Ohatchee church to offer help with FEMA sign ups this weekend

May 18—OHATCHEE — A young Wellington family waited for two deliveries Tuesday: one was a replacement mobile home for the one they lost in the March 25 tornado, the other a newborn baby.

Pastor Sam Fordham sat beside Alabama 144 in the back of a van with his phone in a camera mount that morning, hoping to catch the home as it was hauled down the road just beside Oak Bowery Baptist Church. The church had played matchmaker between the family and a willing home donor, but weather and circumstance had stalled the delivery for three weeks.

Fordham said the family, a mom and dad in their early 20s with two kids and one more on the way, had lived on Ben Jones Drive, where most of the residences were destroyed by the EF-3 tornado. They'd lived in Jacksonville for much of the seven weeks that followed.

"Connecting people is really what we've been doing since the storm," Fordham said. The Jacksonville residence, for instance, had come from a woman who volunteered it to the church for any families in need.

This Friday and Saturday, Fordham, his wife Katie and a Federal Emergency Management Agency employee (acting in a non-official capacity) will connect with members of the Ohatchee and Wellington communities to help them fill out requests for aid from the federal agency.

FEMA assistance can include money for repairs and reconstruction, loss of personal property and even small business loans for business owners put out of work. The deadline to apply for aid is June 25.

"We'll have everything they need: technology and a person who can help walk them through the forms," Katie Fordham said.

Hundreds of people in northeast Calhoun County were affected by the tornado, she said, but many of them have no internet access or cell phones, leaving them cut off from online applications for aid.

Potential registrants should bring:

— state identification, proof of residency

— proof of ownership (if the registrant owns the damaged residence)

— an insurance settlement letter (if applicable)

— bank account and routing numbers for direct deposit.

Renters can also make claims for the loss of personal property, she said. FEMA generally denies claims from insured residents, she explained, but it's worth filing an appeal to see if a viable claim can be filed for spending in excess of insurance payouts.

Application aid will be available from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the church, located at 3300 Alabama 144.

Help also available at EMA office

In addition, the Calhoun County Emergency Management Agency is also offering help with FEMA signups through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the agency office in Jacksonville at 507 Francis St. W. The office will provide computer access and individuals who can provide assistance with FEMA applications.

Assistant Metro Editor Ben Nunnally: 256-235-3560.

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