The Disaster Legal Services hotline is now available in response to damages by Hurricane Zeta on October 28-29, 2020, in Mississippi. The Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is providing free disaster legal assistance efforts to individuals that were affected by the recent storms in George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties.
Low-income survivors facing legal issues may call 1-877-691-6185 between 9:00am and 4:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday.
Major Disaster Declaration
On December 31, 2020, The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to the State of Mississippi to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in the area affected by Hurricane Zeta from October 28-29, 2020. The President’s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in George, Greene, Hancock, Harrison, Jackson and Stone counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover.
Mississippians who sustained property damage as a result of Hurricane Zeta are urged to register with FEMA, as they may be eligible for federal and state disaster assistance. People who sustained storm damage in the affected counties above can register for FEMA assistance online at www.DisasterAssistance.govor via smartphone or Web-enabled device at www.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) from 6 a.m. to midnight CT / 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. ET. Applicants should be prepared to provide basic information about themselves (i.e., name, permanent address and phone number), insurance coverage and any other information to help substantiate the loss. In addition, there is information available at www.DisasterLegalAid.org.
Local Partnership Members
The following organizations have joined forces to support a toll-free phone line for Mississippi storm survivors to request free legal assistance and to provide volunteer attorneys to handle cases arising from recent storm damage.
Mississippi Bar Young Lawyers Division – The Bar was founded in 1906. Today all of Mississippi’s 8,000+ lawyers are members of the Bar. The Bar’s Young Lawyers Division has been providing disaster legal assistance in Mississippi since Hurricane Camille in 1969. The Bar’s Young Lawyers Division is composed of lawyers under the age of 37.
Mississippi Center for Legal Services– (available at: http://www.mslegalservices.org) Mississippi Center for Legal Services is a Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantee program which provides free civil legal services to low income and seniors in the State of Mississippi.