On Monday, October 17, Laurie Turner from US Congressman Mark Sanford’s office visited Town Hall to announce that the office is offering to serve as a liaison to federal agencies when residents have questions about or are experiencing problems with federal responsivenesss. The immediate purpose of her visit was to offer advocacy on issues relating to recovery from Hurricane Matthew.
Ms. Turner explained that FEMA assistance will be available to County residents only if Charleston County issues a “Declaration of Individual Assistance.” (Such a Declaration was issued last Fall in relation to the 100-year flood.) Individuals may go to the FEMA.gov website and fill out a form to request assistance with damage resulting from the storm. As explained online, “If you have damage or loss from this disaster, you may be able to complete a FEMA application now even if your county has not been federally declared for Individual Assistance. This will help speed up the process if counties are added to a declaration. Your application will be processed if your county is added to a declaration and FEMA determines you are eligible.”
Recognizing that the FEMA process could be confusing, Ms. Turner explained that the Congressman’s office may be able to help. She distributed Privacy Release Forms which would allow the office to proceed if and when the County’s Declaration is made.
Residents in attendance asked questions about the possibility of reimbursement for the types of damage they had experienced, issues ranging from yard and tree debris removal to ground-level flooding and damage to boat and dock. Ms. Turner reiterated that she could not answer specific questions about FEMA assistance but encouraged completion of Privacy Release Forms so that Sanford’s office could be ready to investigate individual residents’ concerns and provide feedback to them.
Ms. Turner closed the session by announcing that she would be visiting the area regularly in the future, possibly every couple of months, to extend the Sanford office’s liaison assistance with Social Security, Internal Revenue Service, veteran’s benefits, passports or other problems that invovle a federal agency. When available, a schedule will be published on Tidelines. You may apply for Congressman Sanford’s assistance through his website at https://sanford.house.gov/services/help-.