Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón urges those affected by Hurricane María to benefit from SBA grants

by Feb 25, 2019Federal Government0 comments

Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González-Colón (NPP,R) of Puerto Rico encourages those affected by Hurricane María who have not requested assistance yet from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to do so, as the agency continues accepting late applications under certain requirements. Individuals can apply for assistance by calling the SBA offices in Puerto Rico or the FEMA Community Resource Center that is still open all around the islands.

The deadline for filing claims to SBA was June 18, 2018; however, the agency explained that it will continue accepting late claims, “resulting from essential important causes beyond the control of the applicant”.

Some examples of causes that could have prevented the individual from filing the claim on time may include, but are not limited to:

  • serious illness of the applicant or death of a member of the applicant’s immediate family
  • the applicant is an entity
  • serious illness,  death of the principal owner of the applicant or his immediate family member
  • late receipt of the request by the applicant due to reasons related to the disaster (frequent removals, remote locations or lack of regular mail service)
  • that the petitioner or principal owner was an active service military stationed outside the disaster area for much of the period in which the claim was filed
  • the applicant or principal owner was out of the country for a substantial part of the time of filing applications
  • the applicant is requesting a disaster loan to repair substantial damages that were discovered after the application deadline and that could not reasonably have been discovered before the deadline
  • permanent or temporary relocation outside the disaster area, causing the applicant or principal owner to be unable to make decisions about repairs, replacements or change
  • pending issues during and after the claim period such as insurance, livability of adjacent areas, flood or municipal zoning requirements, which prevented the applicant or principal owner from making decisions on repairs, replacements or relocation
  • SBA and / or FEMA error

Among the services SBA offers to those affected are: loans to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations to help repair or replace physical losses not covered by their insurance or other recovery resources.