Hurricane Ian: Residents in these Florida counties can apply for Transitional Shelter Assistance
Home damaged by Hurricane Ian? How FEMA is helping Central Florida families get free hotel rooms
FEMA is helping Orange County families get hotel rooms paid for by the government until their home is fixed following damage by Hurricane Ian. It's through its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - FEMA is now helping families in several Central Florida counties find temporary housing who can't return home because of damage caused by Hurricane Ian.
It's called Transitional Shelter Assistance. Those who apply and are approved will be set up with hotel rooms paid for by the government until their homes are ready.
Residents living in the following counties are eligible to apply: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia.
Impacted residents from eligible counties who have applied for disaster assistance may be eligible to shelter in a hotel or motel paid for by FEMA. They may be eligible for TSA if they cannot return to their home and their housing needs cannot be met by insurance, shelters or rental assistance provided by FEMA or another agency
The program covers the cost of the room, taxes and non-refundable pet fees for participating hotels and motels. Survivors are responsible for other additional costs, including laundry, parking and room service.
Individuals will be notified of their eligibility through an automated phone call, text message and/or email, depending upon the method of communication they selected when they applied for assistance. Continued eligibility is determined on an individual basis. When eligibility ends, survivors will be notified by FEMA seven days prior to checkout date.
To find a Transitional Shelter hotel room and to see if you qualify, visit disasterassistance.gov and enter your address.
You can also call 1-800-621-FEMA for more details.