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Small businesses struggle as SBA disaster loan program runs out of funds after Hurricane Milton

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Updated  October 17, 2024 10:59pm EDT
Volusia County
FOX 35 Orlando

Small businesses struggle after Hurricane Milton

Small businesses hit hard by Hurricane Milton are now facing a new challenge: the Small Business Administration's (SBA) disaster loan program has run out of funds.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Small businesses hit hard by Hurricane Milton are now facing a new challenge: the Small Business Administration's (SBA) disaster loan program has run out of funds.

President Joe Biden has promised that more aid is on the way, but with Congress currently in recess and over a month left in hurricane season, many business owners in need of financial relief are left in limbo.

The president urged business owners to continue applying to the program while funding is sorted out, but for some in Daytona Beach, waiting isn’t an option.

"I never would’ve guessed that what I came to see was really real," said Celeste Momin, describing the scene at Ocean Walk Shoppes just hours after Hurricane Milton struck.

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Momin's business, Nyte Glo Express, which sold light-up toys from a kiosk for six years, was completely destroyed in the storm.

"It’s heart-wrenching," she said when asked how it felt to see her empty space. "I feel like this is a dream and a horror story. Somebody pinch me so I can wake up."

Momin and her husband Joe had hoped for assistance from the SBA. However, they learned that disaster loan funds were exhausted due to what the agency called a lapse in congressional funding.

"It does shock me because all we hear before is like government helping," Joe Momin said.

The lack of funding means the Momins, along with hundreds of other small businesses across Florida, will have to pause their rebuilding efforts indefinitely until new funds are approved.

"I hope that FEMA and the SBA are going to be a lot quicker than my mind can grasp," Celeste Momin added, expressing the urgency and uncertainty felt by many in the region.

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