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The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) wants to provide clients, waiver support coordinators, partners, and providers with resources to help meet your needs in an emergency.

The resource links listed below contain information to help individuals plan for and recover from a disaster or emergency occurring within the state of Florida.

Hurricane Idalia

Get Help with Unmet Needs

Are you a community member looking for help with food, housing, transportation, peer support, or other services due to impacts from Hurricane Idalia? Use your camera to scan the QR code below or use This Link to request help from Unite Florida. For more recovery resources, visit FloridaDisaster.org/Updates

Florida Recovers

Is a survivor’s home unlivable due to damage caused by Hurricane Idalia? If so, they may qualify for temporary sheltering assistance. Direct those individuals to apply now or contact Florida Recovers Support Line if they would like to speak with someone to get additional information 7am-7pm. There is additional assistance for other unmet needs beyond sheltering from Unite Us, such as food, transportation, healthcare, and more.

https://www.floridarecovers.org/

Florida Recovers Support Line:
1-877-771-6667

Hurricane Idalia Recovery - FEMA

Florida homeowners with insurance policies covered by the National Flood Insurance Program are urged to file claims for Hurricane Idalia as soon as possible. Policy holders should call their insurance agent or provider and initiate the claim even if they do not have all necessary documentation because they had to leave the property after the storm. Homeowners with damage from both wind and flood will need to file two separate claims: a homeowner’s insurance claim and a flood insurance claim. If filing a flood claim, ask about advance payments. You may be eligible for an advance payment of up to $5,000 prior to a visit from an adjuster.

How to Apply for FEMA Assistance

If you sustained loss from Hurricane Idalia and live in Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, Suwannee or Taylor counties, FEMA may be able to help. You may be eligible for FEMA financial assistance for temporary lodging, basic home repairs, personal property losses and other uninsured disaster-related expenses.

Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov, download the FEMA App for mobile devices, or call toll-free 800-621-3362. The line is open every day from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET. Help is available in most languages. If you use a relay service such as VRS, captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA your number for that service. To view an accessible video on how to apply visit Three Ways to Apply for FEMA Disaster Assistance - YouTube. The deadline to apply is Oct. 30, 2023.

Understanding Your FEMA Letter

If you applied for FEMA assistance after Hurricane Idalia you will receive an eligibility letter from FEMA. The letter will explain your application status and how to respond. You might need to provide more information to FEMA. If the letter says you are ineligible, it will tell you how to provide more information and appeal the decision. If you have a question, visit a Disaster Recovery Center or call 800-621-3362 for help.

What Kind of Help Can FEMA Provide?

FEMA assistance does not replace insurance and cannot restore your home to its pre-disaster condition. But FEMA may be able to provide help for uninsured or underinsured costs. File your insurance claim, then apply to FEMA.

Rental Assistance: Financial help for rent, including a security deposit, if your primary residence was made uninhabitable by the disaster. The assistance includes essential utilities such as electricity and water.

Housing Assistance: Covers repairs to structural parts of your home, such as windows, doors, floors, walls, ceilings, cabinets, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, utilities, well and septic system.

Other Needs Assistance: Covers disaster-related items such as medical and dental expenses; funeral and burial costs; furniture and appliances; specialized tools used in your occupation; educational materials; moving and storage; vehicles; generators.

Critical Needs Assistance: Immediate or critical needs are lifesaving and life-sustaining items, including water, food, first aid, prescriptions, infant formula, diapers, consumable medical supplies, durable medical equipment, personal hygiene items and fuel for transportation. Critical Needs Assistance is a one-time $700 payment per household.

Clean and Sanitize Assistance: If your home was damaged by Hurricane Idalia but you can live in it safely, FEMA may be able to provide up to $300 in one-time financial assistance to help with cleanup. This assistance is for eligible homeowners and renters.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance

The Florida Department of Children and Families announced mass replacement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for individuals in Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Levy, Madison, Pasco, Suwannee, Taylor and Wakulla counties who normally receive their monthly benefit between August 15-28. This will eliminate the need for recipients to submit requests individually in the severely impacted areas. This will affect 38,000 households and will provide more than $8 million in food assistance. These benefits will be added to EBT cards automatically. Individuals do not need to apply for the benefits.

