Less Than One Week Left to Get One-On-One Assistance; SBA Urges Return of Disaster Loan Applications

ATLANTA, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Small Business Administration urges residents and business owners affected by severe storms and flooding that occurred October 18th, 2007, to visit the Disaster Loan Outreach Center for assistance. Residents of Elkhart County and the adjacent counties of Kosciusko, LaGrange, Marshall, Noble and St. Joseph in the State of Indiana; and Cass and St. Joseph counties in the State of Michigan are eligible to apply.

SBA’s Customer Service Representatives are available at the Center until the close of business Thursday, January 31 to answer questions and provide one-on-one assistance with completing the applications. The SBA also encourages those victims who received applications to return the completed applications as quickly as possible, even if they have insurance. The Center is located in the following community:

Elkhart County

Nappanee Public Library

157 North Main Street

Nappanee, IN 46550

Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:30 pm

Open until the close of business January 31, 2008.

“We want to express our sincere gratitude to the staff of the Nappanee Public Library,” said Frank Skaggs, Director of Disaster Field Operations Center East. “By providing facilities for our Disaster Loan Outreach Center, they have helped disaster victims in their community. We deeply appreciate their generosity.”

Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. Businesses of any size and private non-profit organizations may borrow up to $1.5 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.

For small businesses, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. The EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage.

Anyone unable to visit the Center may obtain an application by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing-impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. EST. Business loan applications can be downloaded from www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be returned to the Centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76155.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is March 10, 2008. The deadline to return economic injury applications is October 8, 2008.

For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Programs, visit our website at www.sba.gov.

SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

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