FEMA has delayed nearly $11 billion in disaster reimbursements to 45 states, including Oklahoma.
It is a problem that has hit non-profit organizations across the country. ROAD, or Recovering Oklahomans After Disaster, is one of them.
WATCH: FEMA reimbursement delays cripple Oklahoma non-profit
Over the last decade, the organization has helped hundreds of Oklahomans--from repairs and remodels to a complete rebuild.
After the 2013 tornadoes, a collaboration between the United Methodist Church, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and American Red Cross began. After the ministry closed, Chad Detwiler kept the dream of helping vulnerable Oklahomans alive with ROAD.
"To look at how disaster recovery could be done better and differently," said Detwiler, as he describes the work of the organization.
Over the years, ROAD has largely relied on government grants, specifically two FEMA grants and one from HUD. This year, due to unprecedented federal government reimbursement delays from FEMA, ROAD hasn't been making payroll.
ROAD hasn't received a payment from FEMA in seven months.
"This year has been the perfect storm in having three government grants have delays in making reimbursements to our organization," said Detwiler. "It's created a bit of financial instability on our own organization to remain stable and have a good outlook on how long we might be able to serve."
Detwiler said, before this year, the slowest payout had been a mere four weeks. This seven-month period now has ROAD rethinking its government reliance and looking more toward individual donors and business sponsorships to stay afloat.
"If FEMA continues to have cutbacks to its services, then the need for our organization to exist is even much more important," he said.
The home repairs and remodels are done by ROAD volunteers from across the country.
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