Local Experts Help San Bruno Families Tackle Recovery Challenges

For Immediate Release
Contact: Amy
Bach, United Policyholders, 415) 393-9990
Kate Comfort Harr, Rebuilding Together, 650)
366-6597

Local
non-profits host “Dollars and Sense” info fair and workshops on Home Repairs,
Insurance, Rebuilding and Recovery: January 9th, 1pm-4pm, Skyline College

SAN BRUNO, CA – January 9, 2010 – Sunday January 9th at Skyline
College from 1pm to 4pm, United Policyholders and Rebuilding Together are
offering a free community information fair featuring Roadmap to Recovery™ Workshops.
The City of San Bruno,
PG&E representatives and local experts on insurance claims, construction
and real estate will be on hand to answer questions from residents related to
navigating insurance claim processes, understanding the nuts and bolts of
hiring repair professionals and techniques for avoiding delays and disputes.

“Now that the holidays are over, residents are focusing on getting out of
their temporary living quarters and back home.
Insurance negotiations and contractor challenges are at the top of their
2011 ‘to do’ lists,” said Amy Bach,
Executive Director of insurance consumer advocacy group United
Policyholders. “From the first days
after the event four months ago, UP has been in San Bruno applying our twenty years of
experience helping people overcome post-disaster obstacles on the road to
recovery.”

“People need clear information on construction, home repair and insurance
claims from knowledgeable, unbiased experts.
That’s what they will get at this event” said Seana O’Shaughnessey,
Executive Director of Rebuilding
Together Peninsula. “We’re partnering with UP to offer our
expertise in getting homes repaired and our contacts with qualified local vendors.”

This two-part event begins with a Community
Information Fair where local businesses and nonprofit organizations
will offer their resources for assisting in the rebuilding process, and
concludes with four workshops presented by local professionals: contractors,
claim adjusters, realtors and finance experts, as well as previous disaster
survivors with personal experience.

1pm: Inventorying and Valuing the Contents of
Your Home – Free UP Home Inventory flash drive tools will be distributed.
2pm: Repair/Rebuilding 101 – Working with
construction professionals
3pm: Insurance Negotiations – Resolving
disputes over repair methods and costs
4pm: Rebuild or Buy – Financial
considerations insurance, tax and real estate)

For more information on any of the workshop topics, or
details about the event, please contact United Policyholders Program
Coordinator, Emily Cabral at 415) 393-9990.
Funding for this event was provided by the generous donors who gave to
the Silicon Valley Community Foundation
and San Francisco Foundation’s San
Bruno recovery funds < http://www.sff.org/>.

About United Policyholders
United Policyholders is a national non-profit that has been helping guide
disaster victims on the road to recovery since 1991. UP offers tips and info from previous
disaster survivors and from experts on insurance claims, legal matters and the
rebuilding/repair process. UP partners
with the American Red Cross, the California Department of Insurance,
faith-based and other non-profit aid organizations, claim, legal, tax and
construction experts, and public officials.
UP is a member of Voluntary Organizations Assisting in Disaster VOAD),
the Coordinated Assistance Network CAN), and SFCARD. UP accepts no funding
from insurance companies.

About Rebuilding
Together: Rebuilding Together
Peninsula RTP) is a
nonprofit organization that builds volunteer partnerships to rehabilitate homes
and community facilities for low-income people in need so they can live in
warmth, safety and independence. Serving all of San Mateo and northern Santa
Clara County, RTP provides more free major home repairs than any other
peninsula organization and is the only one to provide free roof repair and
replacement services. With the help of nearly 78,000 volunteers, RTP has
restored 1331 homes and community facilities with an estimated reconstruction
value over $32,000,000. RTP is the local
affiliate to the national Rebuilding Together network, which completes over
10,000 repair projects across the United States each year. Found on
the web at: