Wilma Victims Eligible For Disaster Legal Services
Volunteer lawyers offer free phone consultations
Release Date: November 11, 2005
Release Number: 1609-020
» More Information on Florida Hurricane Wilma
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Volunteer lawyers from across the state of Florida are available to provide free legal assistance to citizens affected by Hurricane Wilma. To be eligible for the assistance, individuals must not have a lawyer or the resources to hire a lawyer, must live in one of the 13 counties designated for Individual Assistance programs and must need legal assistance as a direct result of Hurricane Wilma.
For example, the volunteer attorneys can handle questions regarding insurance claims, landlord/tenant issues, general consumer issues, and replacement of wills and other important documents destroyed or lost. Persons in need of such legal help are urged to contact the Disaster Legal Assistance toll-free hotline, 1-866-550-2929, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays.
The legal assistance program is implemented by the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division under agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The Young Lawyers Division of The Florida Bar is coordinating these efforts in Florida. Disaster legal services are intended for people who do not have a lawyer or cannot afford one.
Individuals calling the legal assistance hotline should be prepared to discuss their particular problems and provide a phone number where they may be reached. All information will be kept in strict confidence. Once it receives this information, The Florida Bar will contact a lawyer about the inquiry. The volunteer attorney will respond by phone and explain to the citizen what the laws are regarding his or her particular situation.
The counties designated for Individual Assistance in the wake of Hurricane Wilma are Brevard, Broward, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Indian River, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie. For other forms of disaster assistance, victims living in these counties are urged to contact the FEMA registration number, 1-800-621-3362. For the speech or hearing impaired, call TTY 1-800-462-7586.
The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida’s state agencies led by the state coordinating officer. SERT’s mission is to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impacts. Visit www.floridadisaster.org for the latest information on the hurricane relief efforts.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003. For more information visit www.fema.gov.
Last Modified: Monday, 14-Nov-2005 13:06:39