FEMA hands out more than $5.2 million
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on November 1, 2016 9:58 AM
News-Argus/ROCHELLE MOORE
Linda Leathers reviews personal documents and other information during a visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Center at the W.A. Foster Center Monday.
Nearly 5,000 residents have received more than $5.2 million in disaster recovery assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Wayne County.
"This is actual money that is on the street to disaster survivors in Wayne County," said Mike Wade, FEMA spokesperson.
The FEMA disaster recovery center, housed in the W.A. Foster Center, at 1012 S. John St., remains open with residents continuing to seek assistance daily, said Candice Cleveland, FEMA disaster recovery center manager in Wayne County.
"We're staying pretty busy," Cleveland said.
Linda Leathers only recently learned that her double-wide modular home in Dudley sustained flood damage. She doesn't live in a floodplain but decided to check under the home over the weekend. She also noticed her wallpaper buckling near the windows.
"Water had rose up under the house, and the heating and air ducts got soaking wet," Leathers said. "It was like the tide had come in and washed it out."
Leathers went to the FEMA disaster recovery center armed with a stack of personal documents Monday -- weeks after Hurricane Matthew -- to see if she could receive some financial assistance.
Leathers is like many homeowners throughout the county with limited resources.
"It gets depressing, if you let it," she said. "If you're living on a limited income, that's what it is.
"I'm sure there's other people like me. They've got to think they don't have damage. Other people should come here as soon as they can, even if they don't think they need to. Don't let this door close on them."
FEMA has 16 disaster recovery centers open across the state, including the Wayne County site. Center hours at the W.A. Foster Center are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The center will remain open as long as residents continue to need assistance, Wade said.
"As long as there is a need and the traffic is prevalent, it will remain open," Wade said.
At the center, residents can meet with representatives from FEMA, N.C. Emergency Management, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other local, state and federal organizations, Cleveland said.
Residents can receive guidance about disaster recovery and eligibility, application assistance, information about housing and rental assistance, referrals to other agencies and state programs and information about low-interest disaster loans.
"It's kind of a one-stop shopping for disaster assistance," Cleveland said.
Language interpreters are available at the Wayne County disaster recovery center, and a Chinese interpreter was recently added, Cleveland said. Other resources include crisis counseling, legal aid, disaster unemployment, Internal Revenue Service information and access to local resources, including nonprofits assisting in the recovery.
FEMA is offering temporary rental assistance but has not reached the level of providing hotel vouchers, Wade said. Federal and state officials are in the process of determining if residents in Wayne County and across the state are in need of longer-term housing, which would include FEMA providing manufactured housing for 13 months, Wade said.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is also offering homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations low-interest loans to help pay for repairs or the replacement of damaged property.
Residents planning to visit the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center need to take their Social Security information, the address of the damaged property, a description of the damage, insurance information, a current contact number, an address where mail can be received and a bank account and routing number for the direct deposit of federal grants.
FEMA is accepting applications over the phone at 800-621-3362. Applicants with a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY can call 800-462-7585.