Denied hurricane-aid grant? Consider an appeal, says Legal Services
That decision was reversed in December, after an appeal filed by the non-profit
The man lived and worked at an oceanfront trailer park that was devastated by the Category 4 hurricane
But when the resident applied for federal relief, he was rejected because he used the address of the park.
The lack of the man's trailer-lot number triggered the denial as a "duplication of benefits," Alvarez said. Other park residents had filed using the same address.
Legal Services' appeal clarified the situation, resulting in the reversal of the denial. "This client was extremely diligent," Alvarez said, "but it shows there is value in what we're doing."
"This was a huge success," she said. "He now is receiving up to
About a half-dozen Keys residents have contacted Legal Services, free to those qualifying under income limits. So far, all requests from the
"Some were denied outright for housing repairs, rental assistance or property losses," Alvarez said. "Some received money but not very much."
Appeals have been filed but processing on those applications is continuing.
"One many lived aboard a boat anchored off
"People generally want to be honest but often they don't know what to say," she said. "Sometimes, the
Some decisions seem pretty arbitrary, with people getting thousands of dollars and others in the same situation getting nothing."
People rejected by
The agency also can handle insurance-claim appeals for those meeting the income limits but no one in the Keys has submitted an Irma insurance-claim problem to Legal Services, Alvarez said.
"We service the lower-income community, and typically they rent and do not have renter's insurance," the attorney said. "Some live in their own mobile homes but any insurance is usually bare-bones, and there is no flood insurance for mobile homes. They're kind of stuck in insurance purgatory."
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