Crisis Counseling Available to Massac, Tazewell County Tornado Survivors

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – While Massac and Tazewell county residents are working to recover following the Nov. 17 tornadoes, many of them also need to recover emotionally.

Free help is available for tornado survivors who feel mentally overwhelmed, exhausted or unable to cope.

The Illinois Strong Crisis Counselor Program is a FEMA funded initiative that provides emotional support, recovery education, recovery resource information and coping tips for Massac and Tazewell county survivors.

Services provided in this partnership include a toll-free hotline telephone number during these critical times.

Survivors in Massac and Tazewell counties who are emotionally affected shouldn’t hesitate to call crisis counseling representatives at 800-985-5990 or TTY 800-846-8517 for help. The number operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice.

Nov. 17 tornado survivors may overlook the signs of emotional stress while they work to rebuild their lives. While individuals respond to stress in different ways, emotional distress following disasters can make the recovery process more difficult.

For the latest information on Illinois’ recovery from the Nov. 17 storms, visit FEMA.gov/Disaster/4157. Follow FEMA online at twitter.com/femaregion5, facebook.com/fema and youtube.com/fema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

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-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.

SBA is the federal government’s primary source of funding 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 uninsured and uncompensated losses and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For information about SBA programs, applicants may call 800-659-2955 (TTY 800-877-8339).

FEMA News Desk: 217-522-2080

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Crisis Counseling Available to Massac, Tazewell County Tornado Survivors

Brown County Approved for FEMA Public Assistance

AURORA, Ill. –  FEMA announced Friday that it has approved Governor Pat Quinn’s request to make public assistance available in Brown County to help cover the costs that county and local governments and certain non-profits face because of response and damages incurred in the storms and flooding of April 16 to May 5.

Brown County already was one of 33 counties designated for individual assistance to its residents for their damages. It becomes the 40th Illinois county eligible for public assistance, which is a cost-sharing program with FEMA providing 75 percent of eligible costs. State and local governments are responsible for the remainder.

Categories of eligible work that may be funded by FEMA are debris removal, emergency protective measures, repair or replacement of roads and bridges, water control facilities, buildings and equipment, utilities, and parks and recreational facilities.

Counties now designated for public assistance are Adams, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Clark, Crawford, DuPage, Fulton, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lawrence, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Ogle, Peoria, Pike, Putnam, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, Will and Woodford.

Counties designated for individual assistance are Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Clark, Cook, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Kane, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Mason, McDonough, McHenry, Peoria, Pike, Rock Island, Schuyler, Stark, Tazewell, Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford. Individuals in these counties can register online at www.disasterassistance.gov or via web-enabled phone at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. People who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. For more information visit the Illinois Disaster website www.fema.gov/disaster/4116.

Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages.

The deadline to register for FEMA disaster assistance is Tuesday, July 9.

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 twitter.com/femaregion5, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at twitter.com/craigatfema. The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Media Contact: 571-408-1835

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Brown County Approved for FEMA Public Assistance