WASHINGTON COMMISSION ON HISPANIC AFFAIRS AND FEMA PARTNER TO SUPPORT
HISPANIC/LATINX COMMUNITIES
[https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20211006/washington-commission-hispanic-affairs-and-fema-partner-support]


Release Date: 
October 6, 2021 

BOTHELL, WASH. – The Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs
(CHA) and FEMA are partnering to expand access to the FEMA Funeral
Assistance Program for Hispanic/Latinx communities in Washington. This
collaboration is an opportunity for FEMA to work with the Commission
to engage with, inform, and reach Hispanic/Latinx community members
who have lost a loved one to COVID-19.

“The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have—and continue to
be—devastating,” says Vince Maykovich, Acting FEMA Region 10
Administrator. “By partnering with CHA, we want to build
relationships with Hispanic/Latinx communities in Washington and raise
awareness about how to register and participate in FEMA’s Funeral
Assistance program.”

“We facilitate access to information and resources to the
Hispanic/Latinx communities across the state of Washington. This means
that we advise, lead, and help make sure that information is delivered
in a digestible, culturally relevant way. We hope to aid in raising
awareness about this valuable and important program in our community.
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the Hispanic/Latinx community
in our state, and we hope this information encourages our community to
apply to this program and help ease the financial aspects of placing a
loved one to rest,” says María Sigüenza, Executive Director of the
Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

If you incurred COVID-19-related funeral, burial, or cremation
expenses on or after January 20, 2020, FEMA may be able to help you
with some of those costs. To apply, call FEMA at 844-684-6333. The
helpline is open Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT.
Multilingual services are available. If you use a relay service, such
as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others,
give FEMA the number for that service. You must be a U.S. citizen,
non-citizen national, or qualified non-citizen to apply. However,
there is no eligibility requirement for the deceased person to have
been a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or qualified non-citizen. A
funeral assistance video describing eligibility is available in
English [https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=4VN5STcJvtk] and
Spanish [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llHVrs2A2xY], view and share
today.

For more information about FEMA’s COVID-19 Funeral Assistance
Program visit FEMA.gov
[https://www.fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance].

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information.

_FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after
disasters._