As thousands of Louisiana residents continue to navigate the flood recovery process, several are already starting to receive letters notifying them that FEMA has rejected their requests for assistance.

But state and federal officials are encouraging applicants who receive denial letters to try again before giving up.

"There may be an easy fix if someone did not sign a document or if your application is missing a necessary insurance form. Don't give up on the process. Follow up with FEMA and file an appeal," GOHSEP director Jim Waskom said in a message to flood victims working their way through the process this week.

FEMA has taken in more than 130,000 applications from households seeking assistance for the August floods that left 13 people dead.

How to file a FEMA appeal People have 60 days from the date on their assistance rejection letters to appeal FEMA decisions.

More than $202 million in assistance has already been OK'd, and more is expected as the flood recovery continues.

Federal recovery assistance, which varies on a case-by-case basis but maxes out at $33,000 per person, is intended to help people pay for necessities and get them back on their feet as they begin to resettle their lives following the catastrophic floods that left thousands of people displaced from their homes.

Twenty parishes have received federal disaster declarations so far, jump-starting the process of applying for individual and other types of assistance.

Already, many are beginning to express frustration with the often complex process of seeking disaster aid. During Gov. John Bel Edwards' call-in radio show last week, one man even called in to vent to the governor that his request for assistance was denied, even though his home and cars had taken on several feet of water.

State and federal leaders have stressed the importance of filing appeals, but it too can be a daunting task, according to lawyers who are now helping others.

Baton Rouge attorney David LaCerte was one of the lawyers providing assistance at a federal disaster recovery center that has been set up at Celtic Studios on Wednesday. He said people who don't know help is available can become overwhelmed by the process.

"A lot of times people just get fed up and they quit," he said.

+2 FEMA working to process requests for aid following Louisiana flood As Louisiana flood victims work to navigate the assistance that is becoming available to the…

People can come directly to the center to get free legal advice for handling appeals and other issues that they may be facing – from problems with home owners' insurance claims to disputes between renters and landlords.

"A lot of folks don't understand the difference between the programs that are out there and why they are being denied," said LaCerte, who previously served as legal counsel to and secretary of the state Department of Veterans Affairs. "They just need a little assistance in navigating those waters."

LaCerte, who is doing the work pro bono, said he thought it was important to have a fresh pair of eyes helping people review their situations.

He estimated that he had helped 15 to 20 people so far that day. One woman, he recalled, had been rejected because she was classified as having flood insurance when she didn't.

"You're going to have a lot of human error just by the nature of the work," LaCerte said. "These people are going to miss perhaps their only chance of getting a leg back up."

Aside from seeking assistance in person at local disaster recovery centers, flood victims can call 1-800-310-7029 to get free legal advice from local lawyers.

Graham Ryan, who serves as the Louisiana state representative to the American Bar Association's Young Lawyers Division, said that the legal assistance hotline for flood victims is receiving about 100 calls a day. That's expected to go up as more people wade through the process.

"Then people start to realize the magnitude of some of the legal issues they are facing, I think the volume will increase," he said.

Ryan said that the hotline can serve as a place for quick answers that people might not otherwise have access to.

"The first thing a person cares about after a disaster isn't getting an attorney," he said.

For example, Ryan said people may receive FEMA rejection letters because they inherited their homes and never updated the deeds to reflect their names. A law that took effect in 2012 makes it easier to fast-track that process.

"They probably don't know about this new law that the legal community actually pushed for and was passed," he said.