Residents of the Florida Panhandle who suffered damages and uninsured losses as a result of Hurricane Michael, and still have disaster-related needs not covered by state or federal assistance, may find help through long-term recovery groups.
Long-term recovery groups generally are made up of faith-based, nonprofit, community-based, private sector and voluntary agencies. Their goal is to help affected families access resources for their recovery.
The recovery groups can connect survivors with organizations that offer a wide variety of assistance, including food, clothing and grants to help pay for security deposits and past-due utility bills. They can also direct survivors to groups that will perform tasks, such as mucking and gutting disaster-damaged homes or clearing debris and tree stumps from yards.
The following groups have formed or are forming: Bay County Long Term Recovery Group; Citizens of Gulf County Recovery Team; Liberty Strong Long Term Recovery Group; North Florida Inland Long Term Recovery Group; and Washington County Long Term Organization. In addition, two other long-term recovery groups will be coming online in Gadsden and Franklin counties.
FEMA Voluntary Agency Liaisons are available to advise the long-term recovery groups as they form in communities to help them rebuild and become more resilient.
More information on long-term recovery groups is available online at Florida Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster at https://flvoad.communityos.org/cms/ or National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster at https://www.nvoad.org/.
###