FEMA Assistance for Survivors with Disabilities

For eligible homeowners, FEMA can help with additional repairs and improvements if you or a household member has a disability. 

What disability-related items can FEMA help with?

FEMA can help homeowners pay for the full cost of these items when needed by a member of your household:

• Exterior ramp.
• Grab bars.
• Paved path of travel to your home from your vehicle.

When can FEMA provide money to help with disability-related items?

FEMA will pay for some or all of these items when:

• Your home was damaged by the disaster and your home already had one or more of these items.
• Your home was damaged by the disaster and a member of your household needs one or more of these items, even if it wasn’t part of your home before the disaster.
• A member of your household was disabled by the disaster and needs one or more of these items.

Who can get help to repair or install disability-related items?

You can get help with home repair from FEMA if:

• You or someone in your home is a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national or a qualified non-citizen,
• FEMA can confirm your identity,
• You own your home, and it is in a declared disaster area,
• You live in your home most of the year,
• A member of your household has a disability-related need for one or more of the items listed above,
• You don’t have insurance that covers the damage to your home from the disaster.
• A FEMA inspection confirms your home was damaged by the disaster and isn’t safe to live in, or a member of your household was disabled by the disaster.

Can FEMA cover costs for all accessibility needs to my home?

Yes. Home Repair Assistance is not limited by a financial maximum award for the items listed above when needed to make your home safe to access for anyone in your household with a disability.

My home was damaged and had these items. How can I get help?

After you apply for disaster assistance, a FEMA inspector will contact you to schedule a time to meet to see the damage to your home. The inspector will record the damage to your accessibility items. If you are eligible, you will receive money for your accessibility items and other repairs. If the money does not fully cover your accessibility-related repairs, you can appeal for the full cost of those repairs. 

My home was damaged but didn’t have these items. How can I get help?

After you apply for disaster assistance, a FEMA inspector will contact you to schedule a time to meet to see the damage to your home. You should also call FEMA’s Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 to request more information on accessibility improvements. You may be eligible for the full cost of your accessibility improvements, if FEMA determines your home is not safe to live in and you send the following information to FEMA:

• Receipts or estimates for accessibility-related items that need to be built or installed, and
• Signed statement from your medical, health care, or rehabilitation professional with their contact information that explains your need for the items.

My home wasn’t damaged, but the disaster caused someone in my household to have a disability. How can I get help?

If the disaster causes anyone in your household to have a disability, FEMA can help, even if your home was not damaged in the disaster. You should contact FEMA’s Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 to request more information on accessibility improvements. You may be eligible for funding for the full cost of your accessibility improvements, if you send this information to FEMA:

• Receipts or estimates for accessibility-related items that need to be built or installed, and
• Signed statement from your medical, health care, or rehabilitation professional with their contact information that explains your need for the items and that the disaster caused the disability.

I don’t agree with FEMA’s decision. How can I appeal?

If you don’t agree with FEMA’s decision, you can appeal by showing why you need FEMA assistance for disability-related items or accessibility improvements. The decision letter you get from FEMA will have more information about the types of documents you should send.

You may use an optional Appeal Request form, which is included in the decision letter you receive from FEMA. You can also choose to write and sign a letter to send with your documents to help FEMA understand why you need help. 

How can I send documents?

You can send supporting documents to FEMA by:

• Bring them to a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) and a FEMA specialist can help you upload them to your registration. Check the FEMA app or go to the FEMA DRC Locator at fema.gov/drc for the latest details on DRC sites.
• Upload them yourself on DisasterAssistance.gov or on the FEMA mobile app.
• Mail them to FEMA at P.O. Box 10055, Hyattsville, MD 20782-8055.
• Fax them to 1-800-827-8112 and mark Attn: FEMA on the fax sheet.

How can I request an accommodation?

If you have a disability or language need that requires an accommodation to interact with FEMA staff or access FEMA programs, contact FEMA’s Helpline at 1-800-621-3362. If you use a video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone (CTS), or other service, give FEMA your number for that service.

Watch a FEMA video explaining what accessibility and adaptive items are covered under FEMA assistance if they are damaged by a disaster: DisasterAssistance.gov

For more information on West Virginia’s disaster recovery, visit emd.wv.gov, West Virginia Emergency Management Division Facebook page,  www.fema.gov/disaster/4851 and www.facebook.com/FEMA.

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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during and after disasters. FEMA Region 3’s jurisdiction includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

Follow us on X at x.com/FEMAregion3 and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/femaregion3.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 833-285-7448. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service. Multilingual operators are available (press 2 for Spanish and 3 for other languages).