Are You Eligible for FEMA's Individual Assistance?
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Release Date: March 21, 2006
Release Number: 1606-160
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AUSTIN, Texas -- Individuals, families and businesses may be eligible for federal assistance if they live, own a business, or work in a county declared a Major Disaster Area, incur sufficient property damage or loss, and, depending on the type of assistance, do not have the insurance or other resources to meet their needs.
The Individuals and Households Program (IHP) is a combined program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the state. When a major disaster occurs, this program provides money and services to people in the declared area whose property has been damaged or destroyed and whose losses are not covered by insurance.
What Types of Assistance Are Provided?
The IHP Housing Assistance assures that people whose homes are damaged by disaster have a safe place to live. The IHP Other Needs Assistance (ONA) provides financial assistance to individuals and households who have other disaster-related necessary expenses or serious needs such as medical, funeral or transportation costs and do not qualify for a low-interest loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). These programs are designed to provide funds for expenses that are not covered by insurance. They are available only to homeowners and renters who are United States citizens, non-citizen nationals, or qualified aliens affected by the disaster. The following types of assistance are offered to eligible applicants.
Temporary Housing Homeowners and renters receive funds to rent a different place to live or a temporary housing unit when rental properties are not available.
Repair Homeowners receive grants to repair damage from the disaster that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to make the damaged home safe and sanitary.
Replacement Under rare conditions, homeowners receive limited funds to replace their disaster-damaged home.
Other Needs Assistance (ONA) Applicants receive grants for necessary and serious needs caused by the disaster. This includes medical, dental, funeral, personal property, transportation, moving and storage, and other expenses that FEMA approves. The homeowner may need to apply for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan before receiving assistance.
Small Business Administration Disaster Loans
The SBA offers low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and non-profit organizations that have sustained damages and are not fully covered by insurance or other compensation.
SBA also offers low-interest working capital loans (called Economic Injury Disaster Loans) to small businesses.
Disaster Unemployment Assistance
The Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) program provides unemployment benefits and re-employment services to individuals who have become unemployed because of major disasters.
Legal Services
When the President declares a disaster, FEMA, through an agreement with the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association, provides free legal assistance to disaster victims.
Special Tax Considerations
Taxpayers who have sustained a casualty loss from a declared disaster may deduct that loss on the federal income tax return for the year in which the casualty actually occurred, or elect to deduct the loss on the tax return for the preceding tax year.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can expedite refunds due to taxpayers in a federally declared disaster area. An expedited refund can be a relatively quick source of cash, does not need to be repaid, and does not need an Individual Assistance declaration. It is available to any taxpayer in a federally declared disaster area.
Crisis Counseling
The Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) is designed to provide supplemental funding to states for short-term crisis counseling services to people affected in presidentially declared disasters.
To be eligible for crisis counseling services funded by this program, the person must be a resident of the designated area or must have been located in the area at the time the disaster occurred. The person must also have a mental health problem which was caused by or aggravated by the disaster or its aftermath, or he or she must benefit from services provided by the program.
In every case, the disaster victim must register for assistance and establish eligibility. The toll-free telephone registration number is 1- 800-621-FEMA (or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing or speech impaired). FEMA or the providing agency will verify eligibility and need before assistance is offered.
Each federal agency that provides federal financial assistance is responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination in the use of its funds. If you believe that you or others protected by Civil Rights laws have been discriminated against in receiving disaster assistance, you may contact the FEMA's Equal Rights Office (ERO), which has the job of ensuring equal access to all FEMA disaster programs. The ERO will attempt to resolve your issues.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 16-May-2006 18:56:47