UNMETNEEDSROUNDTABLE.ORG is a website designed to support the creation and ongoing facilitation of Unmet Needs Roundtables in response to federally or locally declared disasters in the United States. The Unmet Needs Roundtable is a confidential meeting of agency representatives to discuss how the recovery plans of 9/11-affected people can be supported. All of the assistance given via the unmet needs roundtable is need-based and given on a case-by-case basis. The client participates in the Unmet Needs Roundtable process, although they do not sit at the Roundtable meeting. The client is ultimately responsible for their own recovery, discussion at the Roundtable focuses on how the client’s recovery plan can be supported.
Representatives at the unmet needs roundtable discuss how a client’s recovery plan can be supported and share ideas about resources in the community and other ways that a client might use their own resources to reach stability. When appropriate, financial assistance is given to support client’s basic disaster-caused needs toward their sustainable recovery from the impact of the disaster. Requests for costs related to becoming economically self-sufficient, as well as basic utilities, rent are usually considered eligible expenses.
In order to have a case presented at the Unmet Needs Roundtable a disaster-impacted person must be actively working with a case worker and exploring all resources identified through the process of creating a recovery plan.
The following is a list for questions discussed at the Unmet Needs Roundtable:
How is the client impacted by the disaster? What evidence is available to support and document the impact of the disaster on the client’s life?
Is the need being requested directly related to the impact of the disaster on the client’s life?
Will funding the request duplicate the client’s or community’s resources?- Unmet Needs Roundtable assistance is need-based assistance. All resources available to the client should be explored, including all entitlements and income of all people in the home.
Does funding the request assist the client in reaching independent, sustainable financial recovery from the disaster’s impact?
Has the client actively worked on and implemented a “recovery” or “self-sufficiency” plan so that they will be financially stable in the future?
There are no guarantees of financial assistance from a case presentation at an unmet needs roundtable. Each client’s situation is unique and considered on a case-by-case basis.
