What’s the Next Step? October
4, 2005
Assistance
from the American Red Cross is meant to provide for your short-term needs until
you receive longer-term help from FEMA and
other sources. This guide has been created to give you information about
the next steps in receiving help for you and your family. Most of these resources are
available whether you were affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.
If you need housing
or money for your living needs:
FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency)
1-800-621-FEMA (3362) People with
speech or hearing disabilities call TTY 1-800-462-7585.
FEMA offers many assistance programs to people
affected by Hurricane Katrina – it is very important to register with FEMA
if you have not already done so.
1-800-621-FEMA (3362)
TTY
1-800-462-7585 for people with
speech or hearing disabilities.
Individuals
and Households Program
Expedited Assistance – In the days
and weeks after Hurricane Katrina, FEMA issued $2000 to applicants to help make small purchases to begin their
recovery. FEMA is no longer issuing this assistance to those affected by
Katrina.
Temporary Housing –Renters and
homeowners You may receive up to 18 months
assistance in the form of money to rent a different place to live, or if rental
housing is not available, a temporary housing unit (such as a mobile home or
trailer). FEMA’s Expedited
Assistance Transitional Housing program is part of
the Temporary Housing program. It will
give families eligible for Temporary Housing a first three-month rental assistance
payment in the amount of $2358. This
first three months is included in the 18 month limit for Temporary Housing
assistance.
Repair – Homeowners You may
receive up to $5200 for homeowners to repair disaster
damage not covered by insurance. If you need
additional repair assistance, you must apply for a Small Business
Administration Disaster Loan (see below).
Replacement
– If you are a homeowner, you Homeowners may receive up to $10,500 to
help replace a primary residence destroyed by the disaster, when other
forms of disaster assistance do not meet your housing needs. .
If you need additional help repairing or
restoring your home, FEMA will refer you
for a of personal propertySmall Business
Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan -- see below.
Other Needs Assistance – Through this program, you may receive
help with You can get help with disaster-related
replacing Personal Property, Transportation, Medical, and Dental, Funeral, or
Burial Expenses, and Funeral and
Burial Expenses. You may also receive help with replacing Personal Property or a disaster
damaged vehicle, -- but first you may need
to apply
and be to apply and be found ineligible for a Small Business Administration Disaster Loan -- (see
below).
Facilitated Relocation – If you were
displaced by Hurricane Katrina, FEMA may be
able to help you with transportation to reunite
with family members or to relocate to a place where you have arranged for
longer term housing. Call FEMA for more information about program
requirements and to find out if you are eligible.
Remember these
important points about FEMA assistance:
·
Total
assistance available: FEMA will not give you more than $26,200 total assistance for Expedited
Assistance, Temporary
Housing, Repair, Replacement, andor Other Needs Assistance.
·
FEMA
only provides
assistance for expenses that your personal insurance does not cover.
·
FEMA
cannot consider you for Other Needs Assistance (give you
additional help with replacing
Personal Property or a
disaster-damaged vehicle , Transportation, Medical and Dental Expenses, and Funeral and Burial Expenses) unless you are denied a found
ineligible for a Small Business Administration Loan. If you have these kinds of
additional disaster-related needs and you
receive a loan application, , it’s
important for you to fill it out and return it to the SBA.
the loan application.
Important
points about FEMA assistance (continued):
·
You
must be a citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien of the United
States to get help from FEMA. If you are not a citizen, but you are the parent
or guardian of a citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified alien, FEMA can
help you. FEMA
does not collect information on immigration status. FEMA will not
give information about your immigration status to any other government agency.
·
You
can appeal any decision FEMA makes about your case. Read your FEMA letter or cCall FEMA
to ask about the appeals process.
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Disaster
Customer Service Center: 1-800-659-2955
or 1-800-877-8339 for those who are hearing impaired.
Disaster Loans
Disaster
Customer Service Center: 1-800-659-2955
Call 1-800-877-8339 for people with speech or hearing disabilities.
If you have additional disaster-related real or
personal property needs after receiving assistance from the Individuals
and Households program, and you seem to have the ability to repay a loan, FEMA
may will refer you for a Small Business
Administration loan.
Personal Property Loans -- Renters and Homeowners
may borrow up to $40,000 to repair or replace clothing, furniture, cars or
appliances damaged or destroyed by the disaster.
Real Property Loans – Homeowners may
borrow up to $200,000 to repair or restore a main residence to its pre-disaster
condition.
