FEMA begins notifying Will County residents on disaster claims

Letters going out this week, disaster center remains in Joliet

Signs and a banner point motorists to the location of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Recovery Center that opened Friday in the Will County Center for Community Concerns building at 2455 Glenwood Ave. in Joliet. Oct. 4, 2024

Will County — Will County residents who have applied for federal disaster relief funds through the Federal Emergency Management Agency should expect letters accepting or rejecting their claims in the mail starting this week.

According to FEMA media specialist Troy York, applicants who submitted their claims immediately after the federal Major Disaster Declaration was signed by President Joe Biden on Sept. 23 could see their letters arrive in the next few days.

Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives David Gonzalez and Brandy Norwood help a Will County resident apply for financial assistance at the Disaster Recovery Center that opened in Joliet on Friday. Oct. 4, 2024

York urged residents to read letters thoroughly upon receiving them. Although letters stating that an applicant has qualified for requested relief will explain the next steps, York noted that many people will read the first paragraph of a rejection letter, get frustrated and throw it away.

“We strongly encourage people to read the entire letter,” York said. “Oftentimes there is an easy remedy that will be explained later on. It can be a missing receipt or an address that got entered incorrectly, and if that is fixed, they can reprocess it.”

Faulty applications can be corrected over the phone or online through the application channels, although York suggests that residents who are able should visit the Disaster Relief Center at 2455 Glenwood Ave. in Joliet to process the correction in person.

“It is easier to do in person, and we will assist them to get their claim going again,” York said.

If the applicant’s rejection is not based on an error, York still encourages rejected residents to stop by the Disaster Relief Center in person to file an appeal.

“If there is no issue with the claim, there is an appeal process explained in the letter,” he said. “It needs to be filed within 60 days of the letter being sent, not received, so check the letterhead to be sure. Either way, staff at the DRC will assist them.”

The Will County Disaster Relief Center is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

York noted that Will County residents who are staying in another county temporarily because of the storm or who work in another county can take their application to a DRC in any of the seven counties affected by the July storms and covered by the disaster declaration.

The seven counties covered by the disaster declaration are Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington, Will and Winnebago.

“I think there are currently seven DRCs in Illinois, and you can handle your claims or appeals at any of them,” York said. “You do not have to go to the one in the county where your permanent residence is.”

Residents whose property was damaged in the tornadoes and storms that swept through Illinois from July 13 to 16 have until Nov. 19 to register with FEMA in order to receive reimbursement or loans covering costs sustained by the damage.

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