FEMA & SBA are here,  The Federal Emergency Management Association and Small Business Association have set up shop at the Country Church of the Open Bible in Elk WA this week. These are along with two other organizations including the mobile DSHS crew and an Insurance Commissioner representative from Olympia. I went in on Friday to register with whatever programs were available for our family. There are four places you can do the paperwork for disaster assistance right here in Elk. The only way you can guarantee that you will get NO assistance is to NOT APPLY. So, be sure to come on down and apply.

The hours add up to 50 hours a week shown above. Be sure to take advantage of this convenience. It will take less time than you would think and the people are very friendly and helpful.

Monday, Tuesday, & Friday: 8:30am-6:30pm (30 hrs)

Wednesday & Thursday: 8:30am-3:30pm (14 hrs)

Saturday: 9am-3pm (6 hrs)

FEMA

FEMA decides who can get grants that don’t have to be paid back. The application amounted to about 30 minutes of me listening to the lady filling out the form on her laptop across the table from me. I answered her questions the best that I could recollect. Things like how much damage, street address… Value of property lost and some description. Dependants, health, or medical supplies. How much insurance? Current living situation. Mailing address and sign a permission slip for them to get a copy of my taxes from the IRS to check our income. We set up email notices and I had a FEMA number to sign in. I asked to get paper copies mailed to me for our records.

SBA

SBA-The U.S. Small Business Administration was the second office I went to apply for assistance. If we qualify, we can get a loan with no interest in the first year and low interest after that. We are hoping to qualify to get enough funds to cover what our insurance company is not going to cover as we rebuild. You don’t have to be rebuilding, you can be relocating instead. They share information with FEMA and ask a few more questions. I thought they would only help with loans for my business and I was wrong. They also do loans for much more.

I have attached the fact sheets that they hand out so that you can read everything you need to know before you go in. (I got permission from them to share the form). You can download them here, “SBA FACT SHEET 01” & “SBA FACT SHEET 02”, to print your own.

DSHS Mobile Office

The same people that come to New Hope in Colbert, and the North County Food Pantry in Elk.

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER

She is willing to help you with the legalities of our insurance companies.

I left the church with hope in my heart again.