Residents of Sarasota and Hardee counties are now eligible for temporary housing assistance from FEMA.
The federal program provides trailers and manufactured housing for people along with other housing options like FEMA negotiated leases.
Sarasota and Hardee Counties are getting additional housing relief after FEMA determined the rental assistance programs it had approved were not doing enough. The agency has been providing hotel rooms and other short-term housing for people but there's a lack of available options in some counties.
Direct Temporary Housing may be provided for up to 18 months but FEMA says it will take time to transport, permit, install and inspect the units before they are ready to live in.
Survivors who have applied for FEMA assistance do not need to reapply to be eligible for the housing assistance. If you haven’t yet applied, you can do so online at Disaster Assistance.gov.
Issa Mansaray, a media specialist for FEMA says residents can also get detailed information about available resources at one of the agencies Disaster Recovery Centers.
“You can walk into any of them.” he said. “You don’t need to make an appointment and we will provide all the help we can in making sure the application process goes smoothly.”
