FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
National Consumer Law Center Contact: Jan Kruse (jkruse@nclc.org); (617) 542-8010
Washington, D.C. – Hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters can upend families and communities, but long after TV crews have departed the long road to rebuilding begins. To help households, especially the most vulnerable, recover from financial devastation after a disaster strikes, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has created a free Disaster Relief toolkit.
The online toolkit includes resources for families, advocates, and policymakers on:
- Obtaining mortgage relief;
- Getting short-termand longer-term federal student loan debt relief (English and Spanish);
- Avoiding home repair fraud(based on lessons learned after Hurricane Katrina);
- Identifying debt settlement scams(English and Spanish);
- Keeping households connected with utilities, including model utility consumer protections that states can adopt, an issue brief on helping low-income households with assistance in paying bills for heating and cooling, and an issue briefand fact sheet explaining how low-income households can remain connected with voice and broadband internet service; and
- Helping older consumers after a natural disaster(including tips on insurance benefits and obtaining assistance from FEMA).
NCLC will continue to add new resources, including how to avoid used cars that were in a flood. To access the full list of resources, please visit NCLC’s Disaster Relief & Consumer Protection Project at: https://www.nclc.org/issues/disaster-relief-consumer-protections.html.
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Since 1969, the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center® (NCLC®) has used its expertise in consumer law and energy policy to work for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people, including older adults, in the United States. NCLC’s expertise includes policy analysis and advocacy; consumer law and energy publications; litigation; expert witness services, and training and advice for advocates. NCLC works with nonprofit and legal services organizations, private attorneys, policymakers, and federal and state government and courts across the nation to stop exploitative practices, help financially stressed families build and retain wealth, and advance economic fairness. www.nclc.org