Latest news with #AndreaSimhony
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
FEMA extends temporary housing deadline for some storm survivors
ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Hurricane victims have more time to figure out a permanent living situation. FEMA extended the deadline homeowners to move out of temporary housing, Wednesday. The Plaza Beach Hotel is Andrea Simhony's current home. Her condo in St. Pete Beach is filled with bare sheets of drywall, paint cans, and unfinished floors as she deals with damage from last year's hurricanes. See what happens when hawks attack outside Sarasota business 'I'm trying to make progress,' she said. 'I don't have money to pay for a hotel every night. I don't have anywhere else.' Andrea is among many people relying on FEMA assistance to cover hotel costs. The Transitional Housing Assistance Program was set to end Wednesday. The looming expiration date put more stress on storm survivors. 'It's really tough, I'm under doctor's care, I have medical problems, I can't just get up and say, 'lets go'. I can't because I don't know where I'm going to end up,' explained Treasure Island resident Marian Majewski. Now, the aid is extended for two months. Leaders with Sen. Rick Scott's office sent the following statement FDEM did request an extension from FEMA for TSA and they granted the limited extension – verbiage received from the state below – By policy, FEMA's Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program is available for up to 6 months from the date of disaster declaration, when approved. Given the scale of sheltering needs for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, FDEM submitted a request to extend the TSA program wholistically. FEMA has authorized a 60-day limited extension of the TSA program for specific households who fall into categories that they have determined to be eligible for continued sheltering. This limited extension will move the current end date for the program from April 9, 2025, to June 8, 2025. This extension is limited to those households currently checked-in to TSA hotels who are either approved for FEMA Direct Housing but are still awaiting placement, or who have sustained Major or Destroyed damage levels as verified by a FEMA home inspection. Households who do not fall into one of these two categories will be notified by FEMA with a check-out date of April 9, 2025. Households who have applied for FEMA assistance must keep FEMA apprised of their current housing status. Applicants can be reviewed to see if they qualify for rental assistance. Households that have not been in TSA will not be approved for TSA at this point. Households that receive rental assistance can utilize this money to pay for rental units or if the hotel has space they can use the monies to pay to stay there. The county has weekly meetings with FEMA and the State on the status of households. FEMA and the state contact families to assess their situations and to verify what their housing plan is. FEMA continues to stress that households update their information online or call the 1-800 number. Pinellas county continues to work with FEMA for placement of travel trailers and mobile homes as well as sharing local rental resources. Spokesperson for Sen. Rick Scott The news is relief for families still working to put their homes back together. 'I don't want to be on the streets, I refuse to sleep on the streets,' said Simhony. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
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. Follow FOX 13 on YouTube The Source Information for this story was gathered by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘It's like survival mode': Deadline nears for hurricane survivors with FEMA hotel assistance
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A wave of hurricane survivors are scrambling to find a place to live amid a looming deadline for FEMA hotel housing assistance. It's been nearly six months since Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit, but Andrea Simhony is still in the beginning stages of restoring her St. Pete Beach condo. The relentless surge and fierce winds left the interior of her unit in shambles. 'It's like survival mode,' said Simhony. 'I don't want to be on the streets. I refuse to sleep on the streets.' The City of St. Pete Beach was inundated with permit applications following the storms. The backlog delayed Simhony's ability to start her construction project. 'I don't have money to pay for a hotel every night,' said Simhony. 'I don't have anywhere else to go. Just extend us and give us more time because it was a big hold up with the permits at the beginning.' She says the Plaza Beach Hotel has been a haven since all rooms were reserved for hurricane survivors. However, her FEMA temporary sheltering assistance to cover the hotel cost will expire on Thursday. 'We're still trying to get our homes back together,' said Simhony. 'We're stressed out and trying to get our place back together.' Marian Majewski is also a guest at the Plaza Beach Hotel and is still waiting to get a permit to repair her home in Treasure Island. She is hoping FEMA will offer an extension so she can continue living in the hotel while her construction project gets underway. 'My biggest fear is not having a place to go,' said Majewski. 'I don't even have that option now.' FEMA issued the following statement in response to questions from 8 On Your Side: After an eligibility check, this week a significant number of households are no longer eligible for Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA). I cannot provide an exact number. FEMA has tried to contact these households to give them with information about state and local housing and sheltering resources. Additionally, FEMA has substantially increased rental assistance to expand applicants' housing options. Who remains eligible? Households with Significant FEMA Verified Damage. These households have been verified by FEMA inspections as having sustained major or destroyed damage. Many of these properties require substantial repairs or full rebuilding, delaying the return to habitable conditions. Households awaiting placement in the Direct Temporary Housing program. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
