Disaster-reporting center to open in Clark County

Clark County

Discussion

October 8, 2008

By SHEA VAN HOY The News and Tribune Wed Oct 08, 2008, 10:37 AM EDT

Downed trees and resulting widespread power outages caused a calm after the Sept. 14 wind storm. Now, area residents have a chance to take action and report damage to state and federal officials to hopefully get money for repair or food for their families.

The state today opened a one-stop disaster assistance center at the Clark County Fairgrounds, 9608 Ind. 62 in Charlestown. The facility is staffed by representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and will include computers and phones for impacted residents to complete relief applications. Also, The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced Tuesday it has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to issue emergency food stamps to Clark County residents.

State agencies represented are the Family and Social Services Administration, Department of Workforce Development, Department of Insurance and the Department of Health. It will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today through Tuesday, except Sunday.

Families who lost food have seven days to apply beginning today for emergency food stamps. The one-month benefit period covered by this disaster application runs from Sept. 14 through Oct. 13. When applying for the stamps, applicants should bring a state driver’s license or other form of identification, such as work or school ID, birth certificate, wage stub and a document that verifies their home address. Applicants may be asked for their Social Security number.

If a client receiving benefits was given the maximum food stamp allotment for their household size in September and has received a replacement for these benefits, they will not be eligible for any further disaster food stamp benefits.

Persons who purposely provide false information on a food stamp application may be denied food stamps and legal action may be taken. To report potential public assistance recipient fraud, parties can express their concerns to the fraud hotline at 800-446-1993.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels said in a Monday press release the state will offer help this week to storm victims in more counties that were approved last week for federal individual assistance as the result of severe weather that struck the state in mid-September.

The governor was notified Friday that the federal government has approved Clark, Crawford, Dearborn, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Pike, Spencer and Switzerland counties for federal assistance for homeowners, renters and businesses.

FEMA applications also can be made online or by telephone 24 hours a day. Residents and business owners who sustained losses can apply for FEMA assistance by registering online at www.fema.gov/assistance or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.

FEMA 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, the press release says.