FEMA Update for Nov. 28th, 2018

The following is a FEMA Disaster Recovery Update for November 28th, 2018.

FEMA Extending Public Assistance to Houses of Worship is Welcome News to Religious Leaders in Northwest Florida –

Religious leaders whose houses of worship were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Michael can apply for FEMA’s Public Assistance program, as many continue to contribute to their communities’ recovery despite their own losses.

More than 100 leaders traveled through devastated communities in mid-November to hear about the January 2018 federal rules change that allows houses of worship to be eligible for federal Public Assistance without regard to their secular or religious nature. The theme of the summits was “The critical role of faith-based organizations in community response and recovery after disasters.”

“I am praying like all the rest of you that this will help us,” said Dr. Michael Claunch, senior pastor of St. Andrews Baptist Church which was host to the first summit in Panama City and attended by about 60 leaders. A second summit Friday afternoon was held at Riverwood Community Church in Marianna with approximately 50 attending.

“I am your biggest fan because, around the world, I have seen what faith-based communities can do,” said Kevin Smith, who conducted the two summits engaging the religious leaders with disaster specialists from the State of Florida and FEMA.

Smith is the director of the Faith and Opportunity Initiatives for the Department of Homeland Security. The Land of Lakes, Fla. resident served as state director for the Salvation Army for 16 years through many disasters. He and the disaster team urged the leaders to apply for Public Assistance before the Dec. 14th deadline.

The rules change, contained in the federal budget that passed in January, made houses of worship owned or operated by private nonprofit organizations eligible applicants for Public Assistance.

Houses of worship interested in receiving reimbursement for repair costs must first submit a Request for Public Assistance through the State of Florida at https://floridapa.org

Houses of worship who have questions about the Public Assistance request process can also email rpa.help@em.myflorida.com

FEMA will provide financial assistance for repair costs not covered by insurance or the SBA loan. FEMA
may still provide PA funding if the house of worship is denied a loan or if the loan is insufficient to cover
repair costs.

Houses of worship deemed eligible for Public Assistance are still subject to the 25 percent non-federal cost
share and must apply for a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan as do other private nonprofits.
“Submitting a Request for Public Assistance will get the Public Assistance process started,” Smith told the
leaders.

The FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center located in a tent at John B. Gore Park in Callaway has relocated into the Callaway Community Center. There was no interruption in service. – see below

Submit Your Insurance Settlement Information to FEMA
- If you’ve applied for disaster assistance and haven’t reported your insurance settlement to FEMA, do so as soon as possible.
- Contact your insurance company and request a settlement letter that details exactly your insurance settlement.
- Then upload the settlement letter to your account at DisasterAssistance.gov, or via fax: 800-827-8112. You can also take the document to a disaster recovery center.

Use your disaster assistance wisely
- When FEMA awards a grant, it sends along specific guidelines on how the funds are to be used.
- Expenses must be directly related to losses, damage or temporary living expenses caused by Hurricane Michael.
- After every major disaster, FEMA may conduct random audits to see how the grants are spent and can require repayment if funds were not spent appropriately.

FEMA is hiring
- FEMA is hiring people who live in areas affected by Hurricane Michael to join our recovery team as temporary employees. Hiring temporary staff locally allows FEMA to diversify the workforce while affording opportunities for survivors to help other survivors. Jobs are available in Tallahassee, Panama City and other areas in Florida recovering from Hurricane Michael. Interested applicants can view open positions on gov, and search using keywords “FEMA” or “local hire” and “Florida” in the location field.

The Emergency Prescription Assistance Program (EPAP) for survivors who do not have health insurance has been extended to Dec 15. EPAP covers prescription drugs, vaccines and other medical supplies damaged in the hurricane. A list of more than 72,000 participating pharmacies where claims can be filled is available at the HHS website

The application deadline for Disaster Unemployment Assistance is Friday, 7. DUA is available to Florida residents and businesses in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington counties. DUA is available for unemployment beginning October 14, 2018 until April 13, 2019, as long as the individual’s unemployment continues to be a result of the disaster. Find more information about application criteria at www.floridajobs.org.

