14-03-2025
‘It's like roulette': Pinellas hotel owner concerned over abrupt deadline for FEMA housing help
ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Several hurricane survivors are facing uncertainty as they continue to rely on temporary housing help from FEMA.
Many have been caught in the permit backlog and are still unable to begin the process to rebuild their homes.
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However, they're also up against a looming deadline that's catching many people off guard.
Spring break is here and the rooms at the Plaza Beach Hotel are booked, but dozens of guests are uncertain about the length of their stay.
'Every two weeks you're going to be on eggshells about whether you're going to be here or not,' said Bobby Sather. 'Mentally, it's been very draining.'
Sather's home was destroyed in the storms; however, he has been able to stay afloat with help from the FEMA Temporary Shelter Assistance program.
'For a long-term solution, I would get a storage unit and put my items in there,' Sather said. 'If the weather was really inclement, I would stay there until the weather was over.'
Robert Czyszczon is the owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel.
He reserved all rooms for those recovering from the storms, but this week he received a surprising notice from FEMA that requires several storm victims to check out on March 13.
Many will have to leave abruptly without a place to live.
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'Today is the 13th, but people that have the extension until the 24th had the rug pulled from them, and now they have to leave on the 13th rather than the 24th when they assumed they were going to leave,' Czyszczon said.
'It's almost like a roulette table when you have no idea how the dice is going to roll,' Czyszczon added.
The FEMA deadline also comes with a caveat.
'We don't know where we're going to be from two weeks to the next or where we're going to go when the money from FEMA runs out,' said Wendy Athens.
Meanwhile, Sather is still picking up the pieces while holding onto memories and hope.
'They're in my mind, but I can't pick them up and hold them,' he said.
FEMA responded to the deadline concerns with the following statement:
Transitional Sheltering Assistance is a temporary program to help survivors transition to more permanent housing.
Upon reviewing with our team, we checked on the hotel you asked about and there have been 6 households who have had to check out this week because they no longer met TSA eligibility criteria. These applicants were provided 7-day notices of their ineligibility. As of today, we can report another 42 households remain eligible for TSA and using this hotel.
FEMA
FEMA also provided the following information:
Transitional Sheltering Assistance
Transitional Sheltering Assistance is available for Floridians displaced by Helene or Milton in 52 counties and for tribal members of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.
Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) was requested by the state of Florida and approved on Oct. 15 for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. As of March 10, just over 8,000 Households (19,966 people) are checked into TSA participating hotels and motels in Florida, Alabama and Georgia.
Generally, every 14 days FEMA will review applicants' eligibility for continued TSA. Applicants who meet the conditions of continued eligibility may remain in TSA.
Eligible applicants may choose to stay at any TSA participating lodging facility where a vacancy is available.
FEMA provides a list of approved lodging facilities on lodging information on and help through the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362.
Examples of when an applicant will be deemed ineligible for TSA:
Pre-disaster primary residence is deemed safe to occupy through a FEMA inspection.
The home noted in the applicant's registration is not the applicant's primary residence.
An applicant is linked with another applicant who may be receiving FEMA assistance.
An inspector was not able to complete a home inspection after three attempts to contact the applicant or the applicant failed to show for one or more inspection appointments.
The applicant received rental assistance from FEMA.
The applicant has insurance that provides Additional Living Expenses or Loss of Use coverage or has not submitted documentation to prove they do not have these coverages.
Failure to comply with the TSA Terms and Conditions.
The applicant indicated they did not have damage to their primary residence at the time of application.
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