González urges those affected by Hurricane María to seek current SBA grants
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González encouraged those affected by hurricane Maria who have not requested assistance yet from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to do so, as the agency continues accepting late applications under certain requirements.
Individuals may apply for
assistance by calling the SBA offices in Puerto Rico or the FEMA Community
Resource Center that is still open throughout the island, she said.
The deadline for filing claims
to SBA was June 18, 2018. However, the agency explained it will continue
accepting late claims, “resulting from essential important causes beyond
the control of the applicant,” she said.
Among the services SBA offers
to those affected are: loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes
and nonprofit organizations to help repair or replace physical losses not
covered by their insurance or other recovery resources.
Some examples of causes that
could have prevented the individual from filing the claim on time may include,
but are not limited to:
- Serious illness of the applicant or death of a
member of the applicant’s immediate family; - When the applicant is an entity; serious
illness, death of the principal owner of the applicant or his immediate
family member; - Late receipt of the request by the applicant due
to reasons related to the disaster (frequent removals, remote locations or lack
of regular mail service); - That the petitioner or principal owner was an
active service military stationed outside the disaster area for much of the
period in which the claim was filed; - The applicant or principal owner was out of the
country for a substantial part of the time of filing applications - The applicant is requesting a disaster loan to
repair substantial damages that were discovered after the application deadline
and that could not reasonably have been discovered before the deadline; - Permanent or temporary relocation outside the
disaster area, causing the applicant or principal owner to be unable to make
decisions about repairs, replacements or change; - Pending issues during and after the claim period
such as insurance, livability of adjacent areas, flood or municipal zoning
requirements, which prevented the applicant or principal owner from making
decisions on repairs, replacements or relocation. - SBA and / or FEMA error.
The list of FEMA Community
Resource Centers that offer SBA assistance can be found in this link.
