Hello there! I interviewed Robin last week--she asked if I could pass this along to you--check it out--she sent me this email. Her phone number is included if you have any questions too!
Ladies and Gentleman:
Can I ask for your assistance?
We were told by a resident of South River that an inspector came to his home, walked through it and then told him that he didn’t qualify for FEMA assistance. He reported this information, and his disappointment, to a FEMA community relations person. She was standing in front of his home and could see that he definitely DID have a considerable amount of damage. Being suspicious due to that, she asked him about whether he had a nine digit registration number and he said he didn’t have one.
Come to find out, he had never registered.
First of all, FEMA would never have known to send an inspector if he hadn’t registered. Secondly, the inspectors do not make the decisions on whether FEMA would be giving assistance or not! Can we ask that you reiterate that people should watch for fraud? I have attached the press release that FEMA released recently on this topic.
Any help you can give us in protecting the residents of NJ would be greatly appreciated!
Robin Smith
FEMA Media Relations
360-798-3333