The forms of assistance include:

• Rental payments for temporary housing.Initial assistance may be provided for up to three months for homeowners and at least one month for renters. Assistance may be extended after the initial period based on a review of individual applicant requirements.
• Grants for home repairs and replacement of essential household items not covered by insurance to make damaged dwellings safe, sanitary, and functional.
• Grants to replace personal property and help meet medical, dental, funeral, transportation, and other serious disaster-related needs not covered by insurance or other federal, municipality, and charitable aid programs.
• Unemployment payments for up to 26 weeks for workers who temporarily lost jobs because of the disaster and who do not qualify for state benefits, such as self-employed individuals.
• Low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to cover residential losses not fully compensated by insurance.Loans are available of up to $200,000 for primary residence, and of up to $40,000 for personal property, including renter losses. Loans are available up to $2 million for business property losses not fully compensated by insurance.
• Loans from SBA of up to $2 million for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and most nonprofit organizations of all sizes that have suffered disaster-related cash flow problems and need funds for working capital to recover from the disaster’s adverse economic impact.This loan in combination with a property loss loan cannot exceed $2 million.
• Loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency of up to $500,000 for farmers, ranchers, and aquaculture operators to cover production and property losses, excluding primary residence.
• Other relief programs, including: crisis counseling for those traumatized by the disaster; income tax assistance for filing casualty losses; and advisory assistance for legal, veterans’ benefits, and social security matters.

FEMA may provide Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) to applicants who are unable to return to their pre-disaster primary residence because their home is either uninhabitable or inaccessible due to a Presidentially-declared disaster. Click here for the FEMA TSA Fact Sheet.

• securing FEMA and other benefits
• making life, medical and property insurance claims
• dealing with home repair contractors
• replacing wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the hurricane
• helping with consumer protection matters, remedies and procedures
• counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems or landlord/tenant issues

For more information visit https://thefloridabarfoundation.org/storm-aid

Volunteer Florida is guided by a bipartisan board of Commissioners, who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate.

Volunteer Florida administers national service programs like AmeriCorps, which offer Floridians the opportunity to engage in intensive service to their community while increasing capacity for nonprofits and other service organizations. Volunteer Florida’s grantees include schools, educational foundations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and other community organizations.

Volunteer Florida provides required fiscal and programmatic oversight of these grants so that we maximize funds and ensure grantees are accountable for results.

For more information, click here.

Membership is open to any non-profit organization that has disaster preparation, response and/or recovery as part of its core mission in the state of Florida. FL VOAD also welcomes local COADs (Community Organizations Active in Disaster), VOADS and long-term recovery groups as associate members. Other organizations and governmental agencies with an interest in disaster work are welcomed as partners. All are encouraged to participate and help improve the collective, collaborative and coordinated work of FL VOAD.

For more information, click here.

Download the HUD Disaster Recovery Homelessness Toolkit. This toolkit provides an overview of challenges that may occur during disaster-caused disruptions and the impact these challenges pose for individuals experiencing homelessness. It provides guidance for identifying and collaborating with partners to address disaster response and recovery needs, and it outlines strategies to prepare and minimize service disruption.

For technical tools and resources, visit Enterprise Community Partners Solutions and Innovations for Disaster Recovery and Rebuilding.