FEMA TOPS $2 BILLION OF COVID-19 FUNERAL ASSISTANCE, ANNOUNCES NEW CAMPAIGN TO INCREASE PROGRAM AWARENESS [https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20220315/fema-tops-2-billion-covid-19-funeral-assistance-announces-new-campaign] Release Date: Mars 15, 2022 WASHINGTON -- FEMA announced today it has provided over $2 billion in COVID-19 funeral assistance to support more than 300,000 applicants grappling with the financial stress and burden caused by the pandemic. FEMA is also launching a new outreach campaign and continuing to process applications to ensure that this program -- already the largest offering of funeral assistance in FEMA’s history -- reaches additional eligible families in need. “FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program has helped provide over 300,000 people with critical financial relief during a time of such unexpected, unimaginable and wide spread loss,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “Our new outreach campaign is designed to reach families, especially across underserved communities, where the cost of a funeral can be a financial burden to a loved one. Our goal is to help families apply for assistance, as well as submit all required documents for existing applications.” Committed to reaching all affected communities, the agency will begin a targeted paid media campaign this month. FEMA recently hired a media contractor to tailor media efforts to reach the most impactful population-specific outlets. These new paid advertisements will be directed to localities identified with high rates of COVID-related deaths, low funeral assistance application rates and high Social Vulnerability Index data. The advertisements will help ensure information about FEMA’s funeral assistance reaches underserved communities that have experienced a high COVID-19 death rate but have low registrations for assistance. The four selected areas will be in California, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas. FEMA is also hosting media roundtables with several community outlets in African American, Hispanic and Latino and Asian American Pacific Islander communities to encourage local press to help spread the word about the Funeral Assistance program. Additionally, FEMA’s multilingual services, available through the Funeral Assistance Helpline, has provided assistance in 76 different languages when requested by the caller. Eligible applicants may qualify for up to $9,000 for each deceased individual per application, with a maximum of $35,000 for families who may have multiple funeral expenses due to COVID-19. Since the assistance began on April 12, 2021, the average amount of assistance awarded is $6,500. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the President’s American Rescue Plan gave FEMA the authority to provide COVID-19 funeral assistance and provided the funds for this program. Additional information, including eligibility requirements, can be found at COVID-19 Funeral Assistance | FEMA.gov [https://www.fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance]. People who incurred funeral expenses related to a COVID-19-related death in the United States or its territories on or after Jan. 20, 2020, can also apply by calling 844-684-6333, Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT. “Applications” in the chart below reflect the number of individuals who called to begin the assistance process. Please find state-specific information below:   STATE / TERRITORY APPLICATIONS AMOUNT APPROVED NUMBER OF AWARDS Alabama 10,409 $47,592,838.29 6,950 Alaska 348 $1,058,166.34 205 American Samoa Less than 10 $6,488.60 Less than 10 Arizona 8,588 $25,694,432.08 5,272 Arkansas 5,182 $21,344,298.98 3,405 California 38,086 $168,036,566.34 26,054 Colorado 4,099 $13,048,543.12 2,351 Connecticut 4,536 $23,257,962.44 3,353 Delaware 1,320 $5,726,336.69 885 District Of Columbia 1,023 $4,487,166.20 673 Florida 31,612 $125,059,053.64 22,318 Georgia 18,034 $84,172,597.15 12,136 Guam 27 $84,924.00 12 Hawaii 518 $1,778,411.50 299 Idaho 1,748 $6,019,567.77 1,062 Illinois 17,928 $83,081,807.17 12,127 Indiana 10,033 $42,000,641.96 6,000 Iowa 4,078 $19,046,269.64 2,647 Kansas 4,006 $16,217,233.25 2,491 Kentucky 8,359 $37,607,621.78 5,198 Louisiana 8,369 $39,383,106.44 5,732 Maine 860 $2,644,395.80 486 Maryland 7,392 $32,185,153.74 4,777 Massachusetts 8,791 $37,950,812.16 5,486 Michigan 16,593 $68,650,389.77 11,157 Minnesota 4,721 $19,825,792.59 2,946 Mississippi 7,290 $32,836,209.34 4,870 Missouri 9,915 $40,579,096.22 6,471 Montana 1,236 $4,532,322.79 891 Nebraska 2,109 $9,353,642.01 1,340 Nevada 4,411 $14,298,694.61 2,681 New Hampshire 903 $3,522,982.17 591 New Jersey 15,223 $72,541,952.99 10,561 New Mexico 2,858 $8,690,638.82 1,678 New York 35,497 $168,611,126.44 24,677 North Carolina 14,913 $64,842,965.37 9,873 North Dakota 1,310 $6,936,490.06 923 Northern Mariana Islands 26 $34,484.00 Less than 10 Ohio 20,123 $84,724,770.89 13,054 Oklahoma 6,846 $28,568,581.02 4,489 Oregon 1,985 $5,129,560.56 1,129 Pennsylvania 22,580 $102,447,169.86 15,503 Puerto Rico 2,073 $4,844,759.02 1,310 Rhode Island 1,646 $8,179,109.83 1,197 South Carolina 10,166 $45,974,321.00 6,730 South Dakota 1,245 $6,470,665.97 884 Tennessee 13,771 $62,230,078.49 9,091 Texas 41,511 $189,568,290.36 29,058 U.S. Virgin Islands 66 $256,424.30 41 Utah 2,210 $9,639,857.08 1,387 Vermont 183 $629,468.69 111 Virginia 9,847 $41,800,291.86 6,243 Washington 3,548 $11,138,812.45 2,064 West Virginia 3,398 $14,341,807.81 2,111 Wisconsin 7,869 $32,506,181.05 4,903 Wyoming 653 $2,401,273.07 441