VA announces disaster assistance, resources for veterans affected by Hurricane Milton

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs announced several resources for veterans who were impacted by Hurricane Milton.

Milton made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key before sweeping through Central Florida and into the Atlantic.

VA officials said the resources include housing, VA healthcare, insurance, and employment benefits.

[RELATED: Where Milton ranks among strongest Atlantic hurricanes | Strongest winds so far in Central Florida from Hurricane Milton | Download the FREE News 6 hurricane app]

Housing

If you or a Veteran you know needs immediate housing assistance in the aftermath of a natural disaster, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans, available 24/7: 1-877-4AID VETS (1-877-424-3838).

If you’ve relocated to a shelter or a disaster recovery center because of a natural disaster, we may have already deployed a team to connect you with the health care and benefits you need. If you need help finding housing, we’ll assign you to a case manager.

Learn more about disaster recovery centers on the FEMA website.

If you have a VA loan and your home was affected by a natural disaster, please find information on the Home Loan Guaranty (LGY) website.

Healthcare

• Check out the Find VA locations tool to locate a facility closest to you.
• Our emergency pharmacy service may be deployed during a natural disaster. These self-contained vehicles can serve as an outpatient pharmacy for Veterans in the affected area within a few hours.
• If a natural disaster has impacted your access to needed prescriptions or medical equipment like oxygen tanks, we can work with mobile clinics, home health teams, and community care providers to get you the prescriptions and medical equipment you need.
• VA may also stage Public Contact Teams at local shelters or in Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) to connect Veterans with needed health care and benefits, to include housing case management.
• VA health benefits hotline is staffed Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET: 1-877-222-8387.
• Natural disasters may impact your ability to reach us via phone. If you think your life or health is in danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. If you have non-urgent/emergency questions, you can reach VA through My HealtheVet secure messaging for appointment scheduling, prescription refills and to access your medical records.
  If you do not have a My HealtheVet account, take time and register today. Do not forget to opt-in to receive email notifications for Secure Messaging.
• VA supports Caregivers! Contact your local facility or the Caregiver’s Support Line: 1-855-260-3274.
  Check out this toolkit to assist Caregivers plan for and react to natural disasters.

Benefits and Compensation

• Unable to get a benefit payment after a disaster? Contact the VA National Call Center and learn how to request a special one-time payment: 1-800-827-1000.
• VA encourages mortgage servicers to put a 90-day pause on foreclosures and waive late charges after a disaster. Visit the VA home loans webpage to learn more.
• If your school closes temporarily due to a disaster, VA may continue payments. Contact GI Bill specialists at: 1-888-442-4551.
• If you are a displaced Veteran and receive employment services from VA, you may qualify for two additional months of Employee Adjustment Allowance (EAA).
  Contact your local VA Regional Office to speak with your local Veteran Readiness & Employment (VR&E) Specialist to learn more.
• VA Specially Adapted Housing Program may be able to assist you to fund home repairs after a disaster, following FEMA and insurance. Reach Adapted Housing at 1-877-827-3702.
• If a disaster caused the loss of a previously adaptable automobile, VA may be able to help after insurance. Contact us at 1-800-827-1000.
• Mail Contingency. If natural disasters disrupt the timeliness of VA receiving your important claims paperwork or gathering information from you, know that VA will not penalize you for subsequent mail delays. You may also submit claims and upload any other relevant information through your VA.gov account.

Life insurance

If you’re affected by a natural disaster, we may offer instant loan approvals online or provide same-day processing for policy loans.

We also provide same-day processing and approval for these:

• Withdrawals from dividend credit and deposit accounts
• A claim for when an insured person dies

The Office of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (OSGLI) follows disaster alerts issued by each state’s Department of Insurance in the event of a natural disaster. These alerts generally pause insurance coverage from lapsing for people in affected areas and extend the grace period for premium payments.

To learn more, call us at 800-669-8477. We’re here from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.

To contact OSGLI, call us at 800-419-1473. We’re here from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET. Or, you can email us at osgli.osgli@prudential.com .

Fraud

Some predators use natural disasters and emergencies to target Veterans. This may include disaster response imposters and scammers claiming they’re from charities offering fake emergency loans.

If you think you may be a victim of fraud, call us at 833-388-7233. We’re here 24/7.

VA’s Office of Emergency Management drives a comprehensive emergency management program at all VA facilities to ensure continuity of benefits and health care for Veterans. While we shared quite a few resources above, it is important to work with your local VA teams so they can fully support you following a natural disaster.

Learn more about disaster assistance resources for Veterans.

Veterans Crisis Line

Free, confidential support is available 24/7 for Veterans in crisis by phone, text, or chat:

• Dial 988 then Press 1
• Send a text to 838255
• Chat Online
• Support for deaf and hard of hearing: 1-800-799-4889

All of the VA’s disaster assistance information can be found here.

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