for temporary housing for those whose homes are unlivable.  Initial assistance may be provided for up to three months for homeowners and at least one month for renters.  Assistance may be extended if requested after the initial period based on a review of individual applicant requirements.  (Source: FEMA funded and administered.)
  • Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance to make damaged dwellings safe, sanitary and functional.  (Source: FEMA funded and administered.)
  • Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, state and charitable aid programs.   (Source: FEMA funded at 75 percent of total eligible costs; 25 percent funded by the state.)
  • Unemployment payments up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for state benefits, such as self-employed individuals.  (Source: FEMA funded; state administered.)
  • Low-interest loans to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance.  Loans available up to $200,000 for primary residence; $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses.  Loans available up to $2 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance.  (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.)
  • Loans up to $2 million for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes that have suffered disaster-related cash flow problems and need funds for working capital to recover from the disaster’s adverse economic impact.  This loan in combination with a property loss loan cannot exceed a total of $2 million. (Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.)
  • Loans up to $500,000 for farmers, ranchers and aquaculture operators to cover production and property losses, excluding primary residence.  (Source: Farm Service Agency, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.)
  • Other relief programs: Crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; income tax assistance for filing casualty losses; advisory assistance for legal, veterans benefits and social security matters.

Assistance for the State, Tribal and Affected Local Governments Can Include as Required:

  • Payment of not less than 75 percent of the eligible costs for removing debris from public areas and for emergency measures, including direct federal assistance, taken to save lives and protect property and public health.  (Source: FEMA funded, state administered.)

 

  • Payment of not more than 75 percent of the approved costs for hazard mitigation projects undertaken by state, tribal and local governments to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property from natural or technological disasters.  (Source: FEMA funded, state administered.)

How to Apply for Assistance:

  • Those in the county designated for assistance to affected residents and business owners can begin the disaster application process by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) Monday through Sunday until further notice.  Applicants registering for aid should be prepared to provide basic information about themselves (name, permanent address, phone number), insurance coverage and any other information to help substantiate losses.
  • Application procedures for local and state governments will be explained at a series of federal/state applicant briefings with locations to be announced in the affected area by recovery officials. Approved mitigation projects are paid through the state from funding provided by FEMA and other participating federal agencies.

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 www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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Federal Aid Programs for State of Connecticut Disaster Recovery

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Federal Aid Programs for State of Florida Disaster Recovery

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Federal Aid Programs For The State Of West Virginia Disaster Recovery

Workshop Participants Innovate to Increase Youth Preparedness 

Release Date: March 21, 2012
Release Number: R7-12-003

» 2012 Region VII News Releases

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Community leaders and educators filled the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beacon Office Facility today to attend the first-ever Federal Emergency Management Agency-sponsored youth preparedness workshop in Kansas City.

The workshop provided participants with the tools and organizational how-to needed to build programs that teach young people about disaster preparedness so they can make the communities they live in more resilient.

Youth Preparedness experts from FEMA led discussions with attendees from the public and private sectors in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. Leaders in businesses, not-for-profit organizations, state and local governments shared ideas and best practices about how to create curriculum for, implement and manage successful youth preparedness programs.

“When we think about how strong we want America to be in the future, we have to think about resiliency. As a nation, we’re as strong and able to recover from disaster emergency situations as each individual is, so preparing our youth is like taking an insurance policy out on the American way of life.” said FEMA Regional Administrator Beth Freeman. “When we educate young people about disaster preparedness they share it and spread the word to their peers, their families and on social media. They act as leaders and influencers and if we’re successful, they will transform American culture into a culture of preparedness.”

FEMA Region VII partnered with the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of Education to host the event. Similar FEMA-sponsored workshops have been and will continue to be conducted nationwide.

If you would like additional information about youth programs, please visit FEMA’s Youth Preparedness (www.citizencorps.gov/ready/kids.shtm) page, which includes a Catalogue of Youth Preparedness Resources (www.citizencorps.gov/ready/resources.shtm). In addition, see the U.S. Department of Education Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) (rems.ed.gov/) Website.

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.

Last Modified: Wednesday, 21-Mar-2012 14:25:43

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Workshop Participants Innovate to Increase Youth Preparedness

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