FAMILY ASSISTANCE CENTER HELPING REUNITE FAMILIES

The Hurricane Family Assistance Center (1-866-326-9393) assists people who may have lost family members during Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.

What is the Family Assistance Center?
The Family Assistance Center (FAC) is the national collection point for information on missing family members or those who may have perished in Hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma. The center seeks to reunite families and to help locate and recover the remains of loved ones. The Family Assistance Center is a joint effort between the State of Louisiana, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The Center was established using best practices from global disasters and emergencies The FAC includes forensic and mortuary experts, chaplains, mental health and other professionals who can help families during the search. Since opening Sept. 7, the FAC has helped reunite thousands of families.

Who should call the Family Assistance Center?
Anyone with a missing family member who may have been displaced by the hurricanes can call 1-866-326-9393, from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm CST, seven days a week.

How can the Family Assistance Center help you find your relative?
Callers to the FAC are asked to provide any available information about their loved ones, including a physical description, doctors’ and dentists’ names, a medical history, dental work, joint replacements and unique characteristics such as tattoos, scars or birthmarks. Dental records can be especially valuable in identifying the deceased. If or when dental records are needed, family members may be asked to authorize their release to the appropriate authorities for proper identification. Health professionals, staff and volunteers at the call center are trained to provide sensitive, confidential assistance. With this information, the Call Center can:

• Coordinate with other organizations. The FAC works with other organizations, such as the Red Cross, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, State Patrol, and others to find missing persons.
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• Search databases. The FAC has access to sophisticated software capable of performing complex matching of data through several databases to help locate and identify missing individuals and to reunite them with family.

• Gather forensic information. The FAC works closely with the St. Gabriel morgue to identify the remains of those who died during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita but have not been identified.

Does FAC share the information you give them with anyone else?
All information gathered by the volunteers and professionals will be held in the strictest confidence for the purpose of identifying and reuniting family members only.

What happens when your loved one is found?
When a missing survivor is found, the FAC works to reunite them with family. When a deceased relative is located, the FAC helps family members coordinate funeral arrangements once the local coroner has released the body.

What other services does the Family Assistance Center provide?
Mental health counseling is available to disaster victims and their families.

What is the Find Family National Call Center?
The Find Family National Call Center is a part of the Family Assistance Center providing a toll-free number for people to call for assistance in locating missing relatives.

TRAVEL TRAILER HOLIDAY SAFETY

What kind of tree should I purchase?

When purchasing a tree, needles should be green and hard to pull off the branches. These are the freshest cut trees you can find. If many needles fall off, this could be a fire hazard. If using an artificial tree, make sure it’s flame retardant.

Can I use my holiday lights from previous years?

Yes, however, you should always inspect previously used lights each year.

What type of decorations should I use?

All decorations should be nonflammable or flame-retardant and placed away from heat vents. Avoid using candles.

Should I place holiday lights on my house with a blue roof?

No. For fire-safety reasons, residents should not place lights on damaged roofs or on blue roofs.

If there is a fire emergency in any residence, including FEMA travel trailers or mobile homes, get out and stay out. Know when and how to call for help. And remember to practice your home escape plan. Visit http://www.usfa.fema.gov/safety for further safety tips.

INCREASED COST OF COMPLIANCE FUNDS AVAILABLE

Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) funds are available to individuals with flood insurance policies backed by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). ICC provides up to $30,000 to bring flooded properties into compliance with local floodplain regulations.

ICC funds can be used for:

• Floodproofing (primarily for non-residential buildings) – Making a building watertight through a combination of adjustments or additions of features to the building
• Relocation – Moving a home or business out of the flood zone
• Elevation –Raising a home or business to or above the flood-elevation level adopted by the local community
• Demolition – Tearing down and removing flood-damaged buildings

Flooded properties are eligible for ICC funds in two instances:

• Substantial damage – The local community determines the home or business is so damaged by the flood that repairs will cost 50 percent or more of the building’s pre-damage value.
• Repetitive damage – The local community must have a repetitive loss provision in its floodplain management ordinance and must determine that the home or business was damaged by a flood twice in the past 10 years. The cost of repairing the damage must on average equal or exceed 25 percent of the building’s market value at the time of the flood. There must have been a flood insurance claim payment for both losses.

ICC claims must be filed separately from flood damage claims. The local community determines the property has suffered either substantial or repetitive damage, at which point owners should contact their insurance company for ICC funding.

FEMA FUNDS DISASTER HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are helping individuals and families with rental assistance who were previously a resident of HUD-assisted housing prior to Hurricane Katrina.

Through a new FEMA-funded housing assistance program called the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP), families will be able to settle in areas, across the United States, that were not affected by the disaster. FEMA will relocate families to the area of their choice. The families may return to their home state as housing is rebuilt or repaired.

To qualify for the KDHAP program, individuals must have been previously HUD assisted by a Section 8 voucher, in public housing or in some other type of HUD-assisted property, or homeless immediately before Hurricane Katrina.

KDHAP provides up to 18 months of rental assistance beginning from the date of the official declaration of the disaster on Aug. 29, 2005. Eligible families must first register with FEMA by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 and be registered no later than Dec. 31, 2005 to be eligible for KDHAP.

The amount of rental assistance for KDHAP is up to 100 percent of the fair market rental rate for the area. All property owners and landlords are encouraged to support the KDHAP program and make their vacant units available to families displaced by Katrina. They should contact their local housing authorities if they have units available.

