St. Pete Beach storm victims still out of their homes with FEMA hotel stays set to end: 'I'll be homeless'
The Brief
Residents of St. Pete Beach whose homes are still unlivable after Hurricanes Helene and Mitlon face a FEMA housing deadline this week.
Some say they're still weeks, or even months away, from being able to return home amid a backlogged permitting process.
ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. - Some St. Pete Beach residents don't know where they'll go when their FEMA hotel stays end this week.
Some have about 24 hours left in their temporary hotel homes. The last night is Wednesday, but many of their homes are still not ready.
What they're saying
Several residents say the backlogged permitting process means they are weeks, or in some cases, months away from being able to live in their homes again.
The owner of the Plaza Beach Resort, Robert Czyszczon, told FOX 13 he has about 60 storm survivors staying at his hotel. Come Thursday, about 50 of them will have no place to go.
Andrea Simhony is one of those tenants.
"I begged FEMA, please let me stay till the 18th. That's all I need," said Simhon.
Her condo on St. Pete Beach was ruined during Helene and is still not ready for her to move back into.
"I mean if (the city) had been quicker with the permits, maybe I would have, my place would have been fixed and I wouldn't be homeless right now," said Simhony.
She's tried to get a week-long extension, but so far, has not had any luck.
READ: Large crowd calls on St. Pete to create more affordable housing
"(FEMA) told me to go to a shelter. I'm not going to go a shelter. I'd rather be in jail than go to a shelter because I'm safer there," she said.
Czyszczon said he's written to the governor requesting storm victims receive an extra 90 days in hotel stays because of the backlogged permit process from municipalities.
In North Carolina, Helene victims in hotels received extensions until the end of May.
Robert Pardo has been hotel surfing for the last six months. His home is also tied up in the permit process.
"I'm hoping to be back in the house in about three months," he said.
He doesn't think officials realize the limited options for short-term rentals. At the height of spring break, he says it's been hard to find affordable options.
"It's just difficult to find something less than 12 months of lease," he said.
He's one of the few who received a week-long extension from FEMA to stay at the Plaza Beach Resort, but he's already thinking what he'll do when that runs out.
"I've got a tent that I've considered to put over the bed of my truck and try to accommodate myself there," he said.
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The Source
Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis.
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