Low-Interest Disaster Loans

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) offers low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations to cover losses not fully compensated by insurance and other sources. Apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA’s secure website at DisasterLoanAssistance.sba.gov/ela/s/. Disaster loan information and application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955. Application deadline for physical damage is Oct. 30, 2023, and for economic injury May 31, 2024. SBA is operating a Business Recovery Center at Suwannee County Chamber of Commerce in Live Oak.

Mold Cleanup

More Resources

Disaster Unemployment Assistance: Visit FloridaJobs.org or call 800-385-3920.

Free Cleanup Help: Call 800-451-1954, through Sept. 15, 2023. Restoring Electric Connection: Apply for Individual Assistance and let FEMA know that your electric connection needs repair. In addition, help may be available from the Suwannee River Economic Council, Inc. at 386-362-4115 (srecinc.org/programs/emergency-assistance-self-sufficiency).

Agricultural Assistance: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) partnered with FEMA and other organizations to create the Disaster Resource Center. For questions about food safety, call the Meat and Poultry Hotline at 888-674-6854 email MPHotline@usda.gov or live chat at Ask USDA. Owners of meat and poultry producing businesses may call 877-374-7435) or email infosource@fsis.usda.gov.

Food pantries in Madison County:

County

Agency Name

Agency Contact

Phone Number

Madison

Consolidated Christian Ministries, Inc.

Shellie Hoschar

(850) 294-3861

Madison

Fellowship Baptist Church

Christy Adams

(850) 673-9764

Madison

Greenville United Methodist Church

Lou Miller

(850) 673-1538

Madison

Midway Church of God

Shellie Hoschar

(850) 294-3861

8-30-2023 - Governor Ron DeSantis Issues Updates on Hurricane Idalia

8-29-2023 - DCF Releasing SNAP Early due to Hurricane Idalia

If You're Halfway Full, You're Halfway There

Halfway Full Halfway There - Remember to keep your vehicle's gas tank at least half-full during hurricane season to avoid long lines at gas stations and gas shortages prior to a storm. If you are ordered to evacuate, consider staying with nearby friends or family who live outside the excuation zone or in a house that can withstand hurricane-force winds and rain. Evacuations typically don't have to be hundreds of miles - having at least half a tank of gas ensures you can evacuate the necessary tens of miles to a safe sheltering location when a storm threatens your community. Floridadisaster.org/planprepare

Residents and visitors should keep their gas tanks at least half full during hurricane season to ensure they have enough fuel to evacuate as soon as possible without worrying about long lines at gas stations and to avoid gas shortages prior to a storm.

For Floridians with electric vehicles, it’s recommended that the battery be maintained between 50% - 80% capacity at all times, depending on the type of vehicle and what the vehicle’s manual recommends. This does not require charging every night but will still ensure that individuals and families have enough charge in their vehicles to evacuate safely and quickly when needed.

Disaster Preparedness Tip - Vehicle Emergency Supply Kit - Supply kits should include: Spare Tire, jumper cables, flashlight and extra batteries, reflective triangles, map, first aid kit, reflective vest, car phone charger, flares, blanket, rain poncho. Ready.gov/car

Additionally, individuals should always keep an emergency kit in their vehicles in case a storm threatens the area and causes hazardous driving conditions. Vehicle emergency supply kits can include items such as jumper cables, a spare tire, a flashlight with extra batteries, reflective triangles, a first aid kit, electronic device chargers, blankets, and rain ponchos. More information can be found at Ready.gov/Car.

If you are ordered to evacuate, your safest and easiest option may be to stay with friends or family who live outside the evacuation zone or in a stronger house. Evacuations do not have to be hundreds of miles away – they can typically be tens of miles inland to a location that can withstand hurricane-force winds and rain. Check with nearby friends and family now and have a plan in place for what to do if you are ordered to evacuate.

Remember to always monitor local news and listen to alerts from local authorities if a storm threatens your community. The greatest threat to life from a hurricane is storm surge flooding. If you are in an ordered evacuation zone, low-lying flood area or in a mobile home, you should follow all evacuation orders. You can learn more about evacuation zones at FloridaDisaster.org/Know.

Resource Links

Disaster Assistance

Individuals impacted by Hurricane Ian and live in one of the counties listed below should register with FEMA for assistance by calling 800-621-3362 or visit www.disasterassistance.gov.

Declared Counties: Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Putnam, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, and Volusia.