MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – FEMA assistance is now available for impacted Outagamie and Winnebago County residents. It’s just the latest round of disaster funding as local organizations continue to help too.
Recovery work continues in neighborhoods devastated by the July 27th tornado. And while progress has been made, there is still much work to be done.
It’s been a community effort both in manpower and money, with it all having a major impact.
“Things are going great. People are figuring it out, realizing that they can come to us for help, and we have seen over 1,900 requests come through. To date, we’ve been able to help over 1,500 of those with financial assistance totaling around $5.6 million,” said Nikki Gerhard, executive director of LEAVEN.
LEAVEN Fox Cities is just one of several local organizations offering financial assistance to tornado victims.
While there are still donations coming in, that are being turned around and distributed locally, it’s not at the same pace as in the weeks immediately after the tornado.
Gerhard said, “Donations for tornadoes specifically, yes, they are slowing down. Now, I would say that that’s timely considering what FEMA just announced and the federal government just announced with their allocation to the disaster.”
The Trump administration announcing this week nearly $18 million in FEMA assistance is available for any homeowner or renter in Outagamie and Winnebago Counties — if they had damage at their primary residence.
“Really any assistance for disaster related losses that are not covered by insurance could also be eligible. If you lost articles of clothing or personal property, some of those things may be eligible as well,” said Troy Christensen, FEMA External Affairs Officer
FEMA says every application is looked at individually. Residents need to register on the disaster website or call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 to get the process started.
Christensen said, “After somebody registers the next step is going to be they’re going to be contacted by a FEMA Inspector and that inspector will let you know that they’re coming to take a look at your property to take a look at any Loss you have maybe receipts you have from repairs. There will certainly be many inspectors in the impacted counties to make sure that the process goes quickly and smoothly.”
FEMA says funds could be distributed quickly or take more time if a resident is still awaiting insurance payouts.
The deadline to register for FEMA assistance is December 7th.
