Mississippians: Tips to Speed Up Your Disaster Assistance

Main Content

Release date: 

FEBRUARY 23, 2013

Release Number: 

4101-015

PEARL, Miss. -- Mississippi residents and businesses recovering from the recent storms and tornadoes can help speed the process of obtaining federal assistance by starting as soon as possible and following some simple steps.

FEMA can’t help if you don’t apply. Registration is simple and can be done:

Online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov any time day or night.

·         By phone or video relay at 800-621-FEMA (3362) daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time. Help is available in many languages.

·         By TTY at 800-462-7585.

·         C-Spire Wireless customers can register by calling #362.

·         By web-enabled mobile devices at m.fema.gov.

·         Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

After registration: It’s about follow-up

·         Keep critical appointments. A FEMA-contracted inspector will make an appointment to visit your damaged home.  Make every effort to be at home, or authorize someone 18 or older who lived in the residence at the time of the disaster to stand in during the inspection.

·         Stay in touch with FEMA at 800-621-FEMA (3362) to change an appointment, to update an address or telephone number or to provide additional information.

·         Visit a Disaster Recovery Center: Get face-to-face-guidance and answers to questions at recovery centers. Five are open in four counties in Mississippi from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily until further notice:

     Ben McNair Recreation Center, 300 North 12th Ave., Hattiesburg, 39401

     Petal Civic Center, 712 S. Main St., Petal, 39465

     Lamar Park, 226 Pinewood Drive, Hattiesburg, 39402

     Mount Carmel Church of God, 573 Mount Carmel Church Rd., Foxworth 39483

     Waynesboro Fire Station, 710 Wayne St., Waynesboro, 39367

·         Return forms promptly. After registering, survivors may receive a U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loan application package in the mail. Fill out and return these forms promptly. You don’t have to accept a loan but this application may open new doors of assistance. SBA representatives at Disaster Recovery Centers will assist in completing your home or business disaster loan application as well as answer any of your questions.

·         Read all FEMA letters and documents. Applicants deemed eligible for disaster assistance will receive a letter from FEMA providing guidance on their disaster relief grant. It will explain ways the money can be spent for recovery and explain that federal assistance may have to be repaid if it is duplicated by insurance or other assistance received.

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.

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.

FEMA’s temporary housing assistance and grants for public transportation expenses, medical and dental expenses, and funeral and burial expenses do not require individuals to apply for an SBA loan. However, applicants who receive SBA loan applications must submit them to SBA loan officers to be eligible for assistance that covers personal property, vehicle repair or replacement, and moving and storage expenses.

 

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Press Release

February 19, 2013

NYLN's 2013 Volunteer Team

 

NYLN is proud to introduce our new addition to the NYLN family: the Volunteer Team! This team of aspiring young leaders from around the country is committed to the following goals:

 

• Educating local communities about who we are and what we do;
• Being peer mentors to emerging leaders and community members;
• Serving as advocates for the larger disability community; and
• Keeping NYLN up-to-date about what is happening on the ground.

 

The Volunteer Team resulted from our new mission, vision, and theory of change, launched earlier this year. "A lot of time and energy went into revising and creating these new directives," said Amy Doherty, NYLN President. "This team of dedicated volunteers is a perfect example of what NYLN calls 'layers of leadership.' Every layer is vital to our organization. These local leaders will play a huge role in empowering their fellow grassroots activists."

 

Cindy Singletary (IDS’ CPAC Chair and Self-Advocate), a past NYLN board member, now serves as NYLN's Volunteer Coordinator. Her role on the staff team began January 2013.

 

To meet NYLNs 2013 Volunteer Team, click here.

 

To learn more about NYLN's new mission, vision, and theory of change, click here.

 

President Declares Major Disaster In Mississippi

Main Content

Release date: 

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Release Number: 

HQ-13-012

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid has been made available to the State of Mississippi and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding beginning on February 10, 2013, and continuing.

The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Forrest and Lamar counties.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged in Forrest and Lamar counties including direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program at 75 percent federal funding.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Terry L. Quarles has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.  Quarles said damage surveys are continuing in other areas, and more counties and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated counties can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online athttp://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by web enabled mobile device at m.fema.gov.  Disaster assistance applicants, who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service (VRS), call 1-800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice. 

Follow FEMA online at blog.fema.gov, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. 

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications. 

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.

 

TRIAD Service AmeriCorps Members help clean up USM!!!!

 

 

Day 1

 

 

Day 2

Tornado Update February 13, 2013

Volunteer Opps

Volunteer Hattiesburg is registering individuals/groups who would like to assist in disaster relief.  This is a combined effort with USM/CCCE and Forrest County EMA.  They are contacting a Church in Petal that has been deploying volunteers and it is hoped this will result in an easy to maneuver volunteer experience.  For individuals who would like to volunteer they can register at http://volunteer.truist.com/mcfvs/org/opp/10567873836.html.

General Tips

• Stay off the roads. Unless you have an emergency, please stay off the roads in disaster-affected areas. Emergency responders need clear paths to people in need and dangerous situations.
• Residents of storm-affected areas should register with 2-1-1 (alternate number: 866.472.8265). 2-1-1 will call when their needs can be met.
• Please check the National Shelter System for information about current shelter operations. As of February 11, three shelters were in operation:
  • Lamar County Community Center-361
    99 Central Industrial Row
    Purvis, MS 39475
  • Petal Civic Center
    712 South Main Street
    Petal, MS 39465
  • Forrest County 361 Shelter
    946 Sullivan Road
    Hattiesburg South, MS 39401
• The Salvation Army has deployed six feeding stations. Four are stationary, two are roving.
• If at all possible, text message in lieu of phone calls. When communications infrastructure is damaged or overloaded, text messages are more likely to reach their destination, and free bandwidth for emergency calls.
• Register through the Red Cross' service, Safe and Well.
• Please check VolunteerMississippi.net for opportunities to donate and serve. You can also register for the Volunteer, Mississippi! Disaster Digest, which will keep you posted regarding volunteer opportunities.
• If you are a company or an organization with access to large volumes of items and would like to donate them to disaster relief efforts or other humanitarian efforts, please visit AidMatrix Mississippi. You may also donate funds to the Governor's Disaster Relief Fund, support Salvation Army Disaster response by texting STORM to 80888, and text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief.

INFORMATION courtesy of Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service emails . . .

The Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Awards

 

The GIVE Awards celebrate the work of Mississippi’s dedicated community volunteers. Presented by Volunteer Mississippi in cooperation with the Governor’s Office, the awards recognize and honor the valuable contributions of extraordinary citizens. Individuals and groups can be considered for nomination, and there is a category for people with disabilities.  Nominations are now being accepted and can be emailed, faxed, mailed or hand delivered. The deadline is Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.  For nomination guidelines and to download a nomination form, visit http://volunteermississippi.org/2013/01/honor/.