FEMA Grants Won’t Affect Other Federal Benefits

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Applying for disaster assistance will not affect other federal benefits you may receive. Those who sustained loss from the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, landslides and mudslides that occurred May 21-27 and live in Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Christian, Clay, Greenup, Hopkins, Knox, Logan, Muhlenberg, Simpson, Todd, Trigg, Warren or Whitley County, should not hesitate to apply for FEMA assistance. 

Accepting FEMA funds will not affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, or other federal benefit programs. Also, FEMA assistance is not taxable.

Disaster funds help survivors pay for temporary housing, essential home repairs, essential personal property replacement, and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other sources. 

How To Apply for FEMA Individual Assistance

• Visit a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center. To find your nearest center, visit fema.gov/drc.
• Call FEMA at 800-621-3362. Multilingual operators are available daily, 7 a.m.-midnight ET. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service.
• Apply at DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Download and use the FEMA app.

FEMA programs are accessible to people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.

Homeowners, renters, businesses, and nonprofit organizations can apply for long-term, low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to cover losses not fully compensated by insurance and other sources. Apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at sba.gov/disaster.

For the latest information on Kentucky’s recovery from the May 21-27 severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, landslides and mudslides, as well as news releases, fact sheets and other helpful documents in multiple languages, please visit fema.gov/disaster/4804. Follow FEMA at x.com/femaregion4and facebook.com/fema.

To view information about how to apply for FEMA disaster assistance in American Sign Language with captioning and a voiceover, please check the YouTube link.