Sept. 21, 2016
DR-4277-LA
NR-065
News Desk: 225-382-1607
SBA: 916-764-9918
News Release
Understand the Process for Continued Housing Assistance
BATON ROUGE, La. – If you’re a disaster survivor who wants to extend temporary housing assistance from FEMA it’s important to provide the proper documents in order to make your request.
If you’re eligible for an extension, you may use temporary housing assistance to pay for a place to live, such as a house, apartment, hotel or recreational vehicle. The assistance covers rent, security deposit and essential utilities like electricity and water.
To continue receiving temporary housing assistance, you have to complete and submit the following paperwork to FEMA that demonstrates you have a disaster-related and financial need:
- A completed form FEMA provides you. Contact FEMA if you haven’t received a form.
- A copy of your lease.
- Receipts showing proper use of the federal disaster housing assistance you’ve received.
- Current household income status.
- Any household financial obligations.
Keep your contact information current so you receive correspondence from FEMA. Update information online at disasterassistance.gov or by downloading and using the FEMA app. You may also call FEMA’s helpline at 800-621-3362. If you use TTY, call 800-462-7585. If you use 711 or Video Relay Service, call 800-621-3362.
The state and FEMA encourage you to develop a permanent housing plan while you’re receiving temporary housing assistance. Free assistance and tools are available to help you find more permanent housing if you’re having difficulty creating a plan. Just call the FEMA helpline or visit a Louisiana Disaster Recovery Center. Locate your closest center by going to fema.gov/drc or by calling the FEMA helpline.
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Monitor DOTD’s www.511la.org website for updated road closure information. You can find the latest information on the state’s response at www.emergency.la.gov. GOHSEP also provides information on Facebook and Twitter. You can receive emergency alerts on most smartphones and tablets by downloading the new Alert FM App. It is free for basic service. You can also download the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide and find other information at www.getagameplan.org.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY, call 800-462-7585. If you use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 800-621-3362.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website at SBA.gov/disaster Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call 800-877-8339.
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Federal Emergency Management Agency, Office of External Affairs 500 C Street, S.W, Washington, DC 20472 United States