Categories
Small Business Funding

FEMA in Jefferson Parish helping neighbors with disaster relief [Video]

Neighbors in Jefferson Parish are finally starting to see movement with help in their rebuilding process following Hurricane Francine. Its because Federal Emergency Management Agency professionals were on the ground in Kenner Wednesday, knocking on doors and taking applications from people who need help due to damages received from the storm. Kenner happened to be the area in Jefferson Parish where homes received the most damage. This is why residents qualify for individual assistance from FEMA. Orilla Morgan is a resident of Kenner who said Hurricane Francine destroyed everything she and her family had. Most of the neighbors on her block shared the same experience. When the water began to rise, I was like, ‘We are not about to relive Katrina, right?’ We didnt know what to expect. The water was just rising constantly. “In my house, it was to your calves, so it was a lot of water in the house. I lost everything: furniture, clothes. I want to say 60% of us lost our cars on this block, Morgan said. It’s why it was somewhat a sense of relief to learn FEMA professionals were finally door-knocking on her block and offering to help.We was confident that we were not in danger, but when it happened, it was tragedy for all of us, Morgan said. More than 500 homes in Kenner received some form of damage due to Francine. Keith Jones, whos a FEMA spokesperson, said its why, on Wednesday, FEMAs disaster relief professionals started taking applications in person to get the process rolling for assistance.It depends on how much damage you have. We helped the uninsured as well as the underinsured. Depending on the damage, there are maximums out there, theyre a little over $38,000, Jones said. Depending on the severity of damage, that will determine the type of help people qualify to receive.If you cant live in your home, we can give you — we can help you with temporary housing. If you were dislocated for the storm, we can help pay back some of those hotel, bills or cost of staying with other family members. Theres damage cleaning out there. Theres also rental assistance if you are not able to live in your home for an extended period of time, Jones said. Theres also multiple ways for people to apply for assistance. So theres four ways to apply. You can go to disasterassistance.gov, call 1-800-621-3362, you can use the FEMA app or apply in person like these DSA people in the field. We will be here until this is done, Jones said. Within the last week, FEMA has had 38,000 people apply and they have already awarded $18 million to survivors. Jones said it’s important to note people must answer their phones after filing an application even from a nonlocal area code. The sooner people answer the phone, the sooner they can get a FEMA adjuster out, and that will speed up the process of getting a payout. For people who wish to apply in person, there are two disaster relief centers not far from Jefferson Parish. There’s a disaster relief center in Ascension that will open Friday and one in St. James Parish that will open Saturday. Lastly, Jones said people can also receive help by applying for a loan with the U.S. Small Business Administration. They are handing out loans to homeowners for under 4% if you qualify for disaster relief.