Holyoke Fire Victims Begin Process of Applying for Federal Aid HOLYOKE, Mass. (WGGB) — One month ago, close to 100 people lost their home when a Holyoke apartment building went up in flames. Now, the Small Business Administration is offering low interest loans to help those families replace what they lost. By the time the smoke cleared on June 16, more than 80 Dwight Street residents had lost their home. “I lost everything in the fire, lost everything in the fire,” explains Felipe Oquoendo, a victim of last month’s fire Today, the SBA set up shop at the fire department on High Street, where fire victims can stop by and apply for low-interest loans. If they qualify, they can borrow up to $40,000 “We’re going to be here this week and next week until Thursday. They can come and apply and we can offer them, if they are tenant and they lost everything and they qualify, we can give them up to $40,000,” says Asuncion DeSax-Guerrero with the SBA. Loan rates vary from 2.18 to 4.37 percent, and borrowers have up to 30 years to pay back the loan, but one applicant we spoke with says it’s unlikely many of the building’s former tenants will qualify. “They just told me right now I’m not approved for it because I don’t make over $1,000 a month. Everybody in the building in that fire were low income and disability people that don’t make over $1,000 a month, so I don’t know who’s going to get approved for this loan,” Oquoendo says. Still, representatives from the SBA are confident this program will help some victims secure the resources necessary to get back on their feet. The center will be for eight days, on the following schedule: Wednesday, July 16 – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, July 17 – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, July 18 – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 19 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, July 20 – Closed Monday thru Thursday (following week) – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center will close on Thursday, July 24 at 5:00 p.m. For those who are unable to visit the center in person, program information and loan applications can be accessed by calling (800) 659-1955 (TTY: (800) 877-8339), or by email at [email protected]. The deadline to file an application for physical property damage is September 12, 2014.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 19:38:42 +0000
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