State Disaster Housing Task Force Working Group
Hurricane Ian Florida DHTF Working Group 11/3/22: In this meeting, the group receives a status report from FEMA on IA and other housing programs, and Working Group members share their top concerns


Florida Disaster Housing Task Force
Working Group – Kickoff Meeting 10/17/22
Quick Links:
Disaster Response
Florida Division of Emergency Management
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
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.
Florida Bar Foundation Assisting Floridians
- 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
Disaster Housing Volunteer Organizations
Volunteer Florida
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.
FL VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster)
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.
Disaster Homeless Assistance
Disaster Response and Recovery for Homelessness
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.
Homeless Veterans Assistance
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Resilience Planning and Mitigation
Mitigation Programs from Florida Division of Emergency Management
Enterprise Community Partners
For technical tools and resources, visit Enterprise Community Partners Solutions and Innovations for Disaster Recovery and Rebuilding.
Other Key Resources
U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
From NLIHC- Disaster Recovery Initiatives
Florida Housing Finance Corporation- HHRP Allocation Chart
Department of Economic Opportunity CDBG-DR
Previous Catalyst Trainings on Disaster Response and Recovery
Housing Assistance Statewide Informational Meeting Held October 13th for Faith-Based Groups, Social Services and Housing Providers
A huge thank you to the presenters at the Hurricane Ian Housing Assistance Statewide Informational Meeting for Faith-Based Groups, Social Services and Housing Providers held on October 13, 2022 who provided direct knowledge and guidance for supporting survivors with housing assistance. Marcus Coleman, Director of the DHS Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Ian Ohlin, State of Florida Individual Assistance Officer from FDEM, and Christy Rojas, Emergency Management Director for Volunteer Florida, explained the importance of signing up at disasterassistance.org, how to navigate the FEMA registration process, and how to connect with volunteers. This video is a must-watch to learn how faith-based and social service organizations can access recovery resources. Thank you to our partners at FDEM, and to our 162 attendees. View the video of the meeting HERE.
Join our Weekly Disaster Recovery Webinars
Each Friday at 1:30 pm the Coalition hosts a one-hour webinar on hurricane recovery. We provide updates on resources that are under development to assist SHIP administrators and housing providers such as disaster assistance toolkits and resource guides. Each webinar features a panel discussion on a variety of topics concerning recovery, preparation, and mitigation. Each webinar is recorded and posted to our website along with the presentation and handouts. See our weekly Member Updates for up to date topics and current registration information.