IMPORTANT FOR REPAIRS
Be sure to use ONLY contractors licensed by our local Contractors Licensing Board. Licensed contractors are required to be insured and the Contractors Licensing Board can help mitigate any issues that you may have with quality, standards, etc.
Following a disaster, unscrupulous or fraudulent people will seek to take advantage of the situation. All licensed contractors receive an official certificate on yellow paper with unique license and contractor numbers. To verify their information, search their database at bgky.org/contractorslicensing or call 270-781-3135. If a number can’t be verified, it could be invalid. For more information, email [email protected]
2-1-1 is prepared to direct you to other resources in our whole 10 county region, including food, clothing, mental health and long-term case management.
Tornado survivors can call the Kentucky Legal Aid Disaster Legal Services Hotline:
877-782-4219. They are available from 9:00am-3:00pm Monday through Friday and messages can be left at any time. If they need to leave a message, they should indicate they are seeking tornado related assistance and identify their county and general type of legal issue. Aside from generally getting this hotline and information out to the community, one of the things we want to make sure people are aware of is that they do not need to qualify for legal aid to receive disaster legal services. Kentucky Legal Aid is providing the hotline so they can handle the initial intake. If a person qualifies, they will be placed with a legal aid attorney to assist them; however, if they do not, they will be placed with a local pro-bono attorney familiar with the area of law they need assistance with instead. This is a partnership between Bowling Green-Warren County Bar Association and Kentucky Legal Aid.
Financial and Transportation Assistance
HOTEL INC has partnered with the City of Bowling Green to address the lasting effects of the December tornadoes. Their Navigators will partner with victims impacted by the tornadoes to address the mid- and long-term facets of their recovery. Additionally, they may be able to assist those impacted with temporary financial assistance as they await their Disaster Unemployment Assistance, while they wait for their impacted employment to return or while seeking new employment.
They are also able to assist victims impacted by the tornadoes with their transportation needs through a partnership with the City of Bowling Green and utilizing Uber vouchers. These vouchers will assist victims with getting to work, school, medical appointments, the grocery store, religious services, and to any tornado recovery appointments. Go here for more information https://hotelincbg.com/tornado-assistance.
FEMA
Understanding Your FEMA Letter is important. Please read below for tips on understanding your FEMA letter. Translations in English and Spanish.
More FEMA information
Documenting Home Ownership and Occupancy for Disaster Assistance in Kentucky
As part of the disaster assistance process, FEMA must determine ownership and occupancy of damaged primary residences. The agency has taken steps to make it easier for disaster survivors in Kentucky to verify ownership and occupancy.
Owners and renters must be able to prove they occupied the disaster-damaged primary residence before receiving Housing Assistance and some types of Other Needs Assistance. FEMA now accepts a broader range of documentation.
Read more in FEMA Fact Sheet 008 – DR-4630-KY
