Sunrise St. Pete<\/a> is meant to fill those gaps \u2014 serving as a \u201cfunding of last resort\u201d for residents who still have unmet needs after other assistance.<\/p>\n\u201cWe know that folks are living in homes that have not been fully repaired,\u201d said Aubrey Phillips, the city\u2019s housing and community development administrator. \u201cSo this program is focused on getting people to safe, sanitary housing. And we also know that a number of residents are still displaced.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program offers several types of assistance, including money to repair, rebuild or elevate storm-damaged homes, reimburse qualified out-of-pocket repair costs, and help renters and homeowners cover housing-related expenses tied to storm hardship. It is open to homeowners, renters and small landlords.<\/p>\n
While most of the funding is prioritized for low- to moderate-income households earning up to 80% of the area median income, some assistance is available for families earning up to 120%.<\/p>\n
For Denise Hartwell, the help could be life-changing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy house is falling apart and I\u2019m trying to patch up with a little bit of money that I do have,\u201d Hartwell said. \u201cIt is hard. You still gotta pay bills on top of it, and you still gotta try to stay focused.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said FEMA assistance only went so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cFEMA comes in, and they only do so much, and then you don\u2019t hear from them,\u201d Hartwell said. \u201cIt would be a big relief \u2014 a big relief. I don\u2019t have the funds right now to get it fixed, but I know I need to get it fixed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Applicants like Paula Scott said they deliberately waited for this program, following guidance from officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why we waited on this program,\u201d Scott said. \u201cWe were told to wait on this program, and that\u2019s what we did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott said her 92-year-old mother has been displaced for months, repeatedly asking when she can return home.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll she wants is to get back in that house,\u201d Scott said. \u201cThat\u2019s all that I want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others echoed that urgency. Glenda Bright, who said she has not lived in her home for a year, pleaded for help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t been in my house for a year because it needs fixing,\u201d Bright said. \u201cI want to get back in my house. And I wanna get it fixed. Please!\u201d<\/p>\n
City officials acknowledged the emotional toll the prolonged recovery has taken on residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that there\u2019s been a lot of trauma in the community,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cMany of the folks working in the programs were impacted by these storms as well. So be patient. Work with your case manager. They\u2019re here to help you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Applications are now open online and in person at two service centers \u2014 on 4th Street North and at the Enoch D. Davis Center. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as the window is expected to remain open for about 90 days, or until demand exceeds available funding.<\/p>\n
Service Center Locations & Hours:<\/p>\n
Main Service Center
1914 4th St N, Suite 1920
St. Petersburg, FL 33704<\/p>\n
Satellite Service Center
Enoch D. Davis Center
1111 18th Ave S \u2028St. Petersburg, FL 33705<\/p>\n
Hours of Operation (subject to holiday hours)<\/p>\n
Monday \u2013 Friday: 8 a.m. \u2013 6 p.m.Saturday: 9 a.m. \u2013 Noon <\/p>\n
Residents should bring a government-issued photo ID, proof they lived in the home, income documents and records showing storm-related damage or expenses. Those seeking reimbursement must show that completed repairs were properly permitted.<\/p>\n
While applications can be submitted and processed now, city officials caution that no grant money can be released until HUD provides final approval through a signed grant agreement.<\/p>\n
Still, Phillips urged residents not to lose hope.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t lose hope,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is about helping those residents recover and get back in housing that is safe, sanitary and stable for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Thousands affected by hurricanes Idalia and Helene in St. Petersburg can now apply for long-awaited federal assistance. More…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-84584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}