tsa - femacontract.com

Fifth Extension Approved for Transitional Sheltering Assistance

Release date:

November 26, 2013

Release Number:

NR-102

DENVER – At the state’s request, FEMA has approved a fifth extension to the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program. TSA pays for eligible flood evacuees to stay in participating hotels and motels.

Individuals and families who are still being assessed regarding their housing needs may continue to be eligible for TSA through Dec. 14 (checkout Dec. 15). The previous checkout date was Dec. 1.

TSA allows eligible individuals and families to stay temporarily in participating hotels, with FEMA and the state paying for eligible room costs and taxes.

A personal phone call notifies applicants if they are eligible for this period of assistance ending Dec. 14.
A total of 23 households stayed in hotels and motels last night under TSA.
Individuals and families who are not eligible for the program may be considered for additional FEMA rental assistance.
Applicants may need to provide rental agreement information.

For questions, contact the FEMA helpline by phone, 800-621-3362, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., MST, seven days a week. Multilingual phone operators are available on the FEMA helpline. Choose Option 2 for Spanish and Option 3 for other languages. People who have a speech disability or are deaf or hard of hearing may call (TTY) 800-462-7585; users of 711 or Video Relay Service can call

800-621-3362.

Last Updated:

November 26, 2013 – 17:15

State/Tribal Government or Region:

Colorado

Related Disaster:

Colorado Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

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Fifth Extension Approved for Transitional Sheltering Assistance

Extension Approved for Transitional Sheltering Assistance

DENVER –FEMA has approved a second extension to the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program, which pays for eligible flood evacuees to stay in participating hotels and motels.

Eligible individuals and families whose homes are still uninhabitable, inaccessible or without utilities may continue to have a safe place to stay through Nov. 2 (checkout Nov. 3). The previous checkout date was Oct. 20.

TSA allows eligible individuals and families to stay temporarily in participating hotels, with FEMA and the state picking up the bill for eligible room costs and taxes.

Survivors may no longer have a need for TSA if their home is inspected and is found to be functional, accessible and has power.

An automated phone message has notified applicants if they are eligible for this period of assistance ending Nov. 2.

Individuals and families who are not eligible for the program may be considered for additional FEMA rental assistance.
- Applicants may need to provide rental agreement information.
- If applicant has any questions regarding assistance contact FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).
- Disaster assistance applicants who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use a TTY can call 1-800-462-7585.
- A total of 598 households stayed in hotels and motels last night under TSA.

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Extension Approved for Transitional Sheltering Assistance

FEMA Works To Help New Jersey Meet Sandy Housing Needs

TRENTON, N.J. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency and its partners are working to address the housing needs of people displaced by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey. The top priority is to help survivors return to their homes or to help them find a safe housing alternative if returning home is not an option.

More than 16,000 households have received FEMA grants to make essential repairs to their homes.

For those who cannot return home, the goal is to help them find a rental property close by. This is better for survivors and helps the whole community recover.

Rental Assistance

More than 41,000 families have received temporary rental assistance from FEMA to help pay for an apartment, house or other temporary home. This assistance is provided while displaced survivors are working to find a permanent housing solution.

Returning to a permanent home is a significant milestone on the road to recovery. FEMA rental assistance may last for up to 18 months from the date of declaration. So it’s important for survivors to have a permanent housing plan.

FEMA has a housing portal at www.fema.gov/housingportal to help families find rental units. In addition to apartments or homes normally available, the portal identifies units provided by federal partners.

To be eligible for possible rental assistance, survivors must first register with FEMA. There are many ways to register.

Survivors can register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone or tablet by using the FEMA app or going to m.fema.gov. People may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day seven days a week until further notice.

The deadline to register with FEMA is Jan. 30, 2013.

Transitional Sheltering Assistance

At the request of the state, FEMA activated the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program to move eligible survivors from shelters into hotels or motels if they couldn’t return to their damaged homes. TSA lodging expenses are paid directly to the hotel by FEMA.

