TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Within the next five to seven days, the state of Florida will have an estimated 2,500 to 3,000 travel trailers available for families in need of short term shelter in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s director of emergency management, said the ambitious program was in development for about three weeks to make sure the state “did it right.”
“They’ll put their information into Ianrecovery.fl.gov,” Guthrie told News 6. “The state’s housing program will be case managing them in essence, one by one, family by family.”
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Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the launch of the Unite Florida Recovery Portal Tuesday, to connect Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian to important recovery resources, including housing support.
According to the state, Florida’s “first ever state-led sheltering and housing program” is available to residents in Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Monroe, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
Guthrie said hotels and trailers will both be options offered for a term of six months to help families get back on their feet again.
“What we will try to do is manage people into hotels first,” Guthrie told News 6. “Then we will move them into other situations such as travel trailers or recreational vehicles.”
Some sheltering and housing assistance programs may require you to register for FEMA Individual Assistance. Hurricane Ian survivors can apply for FEMA assistance and continuously update their applications by visiting DisasterAssistance.gov, calling (800) 621-3362, using the FEMA app or visiting one of more than 20 open Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs).
IanRecovery.fl.gov resources will also available in Spanish and Haitian-Creole. Information entered on the website is completely confidential. For those who need additional assistance completing an application, please call 1-800-892-0948.
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