TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the award of $7.8 million in additional funding from the Florida Disaster Fund to communities hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“Florida sees disaster recovery through to the end, and thanks to our state’s good financial standing, we are able to help those who were devastated by hurricanes this year,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “I’m pleased to make these awards today in our continued efforts to help Floridians get back to normalcy.”
The award includes $500,000 for school district foundations to support teachers and support staff who worked to get schools back open just days after the storms. Fifty thousand each will go toward Lafayette and Hamilton counties for Hurricane Helene and $100,000 each to Charlotte, Citrus, Hernando, and Polk counties for Hurricane Milton. This $500,000 is in addition to the more than $750,000 already provided to school district support foundations in Florida that were affected by these hurricanes this season.
Governor DeSantis also announced the award of $300,000 to support Florida’s first responders, who worked tirelessly after landfall to search, rescue, and keep the peace. This is in addition to $400,000 previously awarded to support first responders this season, for a total of $700,000. Governor DeSantis today awarded $100,000 each to the following groups:
- Police Benevolent Association
- Fraternal Order of Police
- Florida Sheriffs Association
The Governor also today announced the award of $7 million to help Floridians repair and rebuild homes damaged by the storms. These awards are amplified by partnerships with companies like Home Depot and not-for-profits that perform muck and gut and repair operations on affected homes.
Following Hurricane Ian in 2022, over 1,250 homes were repaired, and over 51,000 volunteer hours were volunteered through similar housing repair awards from the Florida Disaster Fund. Homeowners with unmet home repair needs can be connected to resources includng programs like this through the Hope Florida hotline at 1-833-GET-HOPE.
Additionally, Governor DeSantis today announced that over 30 million cubic yards of debris have been removed since the state initiated the City and County Debris Reporting Dashboard to require accountability from local entities to the public on their debris removal efforts. Since debris removal is locally led, the state instituted this portal at the direction of Governor DeSantis to ensure the public remains informed on the progress in their area. The 30 million cubic figure is on track to meet the Governor’s directive of removing most of the debris within the first 90 days of the storm.
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