3/11/24 - Kent County Residents To Get Help From FEMA

A Disaster Recovery Center will open this week in Kent County to help those impacted by the storm from last August.

(Kent County Emergency Management Department) -  FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) issued a news release regarding the opening of a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) in Alpine Township at the Henze Center Community Room (Alpine Township Fire Station 10) located at 1100 Henze Drive in Comstock Park for residents and business owners impacted by the August 24 - 26 tornadoes, severe storms, and flooding.

The DRC will be open for one week only starting on Monday, March 11 and ending on Saturday, March 16.  The hours of operation for the DRC will be Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  

The purpose of this DRC is to assist people who are applying for FEMA or Small Business Administration (SBA) financial assistance including temporary lodging, basic home repairs, and other disaster-related expenses. 

Residents and business owners who suffered property damage or other losses due to this weather event have until April 8, 2024 to apply for assistance from FEMA or SBA. They can do so by either calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or going online at disasterassistance.gov to complete the application. It is important to note that multilingual operators are available to assist those who may require language support.

If residents or business owners need assistance filling out their application, have questions about their application, or if they have received a notice of ineligibility that they wish to challenge, they can come to the DRC to meet in-person with FEMA and SBA representatives. Notices of ineligibility are routine in this process and do not necessarily mean that one cannot receive assistance. Many times, it means that they have not yet provided enough information for the application to be approved.