U.S. SBA opens disaster loan center in Missouri, expands aid to Mississippi counties

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has established a temporary Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Springfield, Missouri, located in the Greene County Public Safety Center. Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for several weeks, the center provides low‑interest loans to homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations to cover repair and rebuilding costs not covered by insurance after the April hailstorm that damaged thousands of homes and businesses in Greene County.

In addition, the SBA announced that counties in Mississippi—including Pearl River, Franklin, Lamar, Lawrence, Lincoln and Wilkinson—and adjacent Louisiana parishes are eligible for both physical‑damage disaster loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs). Eligible borrowers can receive up to $2 million for business property repairs and up to $500,000 for primary‑residence repairs, with interest rates as low as 2.875 % for homeowners. The agency also offers mitigation loans to fund upgrades such as wind‑rated doors and safe rooms. Cashandra Jones, SBA public affairs specialist, said, “The disaster loan program can be a lifeline to those impacted by disasters.” Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience, added, “One distinct advantage of SBA’s disaster loan program is the opportunity to fund upgrades reducing the risk of future storm damage.”