The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions recently announced that it is accepting applications for wildfire unemployment assistance.
The New Mexico Disaster Unemployment Assistance is a federal program that was implemented in order to provide economic relief for those who are unemployed as the result of a natural disaster. The Biden administration authorized the use of these funds to be applied to those who are affected by the New Mexico wildfires.
Many New Mexicans are displaced by the recent wildfires, and the applications have been opened in order for those people to receive assistance, a recent KOB 4 news report said. Those who qualify can get up to 30 weeks of assistance through the program.
"It’s essentially the extension of unemployment benefits that have been extended to those who have been directly impacted by the fire," Ricky Serna, acting secretary of the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, told KOB 4. "Your self-employed, your gig economy workers, which is important when you think of those who ranch or farm as a primary source of income during pre-fire times."
New Mexican agencies have been assisting evacuees at evacuation points in order to get people registered for the program so that they can receive the benefits. So far, 200 individuals have applied and 80 have qualified for the disaster relief.