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JobsPlus Assists Hurricane Ivan Victims
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Hurricane Ivan - Local Statistics - Through December 10, 2004
3,709 visits made to JobsPlus One Stop Centers
1,909 individuals in Okaloosa County and 234 in Walton County applied for Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
18,759 individuals applied for Disaster Unemployment Assistance.
The deadline for filing a Disaster Unemployment Assistance Claim was December 19, 2004.
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When residents of Okaloosa and Walton Counties found themselves without jobs after Hurricane Ivan hit in September, staff members of both JobsPlus and the Workforce Development Board were there to assist with special disaster recovery programs. Through December 10, more than 3,700 visits were made to JobsPlus One-Stop Centers for assistance related to the impact of Hurricane Ivan.
Through December 10, JobsPlus has placed 75 individuals who lost their jobs as a result of the hurricane in temporary jobs funded by a National Emergency Grant. These jobs are with public and private non-profit organizations, including government entities, and specifically geared to humanitarian efforts and community cleanup and restoration from the hurricane damage. Placements were made with the Okaloosa County School District, City of Ft. Walton Beach, City of Destin, Walton County, Walton County Health Department, Holt Fire Department, Salvation Army, NAACP, Boys & Girls Club, Bridgeway, Goodwill, Walton County Habitat for Humanity, Department of Children and Families, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Workforce Connection. Linda Sumblin, Assistant Director of the Workforce Development Board, coordinated the effort to establish worksites for the eligible organizations.
JobsPlus staff also assisted Hurricane Ivan victims with Disaster Unemployment Assistance. This federally
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funded program assists individuals who become unemployed as a direct result of a declared disaster and covers some workers who are not covered by the state’s regular unemployment compensation program. Through December 10, 1,909 individuals in Okaloosa County and 234 in Walton County have applied for this assistance. Over 18,700 individuals have applied statewide as a result of Hurricane Ivan. The deadline for filing a Disaster Unemployment Assistance Claim was December 19, 2004.
Workforce Development Board staff assisted with the Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan program by serving as a member of the loan committee. Through this program short term, no interest loans of up to $25,000 were made available to small businesses that suffered physical loss or damage from Hurricane Ivan. The Okaloosa and Walton County Economic Development Councils coordinated the local effort in direct cooperation with the State of Florida, Enterprise Florida, Inc. and local participating banks. The program, which ended November 30, granted $665,500 to small businesses in the two-county area.
In addition to these programs JobsPlus staff assisted at FEMA disaster recovery centers and emergency food stamp centers and distributed information at numerous outposts throughout Okaloosa and Walton Counties. Workforce Development Board staff distributed program information at chamber of commerce functions, participated in disaster recovery seminars and appeared as a guest on Carr, Riggs & Ingram’s “Thinking Allowed” cable television program.
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