Federal aid available to Vermonters

The Cavendish Connects website now includes much of what was included on this blog as well as a calendar of Cavendish events. The new blog, “The Dish,” includes the Cavendish Update as well as on-going information.

The following is from Peter Welch:

Dear Friends,

Late Thursday evening, President Obama approved disaster assistance for Vermont which will make two types of federal aid available to Vermonters impacted by Tropical Storm Irene. Feel free to forward this email to friends, family, and neighbors struggling to recover from this disaster.

Individual Assistance – Property owners who sustained damages may be eligible for funds to help with repairs, temporary housing, and other assistance. Currently, Individual Assistance is available in Chittenden, Rutland, Washington and Windsor Counties. It is expected that more counties will become eligible as FEMA completes damage assessments.

Public Assistance – FEMA will cover the cost to towns for repairing and restoring service to infrastructure. These funds are available to all Vermont counties except Grande Isle. Towns should be in touch with the Vermont Agency of Transportation for more information.

To determine your eligibility, property owners, businesses, and non-profits should contact FEMA as soon as possible at:
1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired. The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.

You can also register online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov

This initial disaster declaration is a start, but there is much more work to be done. I will continue to work closely with Governor Shumlin, Senator Leahy and Senator Sanders to make sure Vermont fully recovers from this disaster.


As always, please call my office at 1-888-605-7270 if we can be of any assistance.

Sincerely,

PETER WELCH
Member of Congress
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