LAKE MARY, Fla. – As FEMA continues to help survivors recover from Hurricane Ian, families are moving into travel trailers and manufactured housing units in six counties. Currently 225 families have received keys to their temporary homes and 105 will soon move into FEMA travel trailers in a commercial park in Lee County.
Nearly 3,000 households are eligible for a travel trailer or manufactured housing unit. In addition to the 225 units that were occupied, 408 units are being prepared and site inspections are under way for more locations.
The commercial park in Cape Coral was leased by FEMA and the agency provided the travel trailers under its Direct Temporary Housing Assistance program. FEMA is working to place more families in temporary housing on private property and commercial sites in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hardy, Lee, Sarasota and soon in Volusia.
Placing travel trailers or manufactured housing on private property can be a complex process that involves ordering,
installation, permitting, utility hookup and inspection before units are ready for survivors to occupy. The process leading to occupancy can stop temporarily for several reasons. For instance, if all utilities are not functional or permits are not issued, FEMA cannot permit the unit to be occupied. FEMA works with applicants, local governments, utility companies and others to resolve impediments to completing the process.
Many more families are receiving funds for rent, home repairs, hotel stays and apartment leases. More than 68,000
Florida households have been approved for $623 million in financial assistance for rent or basic home repairs. More
than 4,500 households have stayed in hotels temporarily under FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance program.
FEMA has leased 333 apartment homes and is placing eligible households in them under its Direct Lease program.
Rental funds and home repair funds affect the most households and are the quickest assistance available.
For the latest information on Florida’s recovery from Hurricane Ian, visit floridadisaster.org/info and fema.gov/disaster/4673. Follow FEMA Region 4 (@femaregion4) / Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.