Nearly half of the more than 5,000 households that temporarily stayed in a hotel or motel in New Jersey have moved to more sustainable housing. The average hotel/motel stay is 15 days.

The program operates in two-week increments. During each two-week period, FEMA reviews the eligibility of each applicant and emphasizes finding a more sustainable temporary housing solution as quickly as possible.

The TSA program has been extended through Jan. 11, 2013, for those who continue to meet eligibility criteria. The new extension will allow eligible applicants to remain in participating hotels during the holiday season. FEMA will call applicants eligible for the extension to notify them of the extension period and the checkout date of Jan. 11, 2013.

TSA-eligible survivors can receive help finding a hotel by calling: 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services can call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day seven days a week until further notice.

Help finding TSA participating hotels also is available online: www.femaevachotels.com.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is supporting the housing recovery.

The department increased the Fair Market Rent standard to 120 percent so families with Section 8 housing choice vouchers have more options. It also relaxed rules to allow senior housing providers to open up vacant units to Hurricane Sandy survivors under the age of 55 without jeopardizing a community’s qualification for certain legal exemptions under the Fair Housing Act.

HUD is also giving the state and communities the flexibility to redirect millions of dollars of Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships funds for housing and services for disaster survivors.

HUD has directed banks to hold off on foreclosures and forbearance of Federal Housing Administration mortgages for disaster-affected areas for 90 days following the date of the presidential disaster declaration.

Temporary Housing Units Provided by FEMA

A temporary housing unit – either a manufactured home that can be put in an existing commercial mobile home park, or a remodeled apartment unit at Fort Monmouth — is a last option when renting a property is not possible or reasonable. Decisions on direct federal housing units for survivors are made on a case-by-case basis.

Forty-five units at Fort Monmouth will soon be made available to eligible survivors. Manufactured homes will be installed as needed and as suitable pads are identified at commercial mobile home parks.

By law, federal temporary housing assistance can last only up to 18 months from the date of the disaster declaration.

Call If Your Housing Needs Change

It is critical that FEMA has your current contact information. If housing advisors cannot reach you, then they will be unable to discuss housing options with you.

If you have a continuing housing need, or if you need to update your contact information, please call by phone or 711/VRS – 800-621-3362, TTY 800-462-7585. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Follow FEMA online at www.fema.gov/blog, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema. Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate’s activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema.

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications.

Source article:

FEMA Works To Help New Jersey Meet Sandy Housing Needs

FEMA Helps Survivors Solve Housing Needs

NEW YORK – The Federal Emergency Management Agency and our federal partners are working closely with the state to address the housing needs of New Yorkers displaced by Hurricane Sandy. Our priority is to help survivors move out of hotel rooms and into apartments or their safe, repaired homes.

FEMA has identified rentals in the area damaged by Hurricane Sandy and is working to match survivors to that available housing. A goal is to place survivors in rentals within their neighborhoods, or as close as possible to those areas. This not only is better for survivors, it helps neighborhood businesses.

Our goal is to maximize the number of people who are able to move back into their own homes; and for them to get home as quickly as possible.

There are several programs in place to help ease this housing crunch in a place where there is always a housing crunch.

The STEP Program

FEMA has authorized an emergency program designed to make damaged homes safe so survivors can return during the recovery process. The program, Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP), pays for those temporary and necessary repairs that help restore power, heat and hot water to primary residences prior to permanent repairs. This program is implemented by NYC, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

First, if it’s safe to inspect the home, damages will be assessed. If it’s practical, electricity will be restored along with other basic repairs.

Some homes may be eligible for other temporary repairs. Temporary repairs could include securing broken windows, covering damaged exterior walls and roofs, and patching and securing damaged exterior doors.

An inspector will decide what elements of the STEP Program are available for each residence.
Certain defined components of STEP are included in New York City’s Rapid Repair Program.

