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Deadline nears for storm victims |
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Saturday, 14 June 2008 |
People affected by the severe storms that produced flooding and tornadoes in Saline County have until Friday, June 20, to file for disaster unemployment assistance.
Because the area was declared a local, state and federal disaster, individuals who have temporarily lost jobs and do not qualify for regular unemployment benefits may be eligible for the assistance.
The first possible week of compensation was May 10 and the last possible week is Nov. 22. So far, 52 applications for such unemployment assistance have been received with funding of $24,203.
People may file claims at the Saline County Department of Workforce office at 309 S. East St. in Benton. People may call the office at 776-2974.
Claims may be filed at the local DWS office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Officials said the office will also provide re-employment assistance where appropriate, and office hours will be extended as needed. To be eligible for benefits, individuals must have worked or have been scheduled to work in the disaster areas, but because of the disaster, they no longer have a job, a place to work in the area or could not get to their place of work because of disaster damage.
They also may qualify if they have been prevented from working because of an injury or illness resulting from the disaster or if they have become head of the household because the head of the household has died as a result the disaster. This benefit may also be available to self-employed individuals who have lost all or part of their livelihood because of the disaster.
Each claim is considered individually; therefore, individuals who believe they may be eligible should bring their Social Security card, the name and address of their last place of employment and documents verifying income such as income tax statements, pay stubs, W-2 forms or 2007 federal income tax forms.
DWS officials said it’s understood that because of property losses some claimants may not have the necessary 2007 income information. Although some delays may result without this information, DWS staff will make every effort to work with DUA claimants to confirm their income information and expedite the claims-taking procedure.
In other disaster-assistance news, the deadline to apply for federal aid is Friday, June 27. That is the last day people may apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the March 26 federal disaster declaration. The April storms were included in that declaration.
“Since the March 26 disaster declaration, more than 12,500 people have registered for assistance,” said Richard Griffin, state coordinating officer for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. “There’s still time for everyone who had damage to register. But don’t put it off any longer.”
Federal Coordinating Officer Ken Riley of FEMA said, “We want people to understand that this deadline is for new disaster applications for the March and April storms.”
Those seeking assistance should call 800-621-FEMA or TTY 800-462-7585 to register. Registration line hours are operational from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily. Applicants also can register online at any time at http://www.fema.gov.
The deadline to submit loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration is also June 27. SBA loan applications reportedly are a key part of the FEMA registration process. If SBA determines homeowners or renters cannot afford a loan, they may be referred for other eligible assistance. Additional information is available at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance or 1-800-659-2955.
Federal disaster aid approved for individuals and businesses in Arkansas affected by the severe storms has reached $17.7 million, state and federal disaster-recovery officials said Friday. Assistance for local and state agencies and certain nonprofit agencies has reached $4.5 million.
According to statistics provided by disaster recover officials, more than 12,500 individuals and households have applied for disaster assistance as of Thursday.
It’s reported that $8.8 million in housing assistance has been approved for rental or temporary lodging and housing repair; $1.4 million in other needs assistance has been approved for personal property loss, medical costs and other serious disaster-related expenses not covered by insurance; 7,352 home inspections have been completed; 4,700 visits to Disaster Recovery Centers have been made by disaster-affected residents seeking recovery information.
Also, public assistance grants totaling $4.5 million have been obligated to date in response to requests from public entities. The SBA has approved $7.5 million in low-interest disaster loans to Arkansas residents and businesses.
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