Workshop on revamped FEMA flood aid to be held June 18
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer
Hearts & Hands Disaster Recovery, a local non-profit organization dedicated to assisting people impacted by Superstorm Sandy, will sponsor a free workshop to aid homeowners in filing adjusted FEMA flood program appeals June 18 in St. Joseph Parish, Keyport, from 6 to 8 p.m. The workshop is in response to a May 14 announcement by FEMA that it will “notify approximately 142,000 policyholders who submitted a Hurricane Sandy flood claim that they may request that their file be reviewed.”
The sweeping reforms to the FEMA-managed National Flood Insurance Program claims and appeals process come on the heels of a March 1 “60 Minutes” television interview in which Brad Kieserman, FEMA deputy associate administrator for insurance, disclosed that he had seen evidence of fraud in reports used by the NFIP to deny homeowners full insurance payouts. In response to the revelations, Kieserman was called to testify to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, and FEMA published a number of claims review forms and FAQ sheets on their website May 18. On June 2, Kieserman stepped down from his post with FEMA.
FEMA began sending letters May 18 to claimants who incurred storm loss; letters will be mailed over a four-week period, and the homeowners will have 14 days from the date of the letter to contact the agency to start the claims review process.
“This is being rolled out in stages, it’s complicated,” cautioned Falon Alo, executive director of HHDR, an organization formed by seven Red Bank Catholic High School alumni in August, 2013, to aid their neighbors “restore the shore” after the devastating superstorm’s landfall.
Red Bank-headquartered HHDR is a volunteer organization with no paid staff which runs on a limited budget, relying upon private and corporate donations and company partners, interns and volunteer individuals and groups to work on the three major programs it has begun in the nearly three years after Sandy’s destructive blow to the area, noted Alo.
Service technicians from Clearstream, a mold remediation firm, have trained volunteers to assist them to treat and eradicate mold in existing structures; a pilot initiative known as “Charlie’s House,” a fiberglass dome intended as a temporary residence for displaced homeowners, was generously funded by Lutheran Social Ministries of NJ Foundation and The Episcopal Diocese of N.J.; and “Operation Headed Home,” a partnership with a local builder to assist homeowners who have federal or private funding to generate architectural plans, reconstruction and elevation of primary homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
HHDR has a law firm from Louisiana on retainer to assist with the paperwork, she added. “We are a liaison between the builders and the customers. Some are so confused and frustrated with this process,” Alo said. “We do case management, they know they can trust us.”
The free workshop is intended for those homeowners who had purchased flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program prior to Superstorm Sandy, had made an initial claim through FEMA and now wish to appeal it, Alo stated. It will address the various stages of the NFIP appeals process, give an overview of the program, distribute handouts, answer questions and share contact information.
Alo, a Monmouth University-educated social worker and former American Red Cross community recovery specialist whose own home had been without power for six days following Sandy’s landfall, noted her and the agency’s commitment to those affected by the 2012 storm. She said, “I was born and raised in Red Bank, and these people are my neighbors. We want to get them all home.”
Hearts & Hands Disaster Recovery welcomes monetary donations through its website, heartsandhandsrecovery.org, via PayPal or by mail to HHDR, P.O. Box 694, Red Bank, N.J. 07701. Volunteers can offer their aid using a form on the site.
If you think you are owed more for the damage you suffered than your insurance reimbursed you, there is no need to wait for the letter to get the process started. Call FEMA at 1-866-337-4262 or go online to www.fema.gov/sandyclaims to download the request form. Forms can be emailed to [email protected], or faxed to 202-646-7970.
The June 18 workshop is free of charge and open to the public.
To register, email [email protected], or call 732-344-0722. Light refreshments will be served. St. Joseph Parish is located at 376 Maple Place, Keyport.
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By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer
Hearts & Hands Disaster Recovery, a local non-profit organization dedicated to assisting people impacted by Superstorm Sandy, will sponsor a free workshop to aid homeowners in filing adjusted FEMA flood program appeals June 18 in St. Joseph Parish, Keyport, from 6 to 8 p.m. The workshop is in response to a May 14 announcement by FEMA that it will “notify approximately 142,000 policyholders who submitted a Hurricane Sandy flood claim that they may request that their file be reviewed.”
The sweeping reforms to the FEMA-managed National Flood Insurance Program claims and appeals process come on the heels of a March 1 “60 Minutes” television interview in which Brad Kieserman, FEMA deputy associate administrator for insurance, disclosed that he had seen evidence of fraud in reports used by the NFIP to deny homeowners full insurance payouts. In response to the revelations, Kieserman was called to testify to the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, and FEMA published a number of claims review forms and FAQ sheets on their website May 18. On June 2, Kieserman stepped down from his post with FEMA.
FEMA began sending letters May 18 to claimants who incurred storm loss; letters will be mailed over a four-week period, and the homeowners will have 14 days from the date of the letter to contact the agency to start the claims review process.
“This is being rolled out in stages, it’s complicated,” cautioned Falon Alo, executive director of HHDR, an organization formed by seven Red Bank Catholic High School alumni in August, 2013, to aid their neighbors “restore the shore” after the devastating superstorm’s landfall.
Red Bank-headquartered HHDR is a volunteer organization with no paid staff which runs on a limited budget, relying upon private and corporate donations and company partners, interns and volunteer individuals and groups to work on the three major programs it has begun in the nearly three years after Sandy’s destructive blow to the area, noted Alo.
Service technicians from Clearstream, a mold remediation firm, have trained volunteers to assist them to treat and eradicate mold in existing structures; a pilot initiative known as “Charlie’s House,” a fiberglass dome intended as a temporary residence for displaced homeowners, was generously funded by Lutheran Social Ministries of NJ Foundation and The Episcopal Diocese of N.J.; and “Operation Headed Home,” a partnership with a local builder to assist homeowners who have federal or private funding to generate architectural plans, reconstruction and elevation of primary homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy.
HHDR has a law firm from Louisiana on retainer to assist with the paperwork, she added. “We are a liaison between the builders and the customers. Some are so confused and frustrated with this process,” Alo said. “We do case management, they know they can trust us.”
The free workshop is intended for those homeowners who had purchased flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance Program prior to Superstorm Sandy, had made an initial claim through FEMA and now wish to appeal it, Alo stated. It will address the various stages of the NFIP appeals process, give an overview of the program, distribute handouts, answer questions and share contact information.
Alo, a Monmouth University-educated social worker and former American Red Cross community recovery specialist whose own home had been without power for six days following Sandy’s landfall, noted her and the agency’s commitment to those affected by the 2012 storm. She said, “I was born and raised in Red Bank, and these people are my neighbors. We want to get them all home.”
Hearts & Hands Disaster Recovery welcomes monetary donations through its website, heartsandhandsrecovery.org, via PayPal or by mail to HHDR, P.O. Box 694, Red Bank, N.J. 07701. Volunteers can offer their aid using a form on the site.
If you think you are owed more for the damage you suffered than your insurance reimbursed you, there is no need to wait for the letter to get the process started. Call FEMA at 1-866-337-4262 or go online to www.fema.gov/sandyclaims to download the request form. Forms can be emailed to [email protected], or faxed to 202-646-7970.
The June 18 workshop is free of charge and open to the public.
To register, email [email protected], or call 732-344-0722. Light refreshments will be served. St. Joseph Parish is located at 376 Maple Place, Keyport.
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