ACH Spotlight | Hurricane Katrina Information | Arkansas Children's Hospital

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Expedited assistance to help people with their emergency needs of food, shelter, clothing, and personal necessities is being made available to individuals as they apply to FEMA on line at www.fema.gov, or by calling (800) 621-FEMA (3362), TTY (800 ) 462-7585. Currently, the amount of money being distributed through the expedited assistance program is $2,000 per household. This expedited assistance is made available by FEMA to those residents severely impacted by disasters from Mississippi and Louisiana who do not have the usual means of identifying damage to their property or unable to provide the immediate documentation necessary.

Once individuals register with FEMA for assistance, funds will be made available either through the use of electronic transfer to put funds directly in individuals' bank accounts, debit cards in some locations, or by check that can be delivered directly to individuals through the US Postal Service. The US Postal Service and FEMA have been coordinating to be sure mail is able to be forwarded and delivered to individuals staying in shelters.

In instances where individuals do not have access to direct deposit banking means, or are unable to receive checks, FEMA is also implementing a new assistance delivery tool of issuing debit cards to the thousand of evacuees at the Houston Astrodome. The program at the Astrodome, in coordination with the US Treasury, will consist of FEMA teams assisting people in the registration process, with additional assistance from the banking community to deliver the debit card on site. Once the registration process is complete, individuals without electronic funds transfer (EFT) will receive their card with a personal identification number (PIN) and the assistance will be loaded onto the card within twenty-four (24) hours, allowing the debit cards to be used at any automated cash machine (ATM), or at any location accepting bank cards with the MasterCard logo. Those with EFT capabilities do not have to wait twenty- four (24) hours as their funds will transfer quickly. The use of the debit card program may also be offered in other large shelters where FEMA has assisted in moving the evacuees into those areas.

According to media reports, FEMA has said it will scrap the program once officials finished distributing cards this past weekend at shelters in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, where many of the evacuees were moved and that no cards will be issued to victims in other states.

In addition, the American Red Cross is issuing debit cards on a case-by-case basis for emergency needs only. The cards are issued at the American Red Cross Assistance Center, located at St. Mark Baptist Church, 1010 South Taylor Street.

Arkansas Children's Hospital, 1 Children�s Way, Little Rock, AR 72202-3591, (501) 364-1100 or TDD (501) 364-1184

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