FEMA continues aid for San Mateo County residents hit hard by January storms
SAN MATEO -- Help is being provided by federal and local officials for those in San Mateo County residents still feeling the impacts of last month's intense storms and flooding.
Step by step, Damian Arvizu is trying to find the light at what often feels like a never-ending tunnel.
"It's overwhelming," Arvizu said.
His San Carlos condo flooded during the series of intense storms at the start of the year. His carpets and hardwood floors are ruined, Due to mold concerns, he and his family were forced to pack up their lives and leave their home.
"It's hard to feel things right now," he said.
Aside from trying to decipher what he says is confusing and often conflicting information about what can be done and what needs to be done at his home, as well as a timeline for when his family can come back, he says they've spent thousands of dollars bouncing from hotels to short-term rentals.
"It feels still very numb, to be honest," Arvizu explained. "There are days where I still feel really defeated, empty, and drained from this experience."
The need for financial assistance -- and a better understanding of his legal rights -- were some of the key factors that drove him to FEMA's Disaster Recovery Center at the San Mateo County Event Center.
There, they met up with personnel from FEMA and from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to figure out the kind of disaster assistance they're eligible for.
"We've been trying to figure out what to do -- how to finance everything, how to plan the length of a lease," he said.
Hundreds of people in San Mateo County have registered with FEMA, according to spokesperson Tiana Suber.
"It's devastating. It's the most devastating thing that anybody can go through. We want to make sure that we can guide them through the process. It's not complicated, but it is a lot of information," Suber said. "This is a one stop shop here. You don't have to go through different websites and things like that, you can just come here, go to different agencies, and get that help right in one place."
The purpose of the center is to get residents who were impacted by the storm assistance that can help them get back on their feet.
"We offer rental assistance, we offer temporary housing assistance – which means if you've been displaced from your home, or your home is being repaired, we can offer assistance for that while you stay somewhere else. If you had to come out of pocket for a hotel during the disaster, you can be eligible for reimbursement for that. We also offer what we call other needs assistance – we can help you out with childcare, we can help you out with medicine, we can help you out with some of your bills, and any other immediate needs that you might have," Suber said. "We're trying to hit all corners here and trying to help survivors get back on their feet."
The SBA is working alongside FEMA to assist wherever they can as well.
"During presidentially declared disasters such as this, the U.S. Small Business Administration provides low-interest rate loans for homeowners, renters, as well as businesses of all sizes and most private non-profits," said Louise Porter, with the SBA's Office of Recovery and Resilience. "They're lower interest rates and they're for complete rebuilding. So, it is for rebuilding of your complete property. Our limits are up to $200,000 for real estate, up to $40,000 for personal property, and for businesses, they can be eligible for up to $2,000,000."
Arvizu says he left his meetings with FEMA and the SBA with some sense of relief, which has been hard to come by up until now.
"It's hard to tell who is legitimately trying to help us and who's just trying to take advantage of our situation," he said. "So, in that respect, we finally have some phone numbers of people who we can talk to."
He's glad FEMA has set up shop in San Mateo County and is working to help those who's lives were significantly impacted by the bout of extreme weather at the start of the year.
The Disaster Recovery Center is open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Cypress Hall at the San Mateo County Event Center. It is slated to be open through Wednesday, February 22nd.
Additional information on San Mateo County's response to the storm damage and the assistance officials are making available for residents can be found online.