DISASTER NEWS
Loans for
Homeowners, Renters and Businesses of All Sizes
Release Date: May 21, 2009 Contact: Roger Busch cell #
916-717-5807 or Richard Jenkins
Release Number: CA 11756-01
Phone: (916) 735-1500
SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to California
Residents and Businesses Affected by the Jesusita Fire
Sacramento, CA – U. S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Karen G. Mills today
announced that low-interest disaster
loans are now available to residents and business owners affected by the
Jesusita fire that began May 5 in Santa Barbara County. SBA acted under
its own authority to declare a disaster in response to a May 18, 2009 request
from Matthew R. Bettenhausen, Acting Secretary of the California Emergency
Management Agency, on behalf of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Santa
Barbara County and the neighboring
counties of Kern, San Luis Obispo andVentura.
ÒThe U.S. Small Business Administration is strongly committed to
providing the most effective and customer-focused response possible to
assistCalifornia residents and businesses with federal disaster loans,Ó said
Mills. ÒGetting our businesses and communities up and running after a
disaster is our highest priority at SBA.Ó
ÒLow-interest federal disaster loans are available to homeowners,
renters, businesses of all sizes and private, non-profit organizations whose
property was damaged or destroyed by the disaster,Ó said Alberto G.
Alvarado, SBAÕs Los Angeles District Director. ÒBeginning
Friday, May 22 at 1 pm, SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at
the following Disaster Loan Outreach Center to issue loan applications, answer
questions about SBAÕs disaster loan program, explain the application process
and help each individual complete their application,Ó Alvarado
continued. The center will be open on the days and times indicated.
No appointment is necessary.
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
County of Santa Barbara Administration Building
105 E. Anapamu Street, Suite 102
Santa Barbara, CA
Mondays through Fridays, 8 am to 5 pm
Opens Friday, May 22 at 1 pm
Closes Thursday, June 11
The center will be closed on Memorial Day, May 25
Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or
replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are
eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal
property.
Businesses of any size and private, non-profit organizations may borrow
up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate,
machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. SBA can
also lend additional funds to homeowners and businesses to help with the cost
of making improvements that protect, prevent or minimize the same type of
disaster damage from occurring in the future.
For small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations of any
size, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working
capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available
regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage.
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan
Application (ELA) via SBAÕs secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
Disaster loan information and application forms are also
available from SBAÕs Customer Service Center by calling SBA toll-free at (800)
659‑2955,
emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBAÕs Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance/. Hearing impaired individuals may call (800) 877‑8339.
The filing deadline to return applications for property damage is July
20, 2009. The deadline to return
economic injury applications is February 22, 2010.
Roger W.
Busch
cell # 916-717-5807
Communication Specialist
U.S. Small Business Administration
Office of Disaster Assistance
Field Operations Center - West
P.O. Box 419004
Sacramento, CA 95841
(916) 735-1500 Voice
(916) 735-1681 Fax
E-mail: roger.busch@sba.gov
Federal Disaster Loans for Homeowners, Renters and
Businesses of All Sizes