Department of
Housing and Development (HUD)
HUD has
established a single toll-free housing hotline: 1-888-297-8685
HUD
Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program --
Housing
vouchers will be given to evacuees who were previously in HUD-assisted housing
programs (such as Section 8) or are homeless as a result of Katrina but are
otherwise ineligible for FEMA assistance. These vouchers give evacuees the
choice and flexibility they need to find housing for 18 months.
Public
Assistance
If
you were receiving public assistance before the disaster, or need to apply now,
the
following numbers can refer you to the appropriate state agencies. contact your state social services departmentCall local information for states not
listed below:
Louisiana: 1-88800-LA-HELP-U
(1-88800-524-3578) Mississippi: (601) 359-4500
/ 1-800-345-6347
Texas: Call 2-1-1 in Texas Alabama: 1-866-465-2285 Florida: 1-866-76ACCES
(1-866-762-2237)
Florida: 1-866-76ACCES (1-866-762-2237) Georgia: 1-866-752-3442 Alabama: 1-888-658-6585
The American Red
Cross
Financial
Assistance & RecoveryFinancial Assistance &
Recovery
Hurricane Katrina survivors those affected
by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita with one-time emergency financial assistance to meet urgent needs until
state and federal aid is available. To qualify for financial assistance, you must have a pre-disaster
address that is verified by the Red Cross to be in an
affected area. Survivors can register for emergency financial
assistance You can register 24 hours a day
by calling toll-free 1-800-975-7585.
Temporary
Housing Assistance
Temporary
Housing Assistance
The Red Cross has a temporary housing assistance
program to help families who are staying in hotels. Families in hotels who are
in need of (continued) temporary housing assistance should contact hotel front
desk staff to arrange to extend their stay, if space is available. Evacuees
will be asked for evidence of their pre-disaster address, which must be in a
ZIP code presidentially declared as a disaster area. To find out more about
Temporary Housing Assistance call 1-866-GET-INFO (1-866-438-4636) or contact your local Red Cross chapter.
Other Housing Options
The
following resources on the Internet contain searchable lists of
available short or longer-term housing:
Disaster Housing
Resources KatrinaHousing.org
On the
Internet: www.dhronline.org On the
Internet: www.KatrinaHousing.org
By phone: 1-800-917-3490
If you need to locatefind a missing family member, or if you need help reuniting with your family:
Persons looking for loved ones can call 1-877-LOVED 1S (1-877-568-3317) or go
to Katrina Safe on the internet at www.katrinasafe.org.
If you are searching for someone who is missing or are caring
for a child who is separated from his or her family, please call the National
Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s Katrina/Rita Missing Persons Hotline at 1-888-544-5475 or
go to www.missingkids.com
on the internet.
If you are
unemployed due to Hurricane Katrina or Rita:
Unemployment Insurance/Disaster
Unemployment Assistance
Unemployment Insurance provides up to 26 weeks assistance. States give
different weekly amounts.
Disaster
Unemployment Assistance is also available for self-employed
and newly employed who are ineligible for Unemployment Insurance. Remember – to be considered for Disaster
Unemployment assistance you must first register for and be found ineligible for
regular Unemployment Insurance.
To learn about filingfile a claim
for Unemployment Insurance, or or to learn about Disaster
Unemployment Assistance call:
The Department of Labor’s National
Contact Center at 1-866-4-USA-DOL (1-866-487-2365)
Or call the following state hotlines --
Texas: 1-800-939-6631 Mississippi: 1-888-844-3577
Louisiana: 1-800-818-7811 or
1-800-430-8076 Florida: 1-866-FLA-2345 (1-866-352-2345)
Alabama: 1-866-234-5382
The following
internet resources contain searchable lists of job openings: If you need help finding a job:
Hurricane
Recovery Job Connection
On the Internet www.jobsearch.org/hurricanejobs
Department of
Labor Career One-Stop Center
On the
Internet at www.careeronestop.org, or call 1-877-US-2JOBS (1-877-872-5627)Jobs 4 Recovery -- US Chamber of Commerce.
On
the Internet at www.jobs4recovery.com
If you are feeling confused, upset, or alone and need someone to talk to:
Call 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255), to be connected to
a network of local crisis centers across the country. You will receive
counseling from trained staff at the closest certified crisis center in the
network. You can call at any time from anywhere in the nation to talk to a
trained worker who will listen to you and assist you in getting the help you
need. You will be provided with immediate access to local resources, referrals
and expertise. This service is provided through the Department of Health and
Human Services.
