FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2024

Contacts:
Clarissa Ayala
Communications Director, Lone Star Legal Aid
800-733-8394; cayala@lonestarlegal.org

Rebecca Johnson
Public Affairs Director, State Bar of Texas
512-427-1714; rjohnson@texasbar.com

Armin Salek
District Representative, ABA Young Lawyers Division
Youth Justice Alliance
armin@youthjusticealliance.org

Free legal help available for those affected by
severe storms and flooding in seven East Texas counties

AUSTIN — Lone Star Legal Aid, the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (ABA YLD), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other organizations have partnered to provide legal and recovery assistance to people affected by the ongoing severe storms and flooding occurring in Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties that began on April 26.

A toll-free legal hotline (1-866-659-0666) and website are available to connect low-income individuals affected by the disaster with local legal aid providers who can help with:

  • Assistance securing government benefits as they are made available to disaster victims;

  • Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims;

  • Help with home repair contracts and contractors;

  • Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster;

  • Consumer protection issues such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process;

  • Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems; and

  • Counseling on landlord-tenant problems

Individuals who qualify for assistance will be matched with Texas lawyers who can provide free, limited legal help. Requestors should be aware that there are some limitations on disaster legal services. For example, assistance is not available for cases that will produce a fee (i.e., those cases where attorneys are paid part of the settlement by the court). Such cases are referred to a local lawyer referral service.

Major Disaster Declaration
On May 17, FEMA announced a major disaster declaration for Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties making federal funding available to individuals and businesses owners who sustained damage as a result of the ongoing severe storms that began April 26.

People who sustained property damage as a result of the severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes and flooding are urged to register with FEMA, as they may be eligible for federal and state disaster assistance. People can register online at DisasterAssistance.gov or via mobile device at m.fema.gov. Applicants may also call 800-621-3362 from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Individuals who use a relay service, such as a video relay service, captioned telephone service or others, should give FEMA the number for that service.

Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available for eligible applicants. SBA helps businesses of all sizes (including landlords), private nonprofit organizations, homeowners, and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or damaged personal property. Disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries.

For more information, individuals may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling 800-659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s website. Deaf, hard-of-hearing, or individuals with a speech disability may call 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Online assistance
Individuals who qualify also may use texaslegalanswers.org — an online Q&A-style service where individuals can pose specific questions related to disaster civil legal issues and have them answered online by volunteer attorneys. Texas Legal Answers is operated by the Texas Legal Services Center in conjunction with the American Bar Association.

Additional disaster recovery resources are available at texasbar.com/disaster, texaslawhelp.org, and lonestarlegal.org/services/disaster-relief. For more information on Texas recovery, follow FEMA on X (formerly Twitter) at x.com/femaregion6.

Visit the Texas Division of Emergency Management website, tdem.texas.gov and fema.gov/texas-disaster-mitigation for publications and reference material on rebuilding and repairing safer and stronger.

Barratry
The State Bar of Texas reminds the public that in many cases it is a crime in Texas for a lawyer or someone representing a lawyer to contact a person for purposes of legal representation if the person has not first requested the call or personal visit. The contact is not illegal if the attorney is not seeking payment or has a preexisting professional-client or family relationship with the person being contacted.

If you witness something you believe to be improper solicitation, or barratry, please get the name and phone number of the person making contact and report it to your local law enforcement authority or the State Bar Chief Disciplinary Counsel’s Office toll free at 877-953-5535.

Beware of Fraud
Both FEMA and the Texas Attorney General’s Office warn Texans of the risk of fraud and common scams in the wake of the severe weather. Common post-disaster fraud practices include phony housing inspectors, fraudulent building contractors, bogus pleas for disaster donations, and fake offers of state or federal aid. Texans are urged to ask questions, and to require identification when someone claims to represent a government agency.

Survivors should also keep in mind that state and federal workers never ask for or accept money, and always carry identification badges with a photograph. There is no fee required to apply for or to receive disaster assistance from FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), or the state. Additionally, no state or federal government disaster assistance agency will call to ask for your financial account information. Unless you place a call to the agency yourself, you should not provide personal information over the phone as it can lead to identity theft.

Those who suspect fraud can report by calling FEMA’s Investigations and Inspections Division at 800-233-0814 (toll free). Complaints may also be made to local law enforcement agencies.

Partnership Members
Lone Star Legal Aid (lonestarlegal.org): Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and four counties in southwest Arkansas.

State Bar of Texas (texasbar.com): The State Bar of Texas is a public corporation and an administrative agency of the judicial department of state government that provides educational programs for the legal profession and the public, administers the minimum continuing legal education program for attorneys, and manages the attorney discipline system.

American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (americanbar.org): The ABA YLD, the largest national organization of young lawyers, provides leadership in serving the public and the profession, and promotes excellence and fulfillment in the practice of law. Its parent organization, the ABA, is the national voice of the legal profession and the largest voluntary professional membership group in the world.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (fema.gov): FEMA coordinates the federal government’s role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters — whether natural or man-made — including acts of terror. Through an agreement with the ABA, FEMA underwrites the cost of operating toll-free legal assistance lines for victims in areas designated as federal disaster sites.

United Policyholders (uphelp.org): “UP” is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) consumer advocacy group that specializes in helping disaster victims with insurance claim issues. UP also trains case managers and legal aid lawyers to assist clients with insurance and recovery matters. For help with flood, wind, hurricane, and auto insurance questions.

We use cookies to analyze our traffic and enhance functionality. More Information agree