Stay in Touch with FEMA

Contact FEMA if you have any updates or changes to your application for disaster assistance, including access to your primary home, utility service, and current location.
Visit DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585) to update your application.

Don’t wait to clean up and make repairs to your flood-damaged home

Take photos or videos of all damage before you start cleaning or repairing your property and save your receipts for any clean up or repairs. An inspector will contact you to arrange an inspection. Inspections are free.

Temporary Housing

FEMA contractors have begun placing the first travel trailers on private sites. Direct housing is temporary. These units are not permanent dwellings. FEMA staff will meet with survivors regularly to determine their continued eligibility and demonstrated needs and assist them in developing a permanent housing plan.
The state-led Florida Housing Task Force surveyed available rental resources in the hurricane-impacted counties and found rental housing resources were insufficient to meet the high demand for housing in Bay, Calhoun, Gadsden, Gulf and Jackson On Oct. 28, FEMA authorized the Direct Temporary Housing Assistance Program for these counties.

Direct Temporary Housing Assistance is available to eligible applicants whose primary residence is uninhabitable if FEMA determines that eligible applicants cannot use financial Rental Assistance due to a lack of available housing resources in the area.
Direct housing is just one form of temporary housing assistance being provided by the state and federal agencies. Many survivors have received grants for basic repairs and rental assistance, and temporary roofs provided by the Corps of Engineers.
Obtaining a travel trailer or manufactured housing unit is not an automatic process. Eligibility must be determined after survivors apply for assistance and according to guidelines developed and approved by the state of Florida and FEMA.
Additional phone interviews are being conducted to determine applicants who are identified and qualified for direct housing assistance.
As individual eligibility for direct temporary housing is determined, sites to place the units are inspected to assess feasibility for placement.
Installation of a temporary housing unit includes:
- Site preparation
- Placement of the unit
- Anchoring of the unit
- Utilities hookup
- Compliance with local permitting and completion of final inspection
Once installation of the unit is complete, an occupancy inspection will take place. When the unit passes inspection, it is ready for occupancy. At that point, the applicant will sign a license-in agreement to occupy the unit while they work on their permanent housing plan.
Direct housing is temporary. These units are not permanent dwellings. FEMA staff will meet with survivors regularly to determine their continued eligibility and demonstrated needs and assist them in developing a permanent housing plan.
To remain eligible, survivors must demonstrate continuing progress on a permanent housing plan. FEMA staff will keep survivors up to date on program details and deadlines through face-to-face meetings, phone calls and letters.

FEMA Individuals and Assistance Programs

Eligible Counties

Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadson, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Taylor, Wakulla and Washington

Individuals & Households

More than 98,800 families and individuals have contacted FEMA for help and information.
More than $114 million in FEMA grants approved, including more than $93.4 million in housing assistance, and nearly $20.3 million of Other Needs Assistance.
65,836 Housing inspections have been issued. More than 3% are complete.

Rental Assistance

18,761 homeowners and renters approved for rental assistance.
FEMA is working closely with the state to provide other forms of temporary housing.

Transitional Sheltering Assistance

TSA is approved for Bay, Gulf and Jackson counties
Find a list of TSA-approved hotels on DisasterAssistance.gov or contacting the FEMA Helpline 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585). or visit a Disaster Recovery Center. Contact the hotel directly to secure a room.
786 survivor households currently checked into hotels

Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA)

DSA crews continue to reach out to survivors in storm-damaged communities. Crew members answer questions, register survivors and make referrals to whole community partners.
All FEMA employees and contractors carry an official government or contractor badge to identify themselves. To guard against fraud, survivors should ask to see a badge.
To date, the crews have visited more than 73,931 homes and made over 24,269 referrals to whole community partners.

