Volunteers Needed to Clean Up Disaster-Damaged Homes in Hays and Bastrop Counties in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – Although many weeks have passed since the May 4 through June 19 severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding hit Texas, homeowners who continue their recovery still are in need of volunteer support.

Volunteers, service groups and paid contractors have helped clean up flooded homes and cleared out debris-filled yards. But hundreds more volunteers are still urgently needed to work in Bastrop, San Marcos and Wimberley.

Whether volunteers can donate a few hours or several days of their time, the effort will help multiply effect and speed the recovery for disaster survivors. For coordination purposes, local officials ask volunteers—whether co-workers, college clubs, faith-based groups, or nonprofit organizations—to sign up at the following reception centers:

Bastrop Volunteer Reception Center
1106 College St.
Bastrop, TX 78602
(512) 521-3001
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

San Marcos Volunteer Reception Center
126 W. Hopkins St.
San Marcos, TX
(512) 753-2320
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday

Wimberley Volunteer Reception Center
200 Stillwater Dr, Suite 2
Wimberley, TX
(512) 715-4134
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday

Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age, 16 if accompanied by a parent. All volunteers are required to wear long pants, rubber boots, and bring a hat. Personal protective gear, such as gloves, safety goggles, and dust masks will be provided. Coordinators recommend that volunteers bring their own lunch as well as bottles of water.

Safety briefings will be held at each center before heading out to the disaster sites. Volunteers should be aware that the work will be strenuous.

Work assignments include:

  • Home clean-up
  • Minor home repairs
  • Debris removal
  • Bleaching affected items
  • Moving furniture

In mid-June, FEMA and AmeriCorps program teams joined forces with community volunteers in Hays and Bastrop counties. They mucked out more than 100 flooded homes, cleared over a 1,000 cubic yards of debris, and temporarily repaired 70 roofs.

The AmeriCorps program teams included:

  •  AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps)
  • Arizona Conservation Corps
  • Hoopa Tribal Civilian Community Corps
  • Texas Conservation Corps
  • AmeriCorps St. Louis-Emergency Response Team
  • Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa

AmeriCorps program members come from across the country and have been deployed to disasters many times before. They bring a variety of backgrounds and skills to their community service projects. For more information about AmeriCorps, go to www.americorps.gov.

People who had storm damage in the designated area should register for FEMA assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 800-621-3362 toll free from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.

Disaster assistance for eligible survivors may include grants to help pay for rent, essential home repairs, and personal property replacement. Low-interest disaster loans from U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also may be available to cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other resources.

The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property.

Home owners in Hays and Bastrop counties who had damages and need help with unmet needs, should call 2-1-1. Anyone using a relay service should call 877-541-7905. Information and referral is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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All FEMA disaster assistance will be provided without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex (including sexual harassment), religion, national origin, age, disability, limited English proficiency, economic status, or retaliation. If you believe your civil rights are being violated, call 800-621-3362 or 800-462-7585(TTY/TDD).

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 SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters 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.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for childcare, medical, dental expenses and/or funeral expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, those who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, transportation, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

For more information on Texas recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4223, Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion6 and the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.

Visit www.fema.gov/texas-disaster-mitigation for publications and reference material on rebuilding and repairing safer and stronger.

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Volunteers Needed to Clean Up Disaster-Damaged Homes in Hays and Bastrop Counties in Texas

FEMA Corps Graduates First AmeriCorps Members

WASHINGTON – After completing 10 months of service to disaster survivors around the country, the nation’s first class of FEMA Corps members will be honored at graduation ceremonies in Vicksburg, Miss., and Vinton, Iowa this month.

FEMA Corps is an innovative partnership between the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to enhance the nation’s disaster response and recovery capacity while expanding career opportunities for young people.

Established as a new unit within the existing AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), FEMA Corps engages young adults ages 18 to 24 to provide 10 months of full-time service on disaster response and recovery projects.  More than 300 members of the inaugural FEMA Corps class will graduate at ceremonies in Vicksburg on June 6 and Vinton on June 13. 

“These FEMA Corps members have made a real difference in FEMA’s disaster response and recovery efforts,” said Richard Serino, FEMA Deputy Administrator. “They have brought incredible energy and enthusiasm for community service, directly impacting the lives of disaster survivors and paving a path for future FEMA Corps teams.”

“I am so proud of the work AmeriCorps members have done as part of FEMA Corps and the positive impact they have had for disaster survivors,” said Wendy Spencer, CNCS CEO. “Through their selfless service, they have helped thousands of survivors move forward with their lives and blazed the trail for future FEMA Corps teams to make an even greater impact.”

FEMA Corps teams from the two campuses were integral in the response and recovery efforts for Hurricane Sandy. Teams were on the ground in New York and New Jersey in the first few days following the hurricane and provided direct assistance to disaster survivors by working at Disaster Recovery Centers and going door-to-door in impacted neighborhoods providing disaster information. FEMA Corps also provided assistance in 20 other states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Florida during their 10 month assignment.

The joint partnership between FEMA and CNCS is a five-year program that that will engage thousands of FEMA Corps members in all aspects of emergency management by responding to disasters across the country. Their service has contributed to delivering disaster assistance in a more expedited way by combining their resources and technology to help register disaster survivors in person. Their highly visible FEMA Corps uniforms also have let impacted communities and disaster survivors know that FEMA is present and helping to meet their needs.

As part of their service, FEMA Corps graduates will receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to help them pay for college or pursue other learning opportunities in and out of emergency management.

“Being able to serve and to directly help disaster survivors in their greatest time of need has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined when I signed up for the program,” said Margarita Andryushchenko, FEMA Corps Team Leader.  “The experiences my team members and I have had over the past 10months will stay with us forever.”

In addition to FEMA Corps campuses in Vicksburg and Vinton, FEMA Corps is also based out of Denver and Sacramento, Calif., and in the fall the campus in Baltimore, Md. will inaugurate its first class. A second class of FEMA Corps members from Vicksburg and Vinton will also begin in the fall.

 

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. For more information, visit FEMA.gov

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

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FEMA Corps Graduates First AmeriCorps Members

AmeriCorps — and New FEMA Corps — Are Assisting Hurricane Isaac Recovery

BATON ROUGE, La. – Dozens of AmeriCorps and FEMA Corps members are doing double duty in response to Hurricane Isaac— helping Louisiana survivors with their recovery efforts and assisting their communities plan for future disasters.

Along with scores of local voluntary agencies, some AmeriCorps teams were in Louisiana before Hurricane Isaac struck, and other members have arrived regularly in the eight weeks since the storm. The newest group is from FEMA Corps, a program in which young adults serve alongside FEMA’s existing workforce to perform a variety of disaster response, recovery and mitigation tasks.

“FEMA relies on volunteer-based organizations and the service groups like AmeriCorps and now FEMA Corps to provide critical help for survivors,” said Gerard M. Stolar, FEMA’s federal coordinating officer. “These folks are getting right into the communities affected by Isaac and helping them with their recovery effort.”

The FEMA Corps members are working with FEMA specialists in the Joint Field Office in Baton Rouge and across southern Louisiana. Some of them have been integrated into operations at Disaster Recovery Centers, where they have met with survivors and helped connect them to resources and information. Others are helping compile Project Worksheets, which document applicant costs for Public Assistance reimbursements.

FEMA Corps members also have been working in the southern parishes to learn how to assess homes for private property debris removal. Still others have joined Community Relations teams, going door-to-door to meet survivors and provide information about FEMA registration.

Meanwhile, some AmeriCorps members are in St. John Parish where they are managing local volunteers and assisting in setting up a long-term recovery group for the area. The teams also are helping the parish begin tracking volunteer hours which can be used to offset the local cost share required in some FEMA grants. In Plaquemines, St. John and St. Tammany, AmeriCorps has helped set up Volunteer Reception Centers (VRCs).

Other members are assisting the Louisiana Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster with a temporary roof repair pilot project in eight parishes. They are helping collect data about the efforts of voluntary agencies to provide temporary roof repairs and tarps to damaged homes.

“I think these projects can be very helpful tools for future disasters,” said AmeriCorps St. Louis Team Leader, Abby Simons, whose teams are working on the roofing pilot project and the VRCs. “Knowing that we’re helping increase the effectiveness of local community groups now – and maybe influencing others years down the road ¬– is worthwhile service.”

AmeriCorps is one of dozens of agencies FEMA has partnered with to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters like Hurricane Isaac. A national service program, AmeriCorps offers real-world experience in public service in exchange for low pay, long hours, sparse lodging, student loan forgiveness and the rewards of helping people in need.

AmeriCorps, through its parent agency the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), has deployed more than 300 members to Hurricane Isaac-affected areas since the beginning of the storm.

Some 35 AmeriCorps members assisted with earlier evacuations from St. Charles Parish and supporting a call center to provide information to survivors. In New Orleans, AmeriCorps members have been at a call center, a shelter and in the neighborhoods helping with damage assessment, debris removal and home repair.

Others have been in Baton Rouge, assisting with shelter operations and the Louisiana 2-1-1 call center and yet another team was in Hahnville in St. Charles Parish helping collect and distribute donated items to survivors.

FEMA Corps is the result of a new, innovative partnership between FEMA and CNCS. The program aims to enhance the nation’s ability to assist disaster survivors while expanding career opportunities for young people.

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

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AmeriCorps — and New FEMA Corps — Are Assisting Hurricane Isaac Recovery

FEMA Corps Members Begin Work In Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La. — Ninety-nine young adults from across the nation start serving Hurricane Isaac survivors in Louisiana today under their first post-graduate assignment with FEMA Corps, a new program aimed at enhancing the nation’s ability to assist disaster survivors while expanding career opportunities for young people.

FEMA Corps is an innovative partnership between two federal agencies that combines the disaster expertise of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with the service leadership of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and AmeriCorps.

The FEMA Corps members – ages 18 to 24 – will work alongside FEMA’s existing workforce in Louisiana in assisting citizens and communities impacted by Hurricane Isaac. Their assignments range from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovery centers to sharing disaster response and mitigation information with the public.

