TULSA, Okla. — The night of June 17, Donna Ford of Osage County was awoken by the Derecho.
“Our entire home was shaking. Our bed was bouncing, and the first thought I had was are we having a tornado?”
The storm left behind a mess of damage on her and her family’s properties.
“It broke a very huge oak tree, which came down on top of our house, on my son’s bedroom,” says Ford. Her damaged roof is causing her to face leaking from recent rain showers.
She saw on social media that the SBA is offering disaster assistance loans and would be available in person to walk through the application process. She went to the location at the Sand Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Corey Williams, Public Information Officer for the SBA’s Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, believes in the advantages of having an in-person outreach center.
“When you go through a disaster, your mind is spinning. You’re flustered. You’re trying to get things together. So to be able to have our customer service representatives actually walk through the process with the applicants, it really eases their peace of mind.”
Williams says the Sand Springs location will be open until Friday, July 14 at the latest. The location at Owen Park Community Center is open until July 27th.
Applications are also available online here.
