Disaster unemployment assistance available to Virginians impacted by Hurricane Helene

The Virginia Employment Commission is offering unemployment assistance to individuals who lost their job or business due to the destruction of Hurricane Helene.

This comes after President Joe Biden approved Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s request for a major disaster declaration for Virginia, allowing the VEC to provide temporary financial assistance to individuals whose employment or self-employment was impacted in the following areas:

• Giles County
• Grayson County
• Smyth County
• Tazewell County
• Washington County
• Wythe County
• The City of Galax

If you lost your job or business or had your work hours cut due to the hurricane, you could qualify for Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Applications will be accepted from now until Dec. 1. If you don’t qualify for regular Unemployment Insurance, you could still be eligible if you were living, working or scheduled to work in an affected area when the natural disaster occurred.

What to know?

• You can begin receiving DUA benefits if you lost your job or your self-employment on or after Sept. 25
• April 5, 2025, is the last week you can receive emergency benefits, even if your unemployment continues due to Helene
• Eligibility for DUA benefits will be determined on a week-to-week basis for each week you file your claim
• To qualify, you can’t be eligible for unemployment benefits in any state. You also must be able to work, ready and willing to accept, unless you were injured in the hurricane

You could be eligible for DUA benefits if...

• You no longer have the job that provided your primary source of income.
• You are unable to reach your place of employment
• You cannot work because of an injury caused by the storm
• You were unable to begin employment or self-employment due to the storm
• You became the primary support of your family because of the death of the head of the household because of the disaster

How can you apply?

• Online at VEC’s Claimant Self Service: uidirect.vec.virginia.gov/CSS/CSSLogon.htm or on VEC’s website: www.vec.virginia.gov
• Call VEC’s Customer Contact Center at 1-866-832-2363
• To apply, you will need:
  • Social Security Number
  • The name, address, and dates of employment of all your employers for the past two years, including out-of-state employers

For more information, visit VEC’s website.