Receiving federal disaster assistance from FEMA will not affect other federal benefits that Illinois survivors may receive.
People affected by the St. Clair County July flooding who register with FEMA may have questions about whether funds from FEMA might cause them to lose other federal payments they receive.
FEMA disaster grants are not taxable income. Accepting a FEMA grant will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and other federal welfare and entitlement programs.
Disaster grants help survivors pay for temporary housing, essential home repairs, essential personal property replacement and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other sources.
There are several ways you can apply for FEMA disaster assistance.
- Apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov
- Download and use the FEMA mobile app to apply
- Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 to apply
- If you use a relay service, such as video relay (VRS), captioned telephone or other service, give FEMA the number for that service. The Helpline is open seven days a week. Press 2 for Spanish or 3 for an interpreter who speaks your language.
- Survivors may also apply in person at one of the Disaster Recovery Centers:
Monday – Friday: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and closed on Sundays
Closing permanently Thursday, December, 22
Caseyville Village Hall 909 South Main Street, Caseyville, Illinois 62232
Monday – Saturday: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and closed on Sundays
Closing permanently Friday, December, 16
No appointment is necessary to visit a recovery center. Walk-ins are welcome.
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 833-285-7448. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages).
For disaster updates from FEMA, follow @FEMAregion5 on Twitter, and turn on mobile notifications. Visit the disaster webpage at fema.gov/disaster/4676.
For disaster updates from the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA), follow @ReadyIllinois on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and turn on mobile notifications. http://www.illinois.gov/iema/ continues to be a go-to, single source to help Illinois residents easily find information and disaster-related resources.
Original source can be found here
