The Santa Barbara County storm disaster recovery centers are closing their doors after several weeks of operations, with Santa Maria’s Allan Hancock College location scheduled to close on Feb. 26, county Public Information Officer Kelsey Buttitta told the Sun.
Both centers opened on Jan. 28 after President Joe Biden’s federal emergency declaration to provide a “one-stop shop” for people impacted by the storms to get federal, state and local assistance—ranging from federal application assistance, mental health and human services, to finding low-interest loans, Buttitta said. Although the South County location closed on Feb. 15, anyone can still come for assistance at the North County location, which will be operating seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“There was a greater need for the North County center to be extended until Feb. 26. They still have people actively coming to the center when we have seen attendance drop off at the South County center,” she said. “The North County center is open to all residents and we encourage them to get to a center at this time.”
Santa Barbara County will provide transportation assistance to and from the North County center for individuals who still need in-person assistance but may not have the means to get to Santa Maria. Once both centers close, readysbc.org will still provide updated recovery information and links to apply for assistance, Buttitta said.
“After the centers close, we are still here and available to help the community recover from these storms,” Buttitta said.
As of Feb. 12, 1,130 Santa Barbara County residents registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and more than $1.4 million had been approved for individual and household assistance—with more than $1.3 million allocated to housing assistance and about $85,000 for other needs, FEMA Media Relations Specialist Renee Bafalis said.
“Housing assistance is for those in need of temporary housing; other needs include personal property losses, repair costs, need for repairing a vehicle if that was your main means of transportation; medical, dental, or funeral assistance may be covered; child care needs that may come as a result of the storm,” Bafalis said.
In the 13 counties designated as a disaster area, 16,578 people have registered with FEMA, and the agency’s allocated more than $18 million for housing and other needs assistance, she said. Although both centers will be closed by the end of February, residents can apply for FEMA assistance until March 16.
“Just because the centers are closed doesn’t mean you don’t have the ability to reach out to FEMA; we have our 1 (800) 621-3362 number you can speak to an operator at any time,” Bafalis said. “People can also go to disasterassistance.gov and upload any additional documentation that would help their eligibility.”
Although FEMA has to wait for an individual’s insurance to weigh in before it can provide assistance, she encouraged people to apply anyway and follow up with FEMA once they’ve heard from their provider.
“Just make sure you’re in the system by the 16th of March. If you have received one of those determination letters, read it carefully to make sure it’s not that we need additional information,” she said. “If you need to write an appeal, they can help you do that as well. But we don’t want people thinking if they got one of those letters it’s the end-all be-all, that really is not just the case.”
FEMA will also have its disaster survivor assistance teams going out door to door in communities until the March 16 deadline to make sure residents are registered and can check their status, she added, but she encouraged people to go in person while they still can.
“I hope folks get the information they need out of these centers, and as long as they’re in the area they are able to use them,” Bafalis said.
This article appears in Feb 16-23, 2023.