grants

Misinformation about Federal Emergency Management Agency resources has taken over social media, worrying many residents in North Carolina who are still looking for aid. FEMA spokespeople said there is still plenty of money and agents to go around, even with Milton approaching Florida as a major hurricane.La-Tanga Hopes, a FEMA spokesperson for Western North Carolina, said rumors online make it difficult for FEMA to get families the help they need. She said misinformation isn’t helping with building trust in the community.”Funding has been made available for North Carolina, and they need not worry about Milton,” Hopes said. “There are some people that are going to take care of everything that’s happening with that new disaster.”FEMA does have a deadline of Nov. 27, 2024, for North Carolina Hurricane Helene applications, but as with other storms in the past, it could be extended. The agency announced the Boone recovery center will close on Oct. 12.One expert from the University of North Carolina says it is the shared responsibility of social media users, platforms and government agencies to squash misconceptions. “In the same way that there are those who are out intentionally trying to mislead people for political purposes, we have an opportunity and really an obligation to one another to make sure that our affected friends and neighbors do have reliable information,” said Meredith D. Clark, associate professor of race and political communication at UNC Hussman. Claim: FEMA will reallocate resources away from North Carolina to Florida or foreign efforts.Fact: FEMA said resources are not moving from Western North Carolina until claims are closed. Floridians impacted by Hurricane Milton will have their own FEMA agents to address their claims and allocate funding to them. Claim: FEMA will take away your home or property if you file a claim.Fact: “FEMA is not interested in your property other than helping you restore and rebuild it,” Hopes said. “FEMA is not an income driven agency, and what I mean by that is this: there is money being made available to you in the form of a cash grant.”FEMA said getting denied after submitting a claim may be the result of not providing enough documentation, and field agents may be able to connect families to resources to track the status of their report.Claim: FEMA is not helping on the ground.Fact: FEMA said they have crews across Western North Carolina. Tracey said FEMA, along with military operations, were authorized by the federal government to assist in search-and-rescue operations units and disaster survivor response teams. Temporary centers for assistance are being implemented in each county so residents can follow up on the status of their claims. Calling their hotline 1-800-621-3362 will get you connected to an agent and allow you to start your application for assistance if you haven’t already. Jann Tracey, a FEMA spokesperson in Avery County, said that, for those without internet, calling over the phone or speaking with an agent face-to-face is the best option.”Talking to somebody one-on-one is really helpful,” she said. “Rather than just talking to your neighbors and getting rumors and not getting after the information, that’s the ideal way.”Claim: FEMA is taking away food and donations from distribution sites.Fact: They said food and water resources delivered to distribution sites in many counties have been dropped off by FEMA resources. Just because someone working at distribution sites or fire stations is not wearing a FEMA polo shirt does not mean the work was not authorized by FEMA, Tracey said.Claim: FEMA is only giving residents $750 in aid and withholding funding from North Carolina.Fact: The initial funding you can request from FEMA is $750 for necessities, food and water, but that does not exclude you from getting more funding and submitting an application for aid. There is a cap on funding that FEMA can provide, but Hopes told us the agency will defer to state and other resources to provide aid until claims are closed, and that is not expected to happen soon. “They need to reassure people that withholding aid, especially on the basis of partisanship, isn’t a practice of the federal government,” said Clark. “And then, they need to provide people with a way to check honestly, verify, that what they are saying is true.”FEMA said it will never ask for money from disaster survivors and that you should report anyone trying to get you to pay for aid.