State of Florida Announces Transitional Sheltering Program for Residents Impacted by Hurricane Ian

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Director Kevin Guthrie announced that the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) Program has been activated by the State of Florida, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), for impacted residents in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties.

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 (federal, state or nonprofit).

Eligible individuals can apply for FEMA assistance by visiting disasterassistance.gov, calling the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-3362, or using the FEMA mobile app

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. TSA is limited to participating lodging properties in Florida, Alabama and Georgia.

Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) have also opened in Charlotte, Collier, Lee and Sarasota counties and are collocated with more than 10 agencies to provide a one-stop shop for individuals or businesses that need help recovering from the storm. The following DRCs are open daily, from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.:

Charlotte County

Home Depot (Mobile DRC)