The $1 million grant is part of a larger, more than $30 million mitigation project now underway in Shore Acres.

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — For more than a decade, Jason Nash’s house in Shore Acres wasn’t just a structure — it was where he built a life with his family. Since 2014, every birthday, holiday and memory happened within those walls.

But today, what once felt like home is now gutted and empty.

“In Helene we had four foot of water in the house — this was the waterline,” he said, pointing to the mark that now sits inches above his head.

Nash’s home has flooded three separate times. During the worst of it, he remembers watching his belongings drift across the rooms he once considered safe.

“Refrigerator floating, washer, dryer floating. We had tables floating. We had chest-high water in the house,” he said.


A neighborhood that knows flooding all too well

Shore Acres is one of St. Petersburg’s most flood-prone neighborhoods — a place where residents say they hold their breath every hurricane season, hoping their lives aren’t washed out again.

When Nash learned that St. Pete City Council approved another $1 million in flood mitigation funding this week, he didn’t feel relief. He felt fear — that once again, the money isn’t going where residents need it most.

“There’s nothing you can do — whether it’s a pump, a barrier, anything — to prevent Mother Nature. It’s going to happen,” Nash said.


What the new funding will cover

The newly approved funding is part of a much larger flood mitigation project now underway in Shore Acres. The investment includes:

New box culvertsA stormwater pump stationBackflow preventersElevated roadway segments meant to improve water flow during storms

The $1 million grant specifically goes toward purchasing a generator and electrical systems for a new emergency facility — equipment meant to keep the pumps operating during power outages.


Residents say infrastructure isn’t enough

But for many who live here, the solution isn’t just pumps — it’s raising homes.

“To stop devastation like this, raise elevation of homes,” Nash said. “And that’s where we are after Helene, the prices skyrocketed.”

Nash, like many of his neighbors, is trying to elevate his home. But he says he’s still waiting for answers, waiting on funding help, waiting on timelines and waiting for clarity. In the meantime, his home remains a shell, frozen in the aftermath of the last hurricane season.


Growing frustration across Shore Acres

Kevin Vatdorf, president of the Shore Acres Community Association, says he hears the same story over and over from residents who feel left behind.

“Pumping structures is a patch for what’s going on,” Vatdorf said. “The infrastructure needs to be replaced, needs to be improved, needs to be elevated.”

For families like Nash’s, the urgency is emotional as much as it is practical. Every storm season brings back the same fear — and the same uncertainty about whether their homes can survive what comes next.

This $1 million grant is part of a larger, more than $30 million mitigation project now underway in Shore Acres.