Governor Approves SBA Disaster Assistance Program - WALB.com, Albany News, Weather, Sports

July 19, 2005
from the Office of the Governor

ATLANTA – Governor Sonny Perdue announced today that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved his July 13 request for disaster assistance for Georgians impacted by Hurricane Dennis.

SBA has declared the counties of Cherokee, Cobb, Colquitt, Douglas and Worth disaster areas, as well as their contiguous counties (Bartow, Brooks, Carroll, Cook, Crisp, Dawson, Dougherty, Forsyth, Fulton, Gordon, Lee, Mitchell, Paulding, Pickens, Thomas, Tift and Turner).

Homeowners, renters, landlords and business owners located in these areas are now eligible to apply for low-interest disaster loan assistance.

“I appreciate the Small Business Administration for its quick action on our request to help Georgians impacted by Hurricane Dennis,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “Our goal is to make these resources available to storm victims so that they can get their homes and lives back in order as soon as possible.”

Governor Perdue also announced that the State Individual Assistance (IA) Program will be available to those eligible homeowners in Cobb, Colquitt, Douglas and Worth counties who are denied SBA loan approval.

Georgia is one of only six states with such a program. The purpose of the IA Program is to help disaster victims who do not have sufficient resources to find alternative housing for up to three months until their homes can be made livable.

Financial assistance, which can also be used for repairs or necessary purchases to expedite the provision of permanent housing, is provided at 100 percent of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fair market rental standards.

This program is available to counties that sustained losses of more than 50 uninsured/under-insured, uninhabitable homes.

In addition, Hazard Mitigation staff with the Office of Homeland Security-Georgia Emergency Management Agency (OHS-GEMA) will be working closely with the most heavily impacted communities to evaluate the possibility of incorporating mitigation measures into the short-term recovery efforts, as well as determining future project eligibility for federal funding.

Past projects have included the elevation of flood prone homes and the purchase of repetitive flooded property.

Dates and locations for SBA disaster loan assistance offices will be announced in the next few days as soon as the agency secures space. Until these locations are announced, victims may request disaster loan applications by calling, toll-free, 1-800-359-2227.

Completed SBA loan applications should be submitted to:
U.S. Small Business Administration
Disaster Area Office 3
14925 Kingsport Road
Fort Worth, TX 76155

Additional information on the SBA Disaster Assistance Program can be found at the following link: www.sba.gov/disaster_recov/index.html .