After severe storms, floods and landslides devastated land and structures in Douglas County in March, some home and business owners were left with property damage and economic loss.
In response, the U.S. Small Business Administration has opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Roseburg.
The center will be housed at the Roseburg Public Safety Center, 700 S.E. Douglas Ave., and will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.
Javier Calteno, the spokesperson for the Office of Disaster Resilience and Recovery in the Small business Administration, said the goal of the center is to get to know each individuals’ unique experiences and needs to support them through their recovery.
“We have representatives up there to answer any questions, guide them through the process,” Calteno said. “We want to hear their story. We want to hear what they are going through, and how we can help them.”
The center’s main form of assistance will be offering federal disaster loans to cover costs and losses at a lower interest rate.
He said some of the people who have come to the center for help did not have insurance. And for those with insurance, the federal loan process can go faster, getting people the financial aid they need sooner rather than later.
“We want to make sure they don't close just because they cannot make the payments,” Calteno said. “When we provide a loan, it would be to help those individuals get back to where they were prior to the disaster.”
The center can also provide assistance with small business applications, mitigation improvement, relocation and questions about disaster relief.
For more information on SBA disaster assistance, visit https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance.
