From Staff Reports
The Picayune Item
POPLARVILLE —
The U.S. Small Business Administration — along with state, local and non-profit officials — have opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center here at the Emergency Operations Center at the Old Armory, Mississippi Highway 26 Bypass and U.S. Highway 11, said Pearl River County Emergency Management Director Danny Manley.
The SBA has declared an emergency in Pearl River County and the adjacent counties of Forrest, Hancock, Harrison, Lamar, Marion and Stone, and is offering assistance to residents and businesses in those counties affected by the Christmas Day storm, said Manley.
Said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Robert Latham, “One of the most important things a disaster survivor can do is to go through the SBA application process. Even if they are approved for a low-interest loan, residents and business owners are not obligated to take it if they feel they do not need or want it. SBA low-interest loans are an important tool that help people recover after disasters.”
Office hours at the Old Armory for the participating agencies are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Thursday, Jan. 17. The offices will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. They will be closed on Sunday.
Applicants can apply at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center, online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela, by calling 1-800-659-2955, or 1-800-877-8339 for the deaf or hard-of-hearing, or by emailing disastercustomerservice @sba.gov.
Loan applications also can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be returned to the center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster will continue to work with impacted residents in all the counties affected by the Christmas storms to identify unmet needs and work to get them the assistance they need, said Manley.
Anyone with damages from these storms should contact their local emergency management office or call Mississippi 211 for additional information, said Manley.
For more information or questions, contact MEMA External Affairs, or visit www.msema.org. For details about SBA visit www.sba.gov/disaster.