Residents in NYC can call 3-1-1 or go a New York City Restoration Center.
Nassau County residents: 888-684-4267.
Suffolk County residents: 2-1-1.

Transitional Sheltering Assistance

To get people out of shelters, FEMA activated the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program to move eligible survivors into hotels or motels if they can’t return to their damaged homes. TSA lodging expenses are paid directly to the hotel by FEMA.

The program has been extended four weeks. The new extension will allow applicants to remain in participating hotels during the holiday season. FEMA will call applicants eligible for the extension to notify them of the extended four-week period and the checkout date of Jan. 12, 2013.

TSA-eligible survivors can receive help finding a hotel by calling: 800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 800-462-7585. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day seven days a week until further notice.

Help finding TSA participating hotels also is available online: www.femaevachotels.com.

Rental Assistance

Renters with a need for housing because of storm damage to their dwelling may be eligible for a FEMA temporary rental grant. This assistance may be provided while renters are working to accomplish a permanent housing plan.

FEMA has a Housing Portal at http://asd.fema.gov/inter/hportal/home.htm to help families find rental units. In addition to apartments or homes normally available, the portal identifies units provided by our federal partners.

To be eligible for possible rental assistance, survivors must first register with FEMA. There are many ways to register.

Individuals can register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone or tablet by using the FEMA app or going to m.fema.gov. People may also call 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services (VRS) can call 800-621-3362. The toll-free telephone numbers operate 24 hours a day seven days a week until further notice.

The deadline to register with FEMA is Jan. 28, 2013.

U.S. Department of Housing Urban Development

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, led by Secretary Shaun Donovan, is also playing an active role in providing temporary housing to storm-displaced families. HUD has identified thousands of available units in HUD-assisted housing and is getting that information to displaced individuals, primarily at Disaster Recovery Centers.

The Department has also increased fair market rental allowances to make it easier for displaced Section 8 voucher recipients to find replacement housing, and is allowing owners of HUD-funded senior developments the flexibility to open up vacant units to storm evacuees.

Secretary Donovan was also instrumental in bringing together New York City and State government officials and real estate trade groups in the aftermath of the storm to find housing for New York displaced families. This has led to a government and private sector partnership that gives displaced families greater options in finding vacant apartments that are affordable and safe.

For more information on New York’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/SandyNY, www.twitter.com/FEMASandy, www.facebook.com/FEMASandy and www.fema.gov/blog.

Original source:

FEMA Helps Survivors Solve Housing Needs

FEMA Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program Extended Again in Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, La – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), at the request of the state of Louisiana, has approved a third extension to the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. The initiative allows eligible Hurricane Isaac survivors whose houses have been severely damaged or destroyed to stay in a hotel or motel for a limited time and have the cost of the room and taxes paid directly to the hotel by FEMA.

“We are aware that some survivors in hard-hit parishes are facing critical challenges to getting back into their homes,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Mike Hall. “We are working in close coordination with our state and parish partners to arrive at thoughtful solutions to those challenges. Meanwhile, the TSA extension will offer eligible survivors some relief.”

The program, which began Sept. 3, now runs through Oct. 28, with checkout on Oct. 29. Meals, telephone calls and other incidental charges are not covered, and applicants are responsible for any lodging costs above the authorized allowance. The program does not reimburse previously incurred hotel expenses.

FEMA continues to work in coordination with the state and local parishes to connect survivors in the program to recovery resources in their communities.

Home inspections do not have to be completed before an applicant can be considered for the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. After a housing inspection is performed, applicants in the sheltering program may remain eligible for this third extension if their home is still unlivable, inaccessible or without power.

TSA is open to eligible applicants whose damaged dwellings are in St. John Parish or in designated zip codes in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles. St. Helena, St. James, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne and Washington parishes.

For more information on Louisiana disaster recovery, click www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. You can follow FEMA on Twitter at www.twitter.com/femaregion6 or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA. Also visit our blog at www.fema.gov/blog.

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FEMA Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program Extended Again in Louisiana