Looking for Resources?
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1. General Disaster Law Resources
- Disaster Recovery Handbook and Household Inventory Guide a disaster recovery guide for disaster survivors that guides survivors through the process of recovering from the loss of their homes. (Free copies provided to disaster attorneys after a disaster strikes)
- Insult to Injury: Natural Disasters and Residents’ Financial Health by the Urban Institute Ethics – Issues and Responsibilities for Pro Bono Attorneys BY Sylvia Novinsky, North Carolina Pro Bono Resource Center Nihad Mansour, North Carolina Bar Foundation
- Post Disaster – Consumer Protection Issues
- State and Federal Disaster Recovery Programs available to individuals
- Working with Disaster Survivors: A Mental Health Overview
- Disaster relief: disaster recovery-an overview
- Sequence of Assistance. This shows the hierarchy of assistance from many sources and shows what items could be duplication of assistance.
- FEMA Privacy Cover Sheet
- FEMA IHP Assistance Appealing Adverse Decisions and Avoiding FEMA Overpayments. By Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. 2012. Created to Respond to Hurricane Issac. Current maximum cash grant is $34,900.00 as of October 1, 2018
2. General COVID-19 Resources
3. Disaster Legal Services Partners and Other Resources
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National Disaster Legal Aid Advocacy Center
- Connect to a network of public interest legal advocates working on disaster legal aid and emergencies to learn about advocacy resources, tools, trainings, and more. Advocates and volunteers from nonprofit legal aid organizations, bar associations, pro bono counsel from law firms and corporations, law school students and faculty, and allied nonprofits working on emergency legal help are welcome to join for free.
4. Learn the Law
COVID-19
Natural Disasters
- STAFFORD ACT
- 44 CFR 206 - Federal Disaster This rule finalizes revisions to FEMA's repair, replacement, and housing construction assistance regulations that clarify the eligibility criteria for assistance and implement changes to section 408 of the Stafford Act that were made by the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (PKEMRA). ( Information acquired from disasterlegalaid.org )
- 31 CFR 212 - Regulations that will protect FEMA funds in client’s accounts, as protected federal benefit payments can be found here.
FEMA Guidance
- FEMA- Individual Assistance Program and Policy Guide (IAPPG)
- FEMA COVID-19 Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season
- Flood Claim Appeals and Guidance
- Disaster relief: FEMA IHP appeals- effective advocacy
- Disaster Relief: FEMA IHP Appeals- Issues & Strategies
- Disaster Relief: FEMA IHP Appeals- Procedures
- Help After a Disaster- FEMA & SBA Loans
- FEMA appeal and arbitration process. PDF | video
- FEMA Appeals and Reconsiderations from A to Z
- Appeals in a Nutshell- By FEMA
- FEMA IHP assistance
- FIGURING OUT FEMA: A TRAUMA-INFORMED RESOURCE FOR SURVIVORS
Disability Law
Elder Law
- Legal Services and Disaster Assistance for Older Adults
- Quick Tips to Help Older Homeowners Access Insurance Benefits after a Disaster
- Medicare and Disasters: Information for Advocates
- Legal Services and Disaster Assistance for Older Adults
- Elder Law case consultation assistance (FREE)
- COVID-19 resources - by National Council on Aging
- Coronavirus updates for the Elder Law Community - ABA
- COVID-19 Resources for Advocates Serving Older Adults
Housing Law
- Preventing Homelessness After Hurricanes (and Other Natural Disasters)
- COVID-19/Housing and Homelessness News and Resource page.
- Housing Assistance during COVID-19
Immigration
- Language Access For Advocates: Red Flags for Working with Interpreters
- Language Access For Advocates: Translations- Concepts & Protocols
- Language Access: For Advocates: Who can Interpret?
- When Disaster Strikes: Promising Practices for Immigrants, Ethnic Minorities and Non-English Speakers
- Immigration Advocates Network- Resources for Pro-Bono Attorneys
Insurance Law
- United Policy Holders: COVID-19 Loss Recovery Initiative : database with current information, strategies and helpful resources for collecting all available insurance benefits for losses associated with COVID-19
- Insurance Claim tips/guidance
- Insurance claims- video database: - live educational programs for disaster survivors that guide survivors through the post disaster recovery process
- Navigating Insurance after a Disaster
- Federal flood and homeowners’ insurance
- Flood Insurance Claims Seminar By Martin L. Mayo & associates, P.C. 2017
- Which disasters are covered by homeowners insurance? a handy guide to coverage by policy type—and what's not typically covered.
- Flood Insurance and Related Issues
5. CLE Resources
- How Tax Attorneys Can Assist When Disaster Strikes discusses how tax attorneys can provide immediate assistance to disaster survivors by appealing FEMA denials.
- COVID-19 Loses And Reinsurance they examine the types of COVID-19 claims anticipated, whether those claims are properly payable under insurance contracts, and whether reinsurers will respond to COVID-19 claims presented for payment by their reinsured.
- Foreign National and Immigrant Eligibility for CARES Act Benefits the requirements and impacts of the CARES Act on employers and eligibility of immigrants and foreign nationals for the listed benefits
- Disaster Resiliency: Opportunities for Pro Bono Before and After Disaster Strikes Learn about the most common legal issues that disaster survivors face and how attorneys and law students can get involved to provide much needed pro bono assistance, no matter where they are located. Also, learn how lawyers can do their part after a disaster.
PRACTICING LAW INSTITUTE (PLI)
Free on demand programs with educational content Pro-bono attorneys. Some of the programs are free and for some programs, attorneys will have to request free access by filling out a scholarship form. Additionally, for programs related to COVID, PLI is providing free access to online programs covering legal developments related to the global coronavirus crisis. Please use priority code FREE COVID during checkout for COVID related programs.
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PROVIDING LEGAL ASSISTANCE IN THE AFTERMATH OF DISASTER 2020
- Providing Brief Service to Survivors of Disaster: Hotline 101 and Working with Survivors of Trauma
- FEMA: Appeals, Recoupment, and Other Issues for Disaster Survivors
- Helping Those Affected by Disaster to Recover: Consumer Rights, Responsibilities and Protections, and Insurance Issues After a Disaster
- (Intermediate) Post-Disaster Insurance Issues: Policy Conditions, Underinsured, Causation, and More
- Other Common Disaster Legal Issues: Protecting the Rights of Employees and Employers After A Disaster
- Post-Disaster Landlord-Tenant Housing Issues: Strategies to Advocate for Low-Income Renters Affected by Disaster
- Helping Survivors Understand Housing Rights and Responsibilities After Disaster: Issues Faced by Residents of Mobile Home Parks and Foreclosure and Repair Issues for Homeowners After A Disaster
