Julia, In my experience, Red Cross can require repayment for assistance so it is best to ask those questions up front.
Sheryl Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T -----Original Message----- From: Julia Germany <germa...@aol.com> Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 14:32:36 To: <Texascavers@texascavers.com>; <mudmal...@hotmail.com> Subject: [Texascavers] OT - Financial Assistance for Victims of Texas Fires HI All! I work for the Office of Emergency Management in League City. When I inquired this a.m. about the options for financial assistance for our caver and other friends in need from the wildfires, my boss immediately suggested that everyone affected by the fires contact their local Red Cross chapter. Red Cross is funded solely through private donations and foundations - no federal funds. They do not expect repayment for services rendered. They are open 24/7 to everyone in need in the affected area - regardless of your financial status, and regardless of whether you have insurance. They realize that insurance takes time to get you the money. They are there to help you until that happens. Once you apply for assistance, they will ask what you need: clothing, food, medication, shelter, etc. They determine the amount you need (ie: the maximum amount they can give you) based on the number of people living in the household. They then give you a pre-paid Visa/MC for this amount so you can shop wherever you want (or pay for hotels, etc.). I strongly encourage anyone affected by the wildfires to register with their local Red Cross. Here's the contact info for the American Red Cross of Central Texas (Bastrop-area Red Cross): By phone: (512) 928-4271 Toll-free: (800) 928-4271 By email: m...@centex.redcross.org In addition, there will most likely be a federal declaration for individual assistance. This is primarily for uninsured people. Insured can apply as well, but the feds will likely provide minimal if any assistance if insurance money is involved. It would be considered double-dipping. As soon as I receive the alert from FEMA about the individual assistance opportunity opening, I'll post it here. Please feel free to forward this email, or repost to other social sites.
