PRESTONSBURG — A free legal help hotline is now available for Kentucky Flooding survivors. The hotline is available to connect survivors to free legal services in qualifying counties who cannot afford an attorney.

Survivors can call 1-844-478-0099 Monday–Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. If after business hours, messages can be left and calls will be returned on the next business day.

Hotline callers may get help with legal issues like:

● FEMA and SBA financial benefits

● Home repair contracts and property insurance claims

● Re-doing wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the disaster

● Price gouging, scams, or identity theft

● Landlord or tenant problems, or threats of foreclosure

● Disability-related access to federal, state, and local disaster programs

Survivors can call the hotline anytime and leave a message if calling after hours. Hotline partners cannot help in all cases. For example, we cannot take cases where a settlement could include legal fees or an award. But we can refer those cases to other legal help.

Robert Johns, executive director of AppalReD Legal Aid, says, “The recovery process is overwhelming. It is difficult to navigate bureaucracy in the best of times but add in the emotional toll of the flooding with practical issues such as missing I.D.s and documents, lack of stable housing, and clean up, it can feel downright impossible. We want folks to know we are here to help. Don’t give up.”

The Disaster Legal Services program works with state and local partners to provide free legal help for low-income disaster survivors.