10/24/2018

Bay, Gulf and Jackson Counties eligible for Transitional Sheltering Assistance

FEMA and the State of Florida have activated the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program for Hurricane Michael survivors in Bay, Gulf and Jackson counties. Survivors from these counties who registered for disaster assistance may be eligible to shelter in a hotel or motel paid for by FEMA.

Survivors may be eligible for TSA if they can’t return home and their housing needs can’t be met through insurance, shelters or rental assistance provided by FEMA or another agency (federal, state or charity).

Survivors 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 registered for assistance.

FEMA pays the cost of the room and taxes directly to participating hotels and motels. The applicant is responsible for all other costs, including laundry, room service, parking, telephone, food, pet fees, transportation or other services.

Continued eligibility is determined on an individual basis and demonstrated need. When eligibility ends, those survivors will be notified seven days prior to their checkout date.

To locate participating hotels, visit DisasterAssistance.gov and click on the “Transitional Sheltering Assistance Hotel Locator,” at the top of the page, or call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585).

TSA does not count toward an applicant’s maximum amount of assistance available under the Individuals and Households Program (IHP).

TSA is activated when the scale and projected duration of a declared incident results in an extended displacement of disaster survivors. The state and FEMA have identified areas in these counties that are inaccessible or that incurred damage that prevents disaster survivors from returning to their pre-disaster primary residence for an extended period of time.

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FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during, and after disasters.

For a list of locations where survivors can obtain commodities (water, food, etc.), visit www.floridadisaster.org/info

For more Hurricane Michael recovery information, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4399.

Follow FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Twitter at @FEMARegion4 and @FLSERT. You may also visit FEMA and the Division’s Facebook pages at Facebook.com/FEMA and Facebook.com/FloridaSERT.