Below is important disaster relief information for retailers. Other important current information can be found on our Announcements page. If you need further information, please contact us or call us at 225-344-9481 or toll-free 800-572-2378. Thank you. Your Louisiana Retailers Association team. Hurricane Hotline-Legal Issues A free legal assistance hot line that fielded 15,000 calls from victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita is now available to victims of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The hot line 1-800-310-7029 is operating Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon, and is being offered to residents in the 36 parishes that FEMA declared disaster areas. The hot line is a collaboration of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Louisiana Civil Justice Center and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Counseling is offered on a number of legal issues, including insurance claims, landlord-tenant issues, home repair contracts, consumer protection matters, and replacement of legal documents destroyed in the storm. Referrals to appropriate local or state agencies also is being provided by hot-line volunteers. Legal assistance for Spanish-speaking callers is available. Small Business Administration (SBA) Information The SBA can provide Physical Disaster Loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Physical Disaster Loans are a primary source of funding for permanent rebuilding and replacement of uninsured or underinsured disaster damages to privately-owned real and/or personal property. SBA's physical disaster loans are available to homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and nonprofit organizations. Economic Injury Disaster Loans provide necessary working capital until normal operations resume after a physical disaster. The law restricts economic injury disaster loans to small businesses only. SBA Assistance Hotline: 1.800.659.2955 http://www.sba.gov/hurricanes/index.html Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED) Launches Call Center for Louisiana's Hurricane-Affected Businesses LED has established two tools for Louisiana's hurricane-affected businesses to acquire information about available business recovery assistance. The LED Business Recovery Call Center was activated to provide recovery-related resources and contacts for businesses requiring assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. The call center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 1-877-610-3LED (3533). Information on business recovery needs will be collected from callers, and LED will send alerts on new programs and resources as they become available. LouisianaForward.com has been updated with relevant business assistance links (FEMA, SBA). The information on the site, which also can be accessed at LouisianaForward.com/BizHelp, will be updated with new resources as they become available. Interested businesses can also sign up for email alerts about assistance available in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav.