Polk RAD - Recovery After Disaster

01/29/2020

12/18/2019

Congratulations to everyone with Polk RAD!! We just received a check for $500 to help us apply for our 501c3 designation. Thank you to Better Living for Seniors of Polk County for this gracious gift!

11/14/2019

Small Business Assistance Loans are now available to those residents affected by the October 18, 2019 tornado in N. Lakeland / Kathleen area. Apply online or via phone, see below for additional details. https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela

SBA loans available to residents affected by October tornado

Bartow, Fla. (November 14, 2019) — Polk County’s Emergency Management division has been notified that local businesses and residents affected by tornadoes as a result of Tropical Storm Nestor on Oct. 18, 2019 can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Residents and business owners have several ways that they can apply for assistance. They include applying online at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela, by calling SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or emailing [email protected] for more information on SBA disaster assistance.

Beginning Friday, Nov. 15, the Salvation Army, located at 2620 Kathleen Road in Lakeland, is hosting the SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center. SBA staff will be onsite to answer questions about the disaster loan program and help individuals complete their applications through Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2019. Hours are:

Friday, Nov. 15, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Sundays, Closed
Tuesday, Nov. 26, Closes at 4 p.m.

Application filing deadlines for these SBA loans will be Jan. 13, 2020 for physical damages to property and August 13, 2020 for economic injury.

Businesses and individuals may obtain more information by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or by emailing [email protected].

11/07/2019

Polk RAD is here at the Mt. Tabor Baptist Church with many recovery partners providing assistance to those impacted by the EF 2 Tornado in North Lakeland/Kathleen areas on October 18, 2019.

10/24/2019

The sauce is simmering and Silas Harvey is waiting to serve our Kathleen Area tornado survivors at Heritage Park. Free suppers to survivors and recovery personnel beginning at 4 pm.

10/24/2019

10/24/2019

An initial Request for Applications has been posted online for Rebuild Florida’s $20 million Workforce Recovery Training Program. The grant funding may be used to launch or expand training programs for construction trades in Hurricane Irma-impacted communities.

Educational institutions and technical centers located in the communities identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) by Hurricane Irma will be able to apply. Local Workforce Development Boards whose service area includes a portion of the HUD-identified MID areas may also apply.

Applications will be accepted starting October 28, 2019, and ending January 10, 2020. Technical questions may be submitted by email to [email protected] until October 25 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Only questions submitted by email will be accepted.

Rebuild Florida is a program of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) in partnership with HUD, launched with federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding to help Florida’s long-term recovery from the devastating impacts of hurricanes. One of Rebuild Florida’s long-term recovery efforts is the Workforce Recovery Training Program. You can currently find additional information on the program and a timeline for the application process with the link below.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to submit them to [email protected].

Rebuild Florida Workforce Recovery Training Program for Hurricane Irma-impacted communities.

10/24/2019

For those in the areas impacted by last week's tornado:

10/24/2019

10/24/2019

Community members came together today at Polk RAD’s October meeting to hear from Polk County Emergency Management Director, Paul Womble, about last weekend’s tornado. Attendees exchanged information regarding recovery efforts that are taking place. United Way is accepting monetary donations associated with recovery of the tornado. People in need of tornado recovery assistance may contact United Way’s 2-1-1.
If you or your church/club or business are interested in being on Polk RAD’s meeting notification list, send us your contact info.

10/22/2019

Come and join us tomorrow at 9 a.m. to hear about tornado recovery efforts.
Meeting location is at Polk County’s Emergency Operations Center. More details found by selecting EVENTS on our Fb page.

Let us know what your organization/company or neighborhood is doing or how they would like to help. See ‘ya tomorrow!