Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro says some
residents in need of federal funding to recover from Ida are being left out.
After Ida
struck the Hudson Valley, some residents were unable to reopen their businesses - while others were even left homeless.
The FEMA assistance that was
approved for Orange, Dutchess and Putnam counties is only for municipalities to
use on public properties, not for the private individual.
Molinaro says this has left
many of his constituents who lost everything without any help to
rebuild.
Because damage from Ida
isn't as widespread in Dutchess, Orange and Putnam counties, FEMA isn't giving
families there any grants.
"We understand that….we
didn't receive the brunt of the storm, but the people who were impacted, did,
and those individuals deserve the same assistance as others in the region,”
Molinaro says.
Taryn Callahan, of
Hartsdale, needs $100,000
to rebuild her home. She says her family lost everything, including her 5-year-old son's long
list of expensive medications.
Shane has Behçet's Disease, an inflammatory and
autoimmune condition that causes a wide range of issues.
"It was too soon to
refill, so the money that FEMA gave us went directly to that, and that was a
huge help because we would've never been able to afford the $100 a can for
formula and you know, all of the medications,” Callahan says.
Molinaro is driving the
point home to FEMA that some families in the county are facing similar
issues but have not received aid from FEMA.
"We're hopeful that our
federal representatives and FEMA will come through with that designation
sometime soon,” he says.
In the
meantime, Molinaro urges
residents who are still trying to rebuild to complete
a survey on the county’s
website. Residents can list and estimate the damages caused to their homes or
businesses, which Molinaro says will help his team get FEMA funding for families.
If you want to help the
Callahan family, you can donate to their
GoFundMe page.