Transportation Services Available for Florence Survivors

Need a ride? Transportation services are now available for North Carolina residents affected by Hurricane Florence. Call the number for your county transit authority (Click here to view the list.) to schedule a ride to and/or from:

• Disaster Recovery Centers or shelters
• Meetings with your insurance adjuster or home inspector
• Temporary housing or work
• Medical appointments
• Other essential life services

Call to schedule a ride from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Rides can be scheduled for evenings and weekends.

When calling, please have the following information available:
Your pick-up and drop-off location, number of passengers, day and time and if you require an accommodation for an access and/or functional need.

Back@Home North Carolina Initiative Launched to Help Hurricane Victims with Housing

Governor Cooper announced the start of Back@Home North Carolina, a $12 million initiative to help families still in Hurricane Florence disaster shelters or staying in unsafe or unstable arrangements quickly transition to safe and sustainable longer-term housing.

This week, Back@Home team members are traveling to impacted areas of the state with Multi-Agency Shelter Transition teams to reach families and individuals quickly and help them find and secure stable housing options and other needed resources.

Back@Home is for individuals and families who are not eligible for Individual Assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or who may be receiving limited FEMA assistance and still need help securing housing or other supportive services. Services include help finding housing, rent and utility assistance, move-in supplies, and, if needed, help accessing other resources like job training and placement and child care.

The program will be administered by the NC Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with other state agencies, including the NC Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Public Safety and NC Emergency Management, as well as other nonprofits: North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, Socialserve, American Red Cross, Alliance Behavioral Healthcare, Eastpointe, First Fruit Ministries, Southeast Family Violence Center, Trillium Health Resources, and Volunteers of America.

Back@Home is an evidence-based, cost effective program modeled on an innovative program implemented in Texas after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. For more information, please visit www.backathome.org.

Disaster Food Assistance Kick-Off Friday, 9/28

People in 27 counties that have been declared a federal disaster can apply for help buying food through a program called the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).

This help is available in the following 27 counties: Bladen, Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Harnett, Hoke, Hyde, Lenoir, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland, Wayne and Wilson.

The Disaster-SNAP application period will begin Friday, Sept. 28, through Saturday, Oct. 6, with the exception of Sunday, Sept. 30, when all application sites will be closed.

Eligible households will receive a one-time benefit on a special debit card (called an EBT card) to help buy food. The exact amount will depend on household size, but a family of one would receive $192, a family of four would receive $640 and larger families would receive more.

To be eligible, a person must:

• Live in one of the 27 counties listed above.
• Have suffered losses/damages related to Hurricane Florence, such as damage to property, loss of income, or food loss.
• Have proof of identity
• Have proof of residency (if available)
• Have income and resources below certain levels.
• Not currently be receiving help buying food through the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) program. People receiving FNS can also get extra help buying food, but do not need to fill out a D-SNAP application. They can get more information about how to get the extra help at www.ncdhhs.gov/after-hurricane-florence-help-buying-food-ebt-card-holders (This link is no longer active.)

YOU MUST APPLY IN PERSON AT YOUR COUNTY'S DESIGNATED APPLICATION SITE!

To find an application site in your county visit www.ncdhhs.gov/hurricane-florence-d-snap-locations.

You can get the application here:

• English: https://www2.ncdhhs.gov/info/olm/forms/dss/DSS-1432.pdf
• Spanish: https://www2.ncdhhs.gov/info/olm/forms/dss/dss_spanish/dss-1432sp.pdf
• Other applications: https://epass.nc.gov/CitizenPortal/application.do

You can bring the application with you, or you will be given an application when you arrive. Residents will meet with county Department of Social Services staff to process their application. If eligible, an EBT card will be given to you to buy food.

For additional information, download a fact sheet: Help Buying Food after Hurricane Florence: Frequently Asked Questions

RECOVERING FROM FLORENCE - THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

CHECK OUT THESE NEW FACT SHEETS with Hurricane Florence Response & Recovery Information from NCDHHS:

• NC Medicaid and Health Choice Services for Beneficiaries
• Increased Flexiblity to Deliver NC Medicaid and Health Choice Services for Providers
• New Flexibilities for People in the Food & Nutrition Services (FNS) Program
• New Flexibilities for People in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children (WIC) Program
• How You Can Help (Volunteer Information)

More details can be found on the NCDHHS website at https://www.ncdhhs.gov/hurricane-florence

Watch these Accessible Videos with Important Messages from FEMA:

• Make sure food is safe to eat. Never taste food to determine if it’s safe to eat. Food may have spoiled if refrigeration was lost during power outage. Throw away any food that touched flood water. (USDA Food Safety After a Disaster (with ASL): https://youtu.be/vMNqXakhb00)
• Keep children out of flood water. Flood waters may contain hazardous materials or dangerous animals. (CDC Flood Waters During and After a Disaster (with ASL): https://youtu.be/Z3vqPQhkTIY)
• Start the recovery process. If you have insurance, and it’s safe to return home, call your insurance company to file a claim. Take photos and videos of all damages before you start cleaning up. (National Flood Insurance Program – How to File a Claim (with ASL): https://youtu.be/t_OFOP6zljQ)
• Never forget – CASH IS BEST! A financial contribution to a recognized disaster relief organization is the most effective donation to make. (Donating after a disaster (with ASL): https://youtu.be/s6b1-tkV77s)
• Join a team! Do not travel to the affected area to volunteer without first connecting with an established voluntary organization.  This can put you in danger, slow first responders, and fill lodging needed by survivors.

SPECIAL ALERTS

DIALYSIS SERVICES HOTLINE 1-800-524-7139 This is the hotline in North Carolina for people to find dialysis services during the storm.

UNC URGENT CARE 24/7 will be made available as a FREE Service started at midnight last night (9/13) through Sunday to support North Carolinians during Hurricane Florence. (Services also available in Spanish)

How to Utilize:

• Access service at: https://www.uncurgentcare247.com
• Utilize the service in NC
• Use Coupon Code:  UNCFLORENCE2018

Note, this is an on-line service so people will need a working phone or PC with Internet or cell service. 

September is National Preparedness Month, and there is no better time to prepare for emergencies than right now as Hurricane Florence heads toward the East Coast. While Florence’s direct path is still uncertain, NCCDD wants everyone to prepare for the possibility of this storm having a direct impact on our state by this Thursday, and Governor Roy Cooper has declared a State of Emergency.

NCCDD’s Emergency Preparedness for People with I/DD initiative provided many resources to assist people with I/DD as well as access and functional needs in preparing for hurricanes and other types of emergencies.

Please be sure to check out the following resources on the Ready NC website:

Household Emergency Plan: https://readync.org/img/ENGL-HouseholdEmPlan_AccessPDF_logos.pdf
Staying Independent During Disasters Checklist: https://readync.org/img/Staying%20Independent%20flier_final.pdf
What to take to a shelter checklist: https://readync.org/img/What%20to%20take%20to%20a%20shelter%20flier%20final.pdf
Show Me: A Communication Tool for Emergency Shelters booklet: https://readync.org/img/ShowMeBook_2015b.pdf

Additionally, on the ReadyNC website, click on Emergency Preparedness to access information about a variety of topics to help you prepare for any emergency. Topics range from “Make A Plan” to “Get a Kit” to “Evacuating” to “Functional Needs” to “Pets & Service Animals” and more. Some of these topics also have the information available in ASL with captions, and anyone who needs this information in ASL can click the YouTube icons that say, “Watch the ASL Video.”

Please also remember to:

• Have enough food, water, and clean clothes to last for seven days.
• Refill your prescriptions for medications you need. When the Governor issues a State of Emergency, pharmacies may refill current, valid prescriptions early.
• Go on a scavenger hunt through your house to find many of the items for your emergency preparedness kit.
• Don’t wait to purchase what you need!

Download the free ReadyNC app at https://readync.org/EN/Plan.html for your iPhone or Android phone to stay updated on the latest storm news.