Of 2,234 V.I. applicants approved for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance for losses incurred as a result of Hurricane Lenny, 146 have yet to receive their checks, Human Services Commissioner Sedonie Halbert told senators Monday at a Youth and Human Services Committee hearing.
The payments are under FEMA's Individual and Family Grants program, which is administered locally by Human Services. Halbert said the current IFG program was implemented last Dec. 10, after Hurricane Lenny hit the territory on Nov. 16. The program requires a local government match of 25 percent to the federal government's 75 percent.
Committee chair Judy Gomez expressed concern that the community was not well enough informed about the availability of the grants. Halbert said she plans to put out additional publicity through FEMA, the Government House public information office, the V.I. Territorial Emergency Management Agency and her own department.
Halbert said 5,249 Hurricane Lenny IFG applications were received and 2,234 were approved, for an average grant of $2,370. Of the total $5,295,400 approved, $4,890,930 has been distributed, she said, with 120 cases pending on appeal.
An additional $120,000 has been approved to cover grants for any applicants whose appeal may be successful — $90,000 from federal funds and $30,000 from the local government. The Office of Management and Budget identified a funding source for the local share, Halbert said.
Committee members Vargrave Richards and Donald "Ducks" Cole commended Halbert for doing an "excellent job" as head of Human Services. Joining the commissioner for the presentation were Ermin Boschulte, Financial Programs Division administrator, and IFG coordinator Monique Davis.