Berrien Co. Chamber of Commerce explains how to apply for FEMA assistance in Federal Disaster Declaration counties

NASHVILLE, Ga. – Moving over to Berrien county, the City of Nashville hosted a meeting covering FEMA assistance to residents still recovering from Hurricane Helene.

We spoke to Lisa Smart with the Berrien County Chamber of Commerce about where people can find this aid.

“So, yeah, we’re on day seven of the recovery from this hurricane. And, right now, we still are in the recovery mode. We are still working on getting trees cleared from roads and driveways and homes right now. And, we’re working on getting supplies out to our community,” said Lisa Smart, Volunteer & Distribution Director, Berrien Co. Chamber of Commerce.

“Right now, we’re getting water at tarps in the marshes. We are starting to receive different types of supplies and donations into the community. Right now, we’re getting nonperishable foods. We’re getting cleaning supplies and that type of thing, which we’ll start getting that pushed out to our citizens. But those are beginning to reach us in this community so we can get that out to help our citizens that have gone through this disaster,” said Smart.

“So, we are a very large county as far as acreage. And, this has affected our entire county all the way from the southern to the northern tip. It has been a massive undertaking to try to start this cleaning and clearing process. But, we are in that the number of homes and people that have been displaced from the U.S. is overwhelming,” said Smart.

“We have done a door to door survey on our homes throughout our county. We’re still waiting on those full resort results to come in, but we will have upward of close to 100 homes that have been completely destroyed by this and then probably another 500 that have some sort of damage, whether it’s minor or major damage to their homes,” said Smart.

“Now that the path has been made clear, those contractors are coming to our aid. I have passed convoys of electrical contractors coming in from other states that saw Mississippi. I’ve seen Tennessee. They’re coming in from everywhere to help get our electricity restored. We are starting to see that through. Most of the city has been restored at this point,” said Smart.

“When I say city, I’m mean in Nashville and, then, they’re working out from there and we’re start to seeing restoration throughout our county,” said Smart.

“Now FEMA has declared us for individual assistance through them. So, we actually just came out of a meeting where all of our county and city officials came together to learn more about what that process is going to look like. So, we are able to open that portal now and offer the FEMA assistance,” said Smart.

“We will be posting that on the Berrien EMA Facebook page, as well as the Berrien Chamber of Commerce Facebook page, and I believe the city of Nashville page as well, where individuals can click that link and go and learn more about what FEMA is offering. And, then, also the Small Business Administration is offering loans for those that do not qualify for the FEMA assistance,” said Smart.

“So, I would just like to say to our citizens and to our community that if you do still need help with something, reach out to us. We have a hotline set up for that is (229) 520-5900,” said Smart.

“We are here for the duration of this week. The storm has come and gone, but the path it’s left behind is deep and wide. And, we are here for our citizens, our commissioners, our city officials, the chamber. We are here to help our citizens and our business is recover from this,” said Smart.

If you are located in one of the federal disaster declaration counties for FEMA aid, go to disasterassistance.Gov or call 1-(800)-621-3362.

Tracy Bishop reporting.

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