LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Eight months post Hurricane Ian and a day before the start of 2023's Hurricane season, there are still people displaced because of the storm.
And according to FEMA, dozens of families are still living in hotels. In fact, Wednesday was supposed to be the deadline for those families to check out but FEMA extended their temporary housing.
FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program does not use vouchers. FEMA works through a contracted company to make direct payments to the hotel/motel of the eligible applicant’s choice.
The program was extended for Hurricane Ian survivors and now ends June 29, 2023, with a checkout date of June 30, 2023.
At the state's request, FEMA provided temporary assistance for Hurricane Ian survivors through its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program (TSA).
Part of the program included FEMA vouchers to cover the cost of hotel stays as people try to recover and rebuild their lives.
One of the workers at the DiamondHead Beach Resort told Fox 4 that many moved out but there are still families living there.
While at the resort Fox 4's Briana Brownlee met Michele Knight, who lost everything during Hurricane Ian.
“Now I have a whole kitchen… [and] a place to sit in the kitchen," Knight said. A kitchen and a bedroom are two daily living basics but for Knight, it means the world to her after she lost her San Carlos home and all of her possessions during the storm.
Knight was living in the woods after the storm but now...
"I have a sunset, like every night I get a sunset outside of my room from my bed," Knight said. She is now living in the Diamondhead Beach Resort. Federal money from FEMA is paying for her stay.
A representative with FEMA tells us that in Lee County alone, FEMA paid for 928 households to stay in hotels.
"What can you say? It was God," Knight said.
FEMA also said that 875 people have moved on but the agency is still working to help 53 families like Knight find longer-term housing.
However, time is flying with only four weeks left until the June 29th deadline.
Knight said she is focusing on faith because she remembers a couple of months ago being in a hotel lobby, with her bags packed and not knowing where she was going to go until she got a call from the DiamondHeach Beach resort front desk.
"She called me crying saying Michelle, FEMA extended; you are staying for two more months!," Knight cried.
FEMA added that anyone can contact their case advisor or call the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 with any questions.
