After opening a disaster loan outreach center in the Lewis County Courthouse in Chehalis last week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is bringing its resources to Packwood, which was among the areas in Lewis County hardest hit by flooding last December.
Staff with the SBA opened a second disaster loan outreach center on Thursday to serve residents of East Lewis County who saw their homes or businesses damaged by flooding last year. The SBA is setting up shop in the Packwood Community Hall, which is the same location that hosted a shelter during December flooding.
Just like the location in Chehalis, which will remain open, the Packwood location is open to all residents seeking help applying for disaster loans. No appointment is necessary. Residents can also apply for disaster loans online at SBA.gov/disaster.
Unlike the Chehalis center, which is open only during the work week, the Packwood outreach center will be open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The SBA is expected to stay in Lewis County for “as long as we’re needed,” according to Public Affairs Specialist Ellen Israel. That is likely to be for the next month to help residents apply for a range of loans meant to help locals recover from damages caused by storms and flooding from Dec. 5 to Dec. 22 of last year.
Lewis County is one of five counties in Washington state that met the administration's disaster declaration threshold of 25 homes or businesses seriously damaged by the disaster.
Residents can apply for three types of loans of varying size through the SBA. The loans are designed to cover both physical property damage and non-physical economic losses.
For more information on the details of the loans available for residents of Lewis County included in previous reporting by The Chronicle, visit https://tinyurl.com/3h2te365.
