The Vermont Department of Labor will make federal disaster unemployment benefits available to Vermonters who were left without work due to last week’s catastrophic flooding, while the U.S Department of Agriculture has made it easier for rural residents to recover and rebuild.
The benefits are available to people in the counties for which the Biden Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration have made major federal disaster declarations. So far there are six: Chittenden, Lamoille, Rutland, Washington, Windham and Windsor counties. Additional counties may be added to the list in the future, the agency has said.
Individuals living, working, or scheduled to work in these counties may be eligible for disaster unemployment assistance. Also, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants program is available to low-income flood victims.
“Today, our neighbors need help,” said Sarah Waring, state director of USDA Rural Development in Vermont and New Hampshire.
“Over the last two weeks, parts of Vermont have been devastated; people with destroyed and damaged homes, towns and villages submerged to windows and rooftops, and farmers, producers and businesspeople who lost their livelihoods in mere minutes,” she said.
The unemployment benefits will be extended to include independent contractors, the self-employed and agricultural workers, according to the state Department of Labor. Individuals in the six counties have until Aug. 21 to file a claim, and the first payable benefit week is July 9 through 15.
Individuals seeking assistance through the disaster unemployment assistance program must first file for regular unemployment benefits. As part of the application process, claimants should indicate that their employment was impacted by the disaster. The Department of Labor will determine if the claimant is eligible for regular unemployment first.
If the claimant is deemed ineligible for regular unemployment insurance, the applicant will be provided with the disaster unemployment assistance application. Eligible Vermonters can collect benefits for the weeks during which they meet the necessary program criteria.
Within the USDA’s Single Family Housing Direct Loans and Grants, the government also made changes to ease restrictions on homeowners seeking those grants or loans. The changes to the program include increasing the grant maximum from $10,000 to $40,675 and removing the age restriction.
Additionally, current borrowers already participating in USDA’s Single Family Housing Direct Loan program have the option for various extensions, payment moratoriums and waived late fees.