Federal Partners

Small Business Administration (SBA)

SBA has approved $326.8 million in disaster loans, including more than $296.7 million to homeowners and renters, and more than $26.4 million to businesses.
Survivors should complete the low-interest, long-term disaster loan application from the SBA if offered. If you do not qualify for a loan, you may be referred back to FEMA for grants to meet unmet needs. SBA offers loans to businesses of all sizes (including landlords), private nonprofits, homeowners and renters.
To apply for an SBA loan call: 800-659-2955, online at: disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ or in person at a disaster recovery center.

SBA Mobile Business Recovery Centers:

County

Address

Hours/days

Bay

(new location)

Mexico Beach City Hall

201 Paradise Path

Mexico Beach, FL 32410

Wed. Nov. 28 to Sat. Dec 8

Mon.-Sat. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Calhoun

Blountstown Center

16908 NE Pear St

Blountstown, FL 32424

Mon-Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closed Sat. and Sun.

Taylor

Super Pufft Snacks

700 W. Lance Drive

Perry, FL 32348

Mon-Sat. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

SBA representatives are also available within the DRCs located in Bay (Panama City), Franklin, Gulf (Port St. Joe), Liberty, Wakulla and Washington counties.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

Registration for the Blue Roof program ended on Nov. 16th
More than 7,700 Blue Roofs have been installed.

National Flood Insurance Program

More than 4,000 claims received; paid more than $95.9 million. More than 2,800 claims closed.

FEMA/STATE Disaster Recovery Centers

Today 13 fixed-site DRCs, four Mobile DRCs and two Mobile Registration Intake Centers are open.
All DRCs are open Mon to Sat. 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. unless otherwise noted. All times are local.

County

Location

Operating Hours/Days

Bay

Bay County Public Library

898 West 11th Street, Panama City, FL 32401

Sun.-Sat. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Bay

Callaway Community Center

599 Beulah Avenue, Callaway, FL 32404

Sun.-Sat. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Calhoun

Blountstown Public Library

17731 NE Pear St. Blountstown, FL 32424

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday noon to 5

Franklin

Carrabelle Public Library

311 Saint James Avenue Carrabelle, FL 32322

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Gadsden

Old Gretna Elementary School

706 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Gretna, FL 32332

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Gulf

Port Saint Joe Library

110 Library Drive, Port Saint Joe, FL 32456

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sun. noon to 5

Gulf

Wewahitchka Branch Library

314 N. 2^nd St. Wewahitchka, FL 32465

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sun. noon to 5

Holmes

Holmes County Agricultural Center

1173 E Hwy 90, Bonifay, FL 32425

Mon.-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Jackson

University Extension Office

2741 Penn Avenue, Marianna, FL 32448

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sun. noon to 5

Leon

LeRoy Collins Main Library

200 W. Park Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32301

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Liberty

Veterans Memorial Park

10405 NW Theo Jacobs Way, Bristol, FL 32321

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Wakulla

Community One Stop

318 Shadeville Hwy., Crawfordville, FL 32327

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Washington County AG Center

1424 W. Jackson Avenue, Chipley, FL 32428

Mon-Sat 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Closed Sunday

Visit: FEMA.gov/DRC or download the FEMA App to locate open disaster recovery centers in your area.

Mobile Disaster Recovery Center

There are three MDRCs open 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. All times are local.

County	Address	Dates
*Bay*	Southport Ballpark 2038 Ball Park Rd Southport, FL. 32409	Sat. Nov. 24 to Mon. Dec 3 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
*Franklin*	230 Market St Apalachicola, FL. 32320	Sat. Nov. 24 to Sun. Dec. 2 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
*Gadsden*	Old IGA Parking Lot 17 W. Washington Street Chattahoochee, FL, 32324	Tues. Nov 20 to Fri. Nov. 30 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Mobile Registration Intake Centers

There is one MRIC.
For locations, visit www.floridadisaster.org/info/#mrics.

County

Address

Bay

Parking Lot

225 S. Tyndall Parkway, Panama City, FL 32404

Disaster Fraud Hotline

If you have been defrauded or suspect fraud, waste, abuse or mismanagement of disaster relief operations, call the Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 (TTY 1-844-889-4357).

Your call is anonymous and confidential

FEMA Rumor Page