Berlin, VT – Three long weeks worth of flooding frustration came spilling out Monday night when people living in Berlin got the chance to talk with FEMA officers one-on-one.

In a special town hall meeting at the Berlin Municipal Office Building, representatives from FEMA, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and more showed up to continue spreading the message that they’re here to help and here to answer questions in the wake of July’s disastrous flooding.

“We’re here to answer your questions and get you the help that you need as quick as we can, if we can,” said Andre Bowser, a FEMA External Affairs Officer.

As of Midway through last week, FEMA officials say they’ve already visited over 6,000 homes and approved $4.2 million dollars in emergency assistance grants across Vermont, but there are still thousands of people in need of help. One of their main talking points to the Berlin crowd had to do with a part of FEMA aimed directly at helping homeowners and renters called the ‘Individualized Assistance Program’.

“The primary focus of individual assistance is the envelope of the house, so the four walls, the roof, the flooring,” said Sam Harvey, a FEMA Individual Assistance Group Supervisor. “So we’re not looking as much at out-buildings, porches, sheds, things like that.”

Many people who raised their hands to ask questions about the program also ended up airing their grievances. Some people in the crowd lived at the Berlin Mobile Home Park, which was devastated three weeks ago, leaving many of the mobile homes destroyed. But they say the park’s owner is still charging them to keep their trailers there, and asked for advice from legal experts in the room.

“My house is literally uninhabitable, it’s potentially condemned,” said one person in the crowd. “If we have individual septic systems and they haven’t been uncleared, or pumped, or checked, how can you guarantee me that that infrastructure’s in place but you’re still charging me a lot rent?”

“We’ve been awarded a ‘repair’ award, but I don’t think it’s been pointed out that there is no repairing a trailer when there’s that much damage,” the person continued.

While some of those questions remain unanswered for now, the FEMA officers gave the best advice they could, telling people to leave a paper trail and apply for help if they hadn’t already.

“Document, take pictures, keep receipts, anything like that,” Harvey said.

If your home or apartment was damaged during the floods, you can call 1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362) to apply for financial assistance.