Receive Disaster Assistance from FEMA? Texans Should Spend Wisely & Well

AUSTIN, Texas ─ Disaster Assistance grants should be used only for disaster-related expenses. That’s the word from state emergency management officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMA recommends money received for repairs to your home due to damage caused by October’s severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding should be used right away. While the assistance is tax free and the grants do not have to be repaid, survivors are reminded to use their funds wisely and solely for recovery.

When a grant is awarded, FEMA sends a letter listing examples of approved uses that include home repair, rental assistance for a different place to live temporarily, and other disaster-related expenses. These include repair or replacement of a flooded essential vehicle or medical care for an injury caused by the disaster. Disaster grants should not be used for regular living expenses, such as utility bills or food, medical or dental expenses not related to the disaster, travel, entertainment, or any other discretionary expenses not disaster-related.

“It’s important that individuals who suffered damages spend the money according to their specific grant,” said FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Kevin L. Hannes. “A letter explaining the purpose for the grant will be sent to the applicant.”

FEMA advises survivors to read the letter carefully, as it explains ways in which the grant money should be used. Recipients are advised to keep receipts from all purchases to show how funds were spent.

Home repair grants and rental assistance from FEMA does not require applicants to apply for a loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). However, an applicant must complete an SBA loan application to be eligible for additional assistance under the Other Needs Assistance (ONA) program that may cover personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses. There are other ONA grants, such as childcare, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses that do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan.

Survivors with questions regarding their application or who have not yet registered for assistance should visit DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline (voice, 711 or relay service) at 800-621-3362. (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 Texas recovery, visit the disaster web page at www.fema.gov/disaster/4245, Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/femaregion6 and the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem.

# # #

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.

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

Link:  

Receive Disaster Assistance from FEMA? Texans Should Spend Wisely & Well

Churches and other nonprofits may rebuild with SBA disaster loans

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Churches, temples, mosques and other religious centers, as well as other private nonprofit organizations affected by wildfires in California’s Calaveras and Lake counties, are eligible to apply for U.S. Small Business Administration low-interest disaster loans to help rebuild. The deadline to apply is Monday, Nov. 23, 2015.

When the President declares a disaster, the SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance is the primary source of federal funds for long-term recovery for businesses of any size, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters for disaster damage not fully covered by insurance or other compensation. SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance is working in conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help survivors recover as much as possible from this disaster.

Eligible private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million with an interest rate of 2.625 percent to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, furniture, fixtures, appliances, equipment, vehicles, other assets and leasehold improvements.

The terms of the loan may be up to 30 years. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition. Interested organizations may apply before their insurance claims are settled.

The SBA loan also may include mitigation funding for improvements to protect against future disaster damage. This amount can be up to 20 percent of the total physical loss, as verified by the SBA.

For more information, nonprofits may call the SBA at 800-659-2955 (TTY) 800-877-8339, visit a disaster recovery center, or go to sba.gov/disaster. To locate the nearest disaster recovery center, go to fema.gov/drc. Or, nonprofits may apply directly on SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Registration with FEMA is also recommended; call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Online registration is available at DisasterAssistance.gov.

 

Churches and other nonprofits may rebuild with SBA disaster loans

Churches and other nonprofits also should investigate sources of aid from charitable agencies, volunteer groups and private donors.

For more information on California’s wildfire recovery, visit: caloes.ca.gov or fema.gov/disaster/4240 and follow us on Twitter @femaregion9 at Facebook.com/FEMA and on Twitter @Cal_OES at Facebook.com/CaliforniaOES.

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.

###

Credit: 

Churches and other nonprofits may rebuild with SBA disaster loans

FEMA Registration Deadline Now Just Two Weeks Away

NORTH LITTLE ROCK – Residents of nine Arkansas counties who suffered damage from the severe storms of May 7 through June 15, 2015, have only about two weeks’ left to register for disaster assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The deadline to register for disaster assistance is Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015.

Individuals and families who suffered losses as a result of the late spring storms may register online at www.disasterassistance.gov; those without access to the internet can call FEMA’s toll-free registration number, 800-621-3362 (FEMA). Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 800-462-7585 directly; those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS) call 1-800-621-3362.

The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available.

Residents of Crawford, Garland, Howard, Jefferson, Little River, Miller, Perry, Sebastian and Sevier counties may be eligible for federal disaster assistance. That assistance can include money for rental assistance, essential home repairs, personal property loss and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance.

Low-interest disaster loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) are available to help with residential and business losses not covered by insurance. The SBA is the federal government’s primary source of money for the 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.

For more information on SBA programs, 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 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.

Original link – 

FEMA Registration Deadline Now Just Two Weeks Away

SBA Disaster Loans Are Important To Your Full Recovery

TRENTON, N.J. — After a disaster, a lot happens—some things more quickly than others. One thing that is consistent is there are a number of assistance programs that disaster survivors can apply for and there are insurance claims to be made.

You may first seek assistance from insurance. But you may find that insurance does not cover everything. Unfortunately, you may find this out months later when other options for funding, such as Small Business Administration disaster loans, may no longer be available.

Next to insurance, an SBA disaster loan may be the primary source for funds for home repairs and replacement of personal property following a disaster. You can get a loan of up to $200,000 before you settle with your insurance company and use the SBA money to fix your home. You can also borrow an additional $40,000 to help pay for things like furniture, clothes and vehicles that were damaged and not covered by homeowner’s or renter’s insurance.

There is another important reason to return your SBA application. In the event you return your application and you are denied an SBA home loan, you then might be eligible to receive other assistance from FEMA such as money to replace personal property. In most cases, you cannot receive this type of assistance from FEMA without being denied an SBA loan first.

But none of these options are available if you don’t return your SBA application. To take advantage of this help, you must get your loan application to the SBA by the March 1 deadline.

For additional information on SBA low-interest disaster loans, contact the SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955 or TTY 800-877-8339, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov or visiting sba.gov. SBA customer service representatives are available at all disaster recovery centers throughout the state. Centers can be found online at fema.gov/DRC.

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.

SBA’s Disaster Assistance Program provides long term, low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and businesses of all sizes. For more information, visit www.sba.gov. All SBA’s program and services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis.

Continue reading:

SBA Disaster Loans Are Important To Your Full Recovery

As Disaster Aid Deadline Approaches, Online Storm Help Continues

As Disaster Aid Deadline Approaches, Online Storm Help Continues 

Release Date: April 26, 2012
Release Number: 4058-037

» More Information on Indiana Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — With the May 8 registration deadline less than two weeks away, The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security point out that storm recovery help is available online. Hoosiers affected by severe storms from Feb. 29 through March 3 in Clark, Jefferson, Ripley, Scott, Warrick and Washington counties may visit FEMA’s virtual Disaster Assistance Center, www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

Some of the online resources available include:

Personal account

To go directly to the section of the website where Hoosiers can learn the status of their individual FEMA registration, visit: www.disasterassistance.gov/DAC/govBenefitReceiver.do?langcode=EN&action=LOGIN.

Visitors must have a Disaster Assistance Account to access their registration. Those who have registered online may have already created an account. Other applicants may create accounts by clicking the “create my account” link located on the bottom of the page.

Questionnaire for customizing resources for your unique situation

By responding to an anonymous 11-question survey on the Disaster Assistance website, Hoosiers may learn which online resources are available in their unique situations. Depending on the combination of responses, a list of resources is automatically generated. The list may include home and personal property disaster loans, unemployment assistance and mortgage insurance. To locate the survey, visit: www.disasterassistance.gov/disaster-assistance/questionnaire#benefits&qc=cat_8.

Help After a Disaster booklet

FEMA’s recovery booklet “Help After a Disaster, Applicant’s Guide to the Individuals & Households Program” is also available through the Disaster Assistance website. The publication includes an overview of FEMA programs for individuals and families, as well as an extensive guide, beginning on page 21, explaining the meaning of letters about ineligibility and appeals decisions. For more details about these and other key recovery points, Hoosiers may access the Help After a Disaster booklet online by visiting: http://www.fema.gov/pdf/assistance/process/help_after_disaster_english.pdf.

General recovery guidelines

Additionally, the disaster assistance website features recovery information about topics ranging from smart ways to salvage household items and rebuild to guidelines for taking photos of damaged property and other suggestions for filing an insurance claim. This information can be accessed by logging onto: www.disasterassistance.gov/disaster-information/your-home.

Listing of resources

The disaster assistance website includes links to helpful federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Loan application forms from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can be downloaded from www.sba.gov and submitted online at: https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. To access the list of agencies, visit:

www.disasterassistance.gov/disaster-assistance/browse-by-federal-agency.

Apply for FEMA assistance: May 8 is the last day to register

May 8 is the last day storm-impacted Indiana residents can register for federal recovery assistance. Online registration is possible through www.DisasterAssistance.gov or www.fema.gov. Registering is also possible by calling the toll free telephone registration phone line, (800) 621-FEMA (3362). This number is also a help line through which applicants can ask questions and verify information. For speech-or hearing-impaired applicants, the TTY number is (800) 462-7585 and Video Relay Service may be accessed at (800) 621-3362. These lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

May 8 is also the last day to submit SBA loan applications for physical property damage. Assistance is available through SBA’s Customer Service Center. The toll-free number is (800) 659-2955. Individuals with hearing impairments may call (800) 877-8339. The email address for the Customer Service Center is disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Completed applications may be mailed to:

U.S. Small Business Administration
Processing and Disbursement Center
14925 Kingsport Road
Fort Worth, TX 76155.

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: Thursday, 26-Apr-2012 16:23:38

Visit source: