Extended Families Living Together May be Eligible for FEMA Disaster Assistance After Rita

Some extended families may not be receiving all the aid they are eligible for because they are living together temporarily and have applied from the same address according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

These applications may be considered to be duplicates. In such cases, each head of household or roommate should call the FEMA Help Line and ask for the applications to be unlinked. FEMA may consider separate applications from:

* Families who lived together before a disaster but who have been displaced in different geographical locations.
* Extended families who lived in different dwellings on the same property.
* Extended households who lived in separate homes before the hurricane and are now temporarily sharing quarters.
* Roommates who lived together before a disaster but who have been displaced in different geographical locations.

Extended families sharing living quarters away from home or those who have been separated in different geographical locations may apply separately for disaster assistance.

Applicants are encouraged to check on the status of their applications if they haven’t had a response from FEMA within 25 days. To do so, they may visit a Disaster Recovery Center , log onto www.fema.gov or call 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585 for the hearing- and speech-impaired.

Individuals can use the toll-free number to access the Automated Status Update and make changes in their application. Using voice-activated prompts, applicants can check on personal registration, eligibility status, financial compensation, the appeal process and other information.

Callers will need to provide their FEMA registration ID number, date of birth and the last four digits of their social security number. In case of an error, applicants will be forwarded to FEMA Help Line staff.