10/22/13 $57 million Sandy Housing and Rental Assistance Program, "The Working Families Living Expenses Voucher Program

Sandy Living Expenses Voucher Program Delivers Relief To

New Jersey’s Working Families

Christie Administration Announces Assistance Program For Homeowners And Renters


The Christie Administration today announced a new $57 million Sandy Housing and Rental Assistance Program, "The Working Families Living Expenses Voucher Program." The program will provide housing stability for individuals and families impacted by Superstorm Sandy and ensure that affected households have items essential for health and safety when they return to their home.

This voucher program provides temporary relief by offering support to working families who are financially strained due to the costs associated with recovery from Superstorm Sandy.

 Maintaining temporary housing while their primary residence is repaired/rebuilt;

 Maintaining a primary residence for the household to return to when repairs and reconstruction are completed; and

 Homeowners and renters who are under or unemployed due to the storm and in need of additional help to stabilize their finances may also benefit.

Funding for this program is being distributed to all of New Jersey’s 21 counties for qualifying Sandy-impacted families and individuals through a federal Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) to the state Department of Human Services (DHS).

Funds will be distributed through the county Boards of Social Services or other agencies in the form of direct payments to billing agencies or vouchers to select vendors for eligible residents. Capped at $15,000 in direct payments or vouchers per household, the program provides up to six months of housing and related assistance.

Allowable expenses include:

 Retroactive and Current rent/mortgage payments

 Retroactive and Current utility payments

 Beds and Cribs

 Bed Linens and Towels

 Dressers

 Dining furniture

 Washing machines and dryers

 Refrigerators

 Couches

 Dinnerware

 Lighting

 Stoves

 Microwaves

 Air Conditioners

 Pots and Pans

 Hot Water heaters

In order to prevent fraud and maintain the integrity of the program, residents may be asked to bring any of the following items for review:

 FEMA/DCA Registration

 Mortgage statement/lease agreement

 State issued driver’s license

 Utility bills

 Bank Account statement

　
 Income Tax Return

 Birth certificate/Voter ID/Legal Permanent Resident Card

 Guardianship papers, if applicable

People interested in applying for the program can visit www.NJ211.org or call 211 to find out where to apply.

Link 

The Jersey Shore on This Old House

"This Old House" 

 Covering the recovery at the Jersey Shore. Mantoloking, Bay Head, Point Pleasant and Manasquan, Seaside Heights and more... 

Episode 1 October 3, 2013    
After The Storm

Episode 2 October 10, 2013   
 Drastic Measures

Episode 3 October 17, 2013    
Getting To Work 

Episode 4 October 24, 2013   
Built For Speed 

Episode 5  October 31, 2013 
Lines in The Sand This Old House

Where does your flood insurance money go?

 

What you should know about where your flood insurance money goes.....

 

Thanks to a link on the Stop FEMA now facebook page I read the testimony of;

 

Mark Davey

CEO of Fidelity National Property and Casualty Insurance Group.

The largest provider of flood insurance through the NFIP

 

Mark Appeared BEFORE THE SENATE BANKING, HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

CONCERNING THE NATIONAL FLOOD INSURANCE PROGRAM. Below you will find a link to the complete testimony but I wanted to point out a few things that only the first page revealed.

 

 

 

The actual risk is 100% underwritten by the Federal Government through the National Flood

Insurance Program.

 

Insurance companies are responsible for all marketing, policy quotation, sale, issuance and servicing, in addition to all claims handling and claims payment.

 

Currently ALL participating companies receive an expense reimbursement of 30.2 percent for the policy issuance, servicing and marketing. NFIP  companies also receive a 3.3% claims administration fee when claims are adjusted and paid. The 30.2% processing fee is used to pay independent agency commissions, processing costs, marketing costs, and state premium taxes.

 

When I read the next paragraph, I thought to myself. what a bunch of " hoo wee" the banking industry has come up with software that scans and registers banking deposits. There is online management software that has a filing system so that any file can easily be uploaded to a database and maintained.  And you can not tell me that with NFIP guidelines in writing and the technological advances in GPS software, that an algorithm can't be put together to streamline the servicing process even further. For god sake they can zoom into peoples windows with new GPS software...

 

 

Here is the paragraph

 

While the insurance industry has reduced their underwriting costs for traditional lines through automation and

better processing techniques, flood insurance has become more cumbersome to rate and process. Marketing,

administering and interfacing with the NFIP is a truly specialized field. The rating process requires actual location information such as flood zone, determining elevation, reviewing pictures, and numerous forms to determine the correct rate for the property. This process does not lend itself to high automation....

 

People of this great nation need to pay attention to what is happening at the Federal Level before it's to late. The founding fathers of this country gave us the Constitution for a reason, To Protect ourselves from government.. If you don't protect yourself who will?

 

 

 

NEED FOR EMERGENCY FUND! SANDY UPDATE - TOMS RIVER B.A.& SENATOR SINGER