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Old 01-09-2009, 12:04 PM   #15
Carey
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City: Bellingham, WA
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Join Date: Oct 2007
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**** I couldn't agree with you more. FEMA was a much better organization prior to the Bush administration, and most importantly prior to affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security. The organization as a whole is on the road to improvement, having already made great advances.
**** Thanks to Marin for his understanding that one box does not fit all. Like any huge entity, there are imperfections within the system, it's people, and in the case of FEMA, the law that governs it's existance and just what it can and cannot provide to the people of this country.
**** The Stafford Act wisely limits how much help can be given an individual, and mandates that there be no duplication of benefits, such as receiving money from two different sources for the same losses. FEMA IS NOT INSURANCE. FEMA is meant to be a helping hand, and nothing more. Currently, the most anyone can receive from us is $28,800 for one disaster. There are many ways in which a persons aid from FEMA could be delayed, denied, etc.. I can tell you that without doubt that anyone who has not received help from FEMA was not entitled, for one reason or another, or did not provide information necessary to move the process forward. One way that occurs is that people don't read or don't understand letters of denial. Generally a denial letter only means that more information is needed to proceed, and people errantly accept that they've been denied totally. The most frequent failure by the disaster victim, is that they simply don't listen. In my Disaster Recovery Centers that I manage for FEMA, we see people every day that have been asked to bring* back a list of documentation to substantiate their claim, and they consistantly fail to do so. To make a blanket statement of FEMAs ineptness based on any one experience is total idiocy. Each and every case is unique, and there are many reasons for denial, including deferred maintenance, and individuals trying to pawn that off as storm damage.
I could go on and on, but will refrain. I'd just like to remind everyone that no other country I know of has an organization like FEMA that does so much for their people to aid in the recovery process. I welcome anyone who is unhappy with our system to move to Indonesia and see how much help you get with the next Sunami.
Finally, I would quote... "Blessed is the man who having nothing to say, abstains from giving us wordy evidence of the fact." George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans)
1819-1880

Carey

PS-I invite anyone who is dealing with FEMA and having difficulty with the process, to email me, and I will try to advise you as to how to proceed. I am not allowed to work your case over the phone or email beyond a little advice however.
Marin-See, I'm not gone, just trying not to offer wordy evidence that I have nothing to say.

-- Edited by Carey at 14:08, 2009-01-09
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