Disaster relief loans available for small businesses affected by 2020 hurricanes

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – The Small Business Loan Program was started last year by South Central Planning and Commission partnering with Restore Louisiana.

Restore Louisiana helps to provide businesses with $10,000 to $250,000 loans to help owners with current and new hire employees, and get equipment and supplies that were lost in the storms.

The program offered loans for some small business owners today at the Seed Center on McNeese’s campus.

“So we had a lot of damage to our buildings. A lot of equipment got damaged. Things that needed to be repaired or replaced our actual office building we work out of got completely destroyed and we had to completely tear it down. We just finished building our new building and moved into that just recently,” said Mark Peterson CFO at Tadlock Pipe and Rentals.

Dane Bergeron the Assistant Field Manager of South Central Planning and Development Commission says as of right now, the program still has about $6-$7 million of loan money available.

“It means everything to me. I’m a small business owner myself. Small businesses are the heart and soul of this country and we need to do everything we can and that’s why I agreed to take on this program,” said Bergeron.

A business must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a loan must:

• Have 1 to 50 full time employees
• Been open prior to hurricanes Laura and Delta
• Made a minimum of $25,000 in annual gross revenues before the disasters
• Be located in one of the affected parishes
• Experienced a financial or physical loss from the storms

“We needed some new employees anyway this is going to help us bring in jobs to the community and really kind of boaster our business and do more revenue and advance our whole orthopedic practice,” said Orthopedic Surgeon Geoffrey Collins.

The application period is now open and ends in December.

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