Hurricane & Disaster Relief Videos

These videos provide information on common disaster recovery legal issues for Florida residents.

Staff Attorney John Lawless and Managing Attorney Jason Susalla with Bay Area Legal Services’ Disaster Relief Team and the Florida Disaster Legal Aid Helpline discuss simple steps anyone can take to avoid common issues while recovering from disaster.

Disaster Recovery: Important Documents

Today, we’re here to discuss some important documents you will want to have available after surviving a disaster. In order to receive post-disaster aid, many programs will require you to prove it is your property that has been damaged. Additionally, your hazard and flood insurance companies will want to hear from you as soon as possible about any damage done to your home.

Disaster Recovery: Developing a Plan

Today, we’re here to discuss the importance of having a family disaster plan. A family disaster plan lets each member of your family know what to do in the event of a disaster. Making a disaster plan makes it more likely that you and your family will not leave out any crucial details, and place you in a better position to receive the aid and relief you need in the wake of a disaster.

Disaster Recovery: Knowing Your Insurance

Today, we’re here to discuss the importance of reviewing your insurance policies and verifying your coverage. Familiarizing yourself with both your rights and obligations will help avoid mistakes and delays in receiving insurance benefits after a disaster damages your property.

Understanding FEMA Applications

Today, we’re here to discuss FEMA disaster assistance. FEMA provides many different types of assistance, but today we are going to focus on FEMA’s “IHP”, or “Individuals and Households Program.” It is through this program that FEMA provides relief to disaster survivors in the form of money for repairs to their homes and replacement of lost essentials. For the IHP to become available in your area, a few things have to happen.

Understanding FEMA Appeals

Today, we’re here to discuss the FEMA appeal process. In the aftermath of a disaster, many survivors in need of assistance are lacking information needed to request relief. Others can misunderstand the procedure, and still other times errors occur in inspection and application processing. Whatever the reason, this can result in survivors receiving lesser benefits or outright denials.

Understanding SBA Assistance

Today, we’re here to discuss SBA disaster assistance. Many people are familiar with FEMA, but do not realize that the SBA, or Small Business Administration, also has a significant hand in providing relief to disaster survivors. Survivors often encounter the SBA as part of the FEMA application process, but it is not necessary to apply for FEMA relief in order to receive SBA assistance. When it comes to SBA disaster assistance, there are a few important initial points to remember.

Know Your Rights: Renter's Rights

Today, we’re here to talk about renters and their rights. We’re going to focus on disaster survivors, but many of these points apply to renters of all sorts.

Know Your Rights: Home Ownership and Inheritance

Today, we’re here to talk about generational, or heir property. Heir property is property that has been in a family for generations, and no formal legal processes have taken place to transfer ownership from one generation to the next.

FEMA Update: March 2024

As of March 22, 2024, there have been some major updates to FEMA’s individual assistance program. For any Federally declared disasters after that date, these new rules will be in effect for disaster survivors.