To register with the KDHAP program, call the KDHAP Referral Call Center at 1-866-373-9509.

ONE MONTH TO REGISTER FOR FEMA ASSISTANCE

BATON ROUGE, La. - Louisiana residents and business owners in the 54 disaster-declared parishes who sustained damage during the recent hurricanes have only one month to apply for disaster assistance. Jan. 11, 2006 is the last day applications will be accepted for Individual Assistance. Loan applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for disaster-related losses to real and personal property must also be submitted by that date.

“We want people to understand that this deadline is for new disaster applications,” said Scott Wells, federal coordinating officer. “For individuals who have already applied, their cases will continue to be processed. New applications will not be accepted after the Jan. 11 deadline.”

Federal and state disaster recovery officials urge those who have not done so to apply as soon as possible by calling the toll-free application number at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362). The special number for those with hearing or speech impairment is TTY 1-800-462-7585. Individuals may also register for disaster assistance at the FEMA Web site www.fema.gov.

To date, nearly 1.5 million individuals have applied for disaster assistance in the state. More than 3.6 billion in disaster funds has been approved for individuals impacted by the disaster including more than $670 billion in disaster loans from SBA.

LA. Natural Disaster Refund Guidelines

Just want to make sure that all of you are aware of a provision in the
state tax code that allows for refund of sales tax on certain items
destroyed by natural disaster. Of course Katrina & Rita fall into this
category.

At www.revenue.louisiana.gov you can access the regs and forms. Click on
Rita or Katrina in the "Hurricane Information " section in the center,
then on the next screen, click on the "Sales Tax Refund" section in the
column to the left. (The info for each hurricane is a little different
because the impacted parishes are different.)

You actually have about 3 years to file these forms but I'm working on
ours now while things are easier to remember and we have the insurance
info/forms handy.

Please share this info with family, friends and clients. If an
individual doesn't have internet access they can contact an LDR Regional
Office listed in the phone book. Thank you.

Terry Meeuwenberg
OFS Community Mobilization & Outreach Services
Suite 515
3510 N. Causeway Blvd.
Metairie LA 70002
504-838-5358 (office)
tmeeuwen@dss.state.la.us

Dept. of Social Services/Office of Family Support
With You. For You. Building a Stronger Louisiana.

Disaster Assistance Information Update from American Red Cross

Teams of Red Cross volunteers will distribute clean-up kits and other items in American Red Cross trucks on routes covering the areas of need. Volunteers in trucks will distribute items on certain days in these specified routes. These routes replace the fixed distribution sites that were established in the area.

The mobile distribution routes will cover the following areas:
Inner City New Orleans
Lakeview
New Orleans East
Upper 9th Ward
Lower 9th Ward
Plaquemines Parish
St. Bernard Parish

The route boundaries by day of distribution are as follows:

Region 1 -Tuesday
Northern boundry – Florida Ave.
Western boundry - the Orleans/Jefferson Parish line
Southern boundry – St. Charles Ave.
Eastern boundry – S. Carrollton to Claibourne down to Jefferson

Region 2 – Wednesday
Northern boundry – Florida Ave.
Western boundry - S. Carrollton Ave.
Southern boundry - S. Claibourne Ave.
Eastern boundry - Broad Ave. to I-10 to S. Claiborne Ave.

Region 3 – Thursday
Northern boundry – Gentilly Blvd/Chef Mentour
Western boundry - Broad Ave. to I-10 to S. Claibourne Ave. down to Louisiana Ave.
Southern boundry – St. Charles Ave.
Eastern boundry - Inner Harbor Canal down to Florida Ave. to Franklin/Almonaster to St. Claude/N. Rampart to I-10 to Magazine

Region 4 – Friday
Northern boundry – Lake Ponchartrain
Western boundry - the Orleans /Jefferson Parish line
Southern boundry - Florida Ave. to Gentilly Blvd/Chef Mentour
Eastern boundry - Inner Harbor Canal

Region 5 – Saturday
Northern boundry – Lake Ponchartrain
Western boundry - Jourdan Road
Southern boundry – Intracoastal Waterway
Eastern boundry - Paris Road
(includes Vietnamese Community)

Region 6 – Sunday
Northern boundry – Florida Ave.
Western boundry - Franklin/Almonaster Ave.
Southern boundry – Mississippi River
Eastern boundry - Paris Road and
Plaquemines Parish

Red cross feeding sites change

As of December 1^st, the American Red Cross will change the way meals are distributed in and around the New Orleans, Louisiana, area. There will no longer be fixed feeding sites. Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) will begin a mobile distribution of meals to neighborhoods in need from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily.

Residents Encouraged to Drop Off Household Hazardous Waste

(New Orleans, LA) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will conduct a two-day special collection of household hazardous waste from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, December 3-4, 2005. Residents may bring hazardous waste products discarded from their homes to the agency's Samuel Square drop-off site, located at the intersection of Napoleon Avenue and S. Saratoga Street..

Household hazardous waste includes items like bleach and other cleaning solutions, propane, batteries, paints and containers of other household chemicals.

The Samuel Square collection site can only accept hazardous waste.

Residents may discard electronic goods, including TVs and computers, at the Pontchartrain Center, 4545 Williams Blvd. in Kenner, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 3, 2005.

This collection supplements EPA's ongoing collection of waste throughout the city. The agency collects curbside waste daily, an operation that takes between seven and nine days to cycle through all neighborhoods.

For more information about the collection of household hazardous waste, call 1-800-887-6063.