Helene housing aid, unemployment deadline extended in S.C.
COLUMBIA, S.C (WRDW/WAGT) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the state of South Carolina have extended the application deadline for disaster unemployment assistance due to Hurricane Helene.
Also, a housing program has been extended in the Palmetto State.
Unemployment assistance
The new deadline is Jan. 7, the same as the deadline to apply for FEMA assistance,
The unemployment funds are made available through the state’s unemployment insurance benefits system.
In our region, eligible counties include Aiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Edgefield, McCormick, Orangeburg and Saluda counties.
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If you lost work or were unemployed as a direct result of Hurricane Helene, visit the MyBenefits Portal to apply for unemployment insurance and determine your eligibility. You can also visit dew.sc.gov and click the MyBenefits in the first circle of the homepage to apply through the unemployment insurance benefits system. For help, please call 1-866-831-1724.
Workers or business owners in the eligible counties who meet the following criteria may be eligible to receive a minimum of $150 and up to a maximum of $326 per week:
- Individuals who are unemployed due to the disaster, and do not qualify for regular unemployment insurance benefits.
- Self-employed individuals and small business owners who lost income due to the disaster.
- Individuals who were prevented from working due to an injury caused by the disaster.
- Individuals who have become the major supplier of household income due to the disaster-related death or injury of the previous major supplier of household income.
- Individuals who are unable to reach their job or self-employment location because they must travel through the affected area and are prevented from doing so by the disaster.
- Individuals who were to commence employment or self-employment but were prevented by the disaster.
Transitional shelter
At the request of the state of South Carolina, FEMA’s transitional sheltering assistance program has been extended to Jan. 11 for Helene survivors who continue to need temporary shelter.
This allows households additional time to identify other housing solution or make repairs to their home. This will continue providing free hotel and motel rooms to more than 6,000 families who are already checked into area hotels.
More than 10,000 households have taken temporary shelter in participating hotels; more than one-third have found suitable, longer-term housing and moved on with their recovery.
For more information, survivors should the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.
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