“As new members of the whole community emergency management team, the work you do in the weeks to come will make a significant contribution to the recovery efforts of Hurricane Isaac survivors,” Mike Hall, FEMA’s federal coordinating officer, told the FEMA Corps members upon their arrival today at the State/FEMA Joint Field Office in Baton Rouge.  “Thank you for dedicating your skills and energies to the people who are still struggling to recover from the storm.”  

Established as a new unit within the existing AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), FEMA Corps engages young adults to provide ten months of full-time service on disaster response and recovery projects. FEMA Corps members in Louisiana received one month of AmeriCorps NCCC training at the AmeriCorps campus in Vicksburg, Miss., followed by FEMA position-specific training.

After completing 1,700 hours of service, each FEMA Corps member will receive a $5,550 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay for tuition or pay student loans.  Members will gain significant training and experience in disaster services that can serve as a pathway to employment in the emergency management profession.
To learn more about FEMA Corps or to apply (individuals aged 18-24), visit the AmeriCorps website at http://www.americorps.gov or FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov.

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

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FEMA Corps Members Begin Work In Louisiana

Iowa Welcomes 230 FEMA Corps Members as They Begin Ten Months of Service Assisting Disaster Survivors

VINTON, Iowa – Two-hundred thirty young adults from across the nation will be sworn in as members of FEMA Corps at an induction ceremony in Iowa today, providing a boost to the nation’s ability to assist disaster survivors while expanding career opportunities for young people.

FEMA Corps is an innovative partnership between two federal agencies that combines the disaster expertise of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with the service leadership of the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and AmeriCorps.

Following a record-breaking year for federally declared disasters in 2011, FEMA Corps was created to enhance the nation’s disaster response and recovery capacity, increase the reliability of the disaster workforce, and provide a pathway for young people to enter the emergency management profession.

Established as a new unit within the existing AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), FEMA Corps engages young adults ages 18 to 24 to provide ten months of full-time service on disaster response and recovery projects. 

The 230 FEMA Corps members being inducted today at AmeriCorps NCCC’s Vinton campus join a similar-sized class sworn in two weeks ago in Vicksburg, Miss., making for an initial corps size of 460 members.

U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, FEMA Deputy Administrator Richard Serino, and CNCS CEO Wendy Spencer, will participate in today’s induction ceremony at the AmeriCorps NCCC campus in Vinton to thank members for their commitment and challenge them for the important work ahead.

“In August of 2008, I had the honor of addressing the very first class of NCCC members at what was then the brand-new Vinton campus.  That spring and summer, Iowa had been hit by relentless downpours, floods of biblical proportions, and disastrous tornadoes.  To have that influx of NCCC members, at that time of dire need, was truly a godsend,” said Harkin, who chairs the Senate appropriations panel that funds AmeriCorps and was integral in bringing NCCC to Iowa.  “Serving others and giving back to our communities are some of the most important things we can do as American citizens.  I commend each member of this new class today and I thank them for their service.”

“When I visit communities devastated by disasters like Joplin, Mo., I always find members of AmeriCorps lending a helping hand to survivors,” said Serino. “Today’s inductees are pioneers – combining the exceptional record of citizen service at AmeriCorps NCCC with FEMA’s specialized mission of supporting survivors with their recovery after a disaster. I commend and thank every member of the inaugural class of FEMA Corps for their dedication to helping communities in need.”

“I commend you for answering the call to serve and making a difference for people and communities in need,” said Spencer.  “As members of the first FEMA Corps class, you are writing a new chapter in the history of national service. You will bring much-needed hope and assistance to disasters survivors at their time of greatest need. As you help others, this year will help you – giving you skills, expanding your opportunities, and setting you on a lifelong path of service to others.”

Today’s induction ceremony marked the end of one month of AmeriCorps NCCC training and the start of FEMA position-specific training. After completing training, members will be deployed to their first assignments, which can range from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovery centers to sharing disaster response and mitigation information with the public.

Some teams are expected to be deployed to the Gulf Coast to respond to recent hurricanes and flooding.  FEMA Corps will supplement FEMA’s existing Reservist workforce in assisting citizens and communities who have been impacted by disasters.

After completing 1,700 hour of service, FEMA Corps members will receive a $5,550 Segal AmeriCorps Education Award to pay for tuition or pay student loans.  Members will gain significant training and experience in disaster services that can serve as a pathway to employment in the emergency management profession.

FEMA Corps members will be based out of five AmeriCorps NCCC campuses across the country: Sacramento, CA; Denver, CO; Vinton, IA; Perry Point, MD; and, Vicksburg, MS. 

To learn more about FEMA Corps or to apply (individuals aged 18-24), visit AmeriCorps website http://www.americorps.gov/about/programs/nccc.asp or FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov.

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 Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than four  million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and other programs, and leads President Obama’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.

 

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Iowa Welcomes 230 FEMA Corps Members as They Begin Ten Months of Service Assisting Disaster Survivors