January 13, 2025 • 5 mins
FEMA officials have been renewing (and non-renewing) temporary housing assistance for people who can't live in their homes because of damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. We speak with FEMA's Wesley Thompson about what recipients need to know whether their vouchers have been renewed or not.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. Of course, those of
you who have been making use of temporary shelter assistance
during Hurricane Selene and Milton. The deadline for the hotel
vouchers is January fourteenth, but that deadline has been extended
for those who are still eligible. We have Wesley Thompson,
(00:20):
a spokesperson from the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA, on
to talk with us about how that process works. Wesley Thompson,
thank you very much for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I really appreciate being here and able to give some
insight on what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
All right now.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
The initial deadline for those who have been receiving temporary
sheltering assistance what are often referred to as vouchers, was
January fourteenth, that is Tuesday. However, there are extensions available
for people depending on their housing situation. Tell us now
talk with us, walk with us through how that process
(00:59):
works and the criteria that you use for extending housing
assistance availability.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
So it's not necessary, it's not an extension. It's more
of an eligibility review.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
So we're doing eligible elig excuse me, eligibate allegilibately reviews
every fourteen days, and within those fourteen days, we review
each survivor's you know situation. So there's a few things
that can make someone ineligible. So there's a list of
things that we go through to make sure that they're
still eligible to you know, receive housing from our TSA program.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So there's a review going on every fourteen days to
make sure that someone is still eligible for continued temporary
sheltering assistance. And I see some of the examples that
might lead to a denial of ineligibility UH, such as
the primary residents being safe to occupy again, or perhaps
(01:57):
they found alternative housing. Tell us about how the process
works and how to communicate with FEMA if you're in
a situation where you think you still might be eligible.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
So in that case, you will receive an auto doll
which will allow you to know that you have not
been extended or if you haven't heard anything, it would
be best for you to reach out to FEMA contact
so that you can get an update, stay in touch
with the hotel because the hotels receive a list of
survivors who are still eligible for the voucher as well,
(02:33):
and then you can check your portal to get updates
on what's going on.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
If you do feel as though you.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Do meet the eligibility requirements and you may have not
received the eligibility letter or got the eligibility extended, you
can definitely contact to review your case to see what's
going on.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It just depends. There's not a definite.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Solid answer because each survivor is a case by case,
so everyone's situation is different. So there's no correct formality
to what happens when someone is considered to be ineligible
because every survivor is case by case.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Now one of them. And as you mentioned, staying in
touch with FEMA is very important to this process because
one of the reasons that you list as far as
what could lead to being declared ineligible is that someone
has not checked in with FEMA in the last thirty
days or so for our temporary sheltering assistance, and so
(03:29):
staying in touch is very important to take it.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Yeah, so within those thirty days, if you receive the
eligibility letter that you were you know, approved FORSRTSA program,
if you had not checked in within thirty days, it'll
make you ineligible. So once you get that eligibility, you
have thirty days, so you know, voucher into your hotel,
get your lodging. So that's what that timeframe is for.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
All right, what's the most important thing for someone to
keep in mind? Who has TSA, who has a voucher,
and just to make sure that they're continuing the process
and doing what they need to do to show eligibility
until such time as they no longer need that assistance.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, So the goal is this is temporary assistance in housing.
So the goal is to get survivors back into their
primary residents. So that's the goal with this.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
So this is just temporary assistance to help survivors get
on their feet and the process. In the meantime, make
sure you're staying within the code of Contact, Code of
conduct with TSA, checking in with FEMA regularly to make
sure that you're you know that your portal and that
your eligibility is good, making sure that you read their guidelines,
(04:46):
making sure you're staying up to date on what is
considered to be ineligible, and if you may or may
not received anything, check in because there can be a
case where you know your telephone number was put in
incorrectly or your contact information weren't able to get in
contact with you. The important thing is to definitely stay
in contact with FEMA, and again also check in with
your lodging because they get the updated list as well,
(05:09):
so it's not more so again, I want to go
back to saying it's not really an extension, it's an
eligibility review, just to make sure that all the survivors
who are in the TSA program are still eligible or
if they no longer meet the eligibility requirements.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Some very useful information and we hope it is useful
for people who are dealing with the situation where they're
not able to occupy housing at the moment. Wesley Thompson,
spokesperson for FEMA, thank you very much for joining us
on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Thank you for having me
Gordon Bird here Beyond the News. Of course, those of
you who have been making use of temporary shelter assistance
during Hurricane Selene and Milton. The deadline for the hotel
vouchers is January fourteenth, but that deadline has been extended
for those who are still eligible. We have Wesley Thompson,
(00:20):
a spokesperson from the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA, on
to talk with us about how that process works. Wesley Thompson,
thank you very much for joining us on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I really appreciate being here and able to give some
insight on what's going on.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
All right now.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
The initial deadline for those who have been receiving temporary
sheltering assistance what are often referred to as vouchers, was
January fourteenth, that is Tuesday. However, there are extensions available
for people depending on their housing situation. Tell us now
talk with us, walk with us through how that process
(00:59):
works and the criteria that you use for extending housing
assistance availability.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
So it's not necessary, it's not an extension. It's more
of an eligibility review.
Speaker 3 (01:13):
So we're doing eligible elig excuse me, eligibate allegilibately reviews
every fourteen days, and within those fourteen days, we review
each survivor's you know situation. So there's a few things
that can make someone ineligible. So there's a list of
things that we go through to make sure that they're
still eligible to you know, receive housing from our TSA program.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So there's a review going on every fourteen days to
make sure that someone is still eligible for continued temporary
sheltering assistance. And I see some of the examples that
might lead to a denial of ineligibility UH, such as
the primary residents being safe to occupy again, or perhaps
(01:57):
they found alternative housing. Tell us about how the process
works and how to communicate with FEMA if you're in
a situation where you think you still might be eligible.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
So in that case, you will receive an auto doll
which will allow you to know that you have not
been extended or if you haven't heard anything, it would
be best for you to reach out to FEMA contact
so that you can get an update, stay in touch
with the hotel because the hotels receive a list of
survivors who are still eligible for the voucher as well,
(02:33):
and then you can check your portal to get updates
on what's going on.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
If you do feel as though you.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Do meet the eligibility requirements and you may have not
received the eligibility letter or got the eligibility extended, you
can definitely contact to review your case to see what's
going on.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
It just depends. There's not a definite.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Solid answer because each survivor is a case by case,
so everyone's situation is different. So there's no correct formality
to what happens when someone is considered to be ineligible
because every survivor is case by case.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Now one of them. And as you mentioned, staying in
touch with FEMA is very important to this process because
one of the reasons that you list as far as
what could lead to being declared ineligible is that someone
has not checked in with FEMA in the last thirty
days or so for our temporary sheltering assistance, and so
(03:29):
staying in touch is very important to take it.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Yeah, so within those thirty days, if you receive the
eligibility letter that you were you know, approved FORSRTSA program,
if you had not checked in within thirty days, it'll
make you ineligible. So once you get that eligibility, you
have thirty days, so you know, voucher into your hotel,
get your lodging. So that's what that timeframe is for.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
All right, what's the most important thing for someone to
keep in mind? Who has TSA, who has a voucher,
and just to make sure that they're continuing the process
and doing what they need to do to show eligibility
until such time as they no longer need that assistance.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Yeah, So the goal is this is temporary assistance in housing.
So the goal is to get survivors back into their
primary residents. So that's the goal with this.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
So this is just temporary assistance to help survivors get
on their feet and the process. In the meantime, make
sure you're staying within the code of Contact, Code of
conduct with TSA, checking in with FEMA regularly to make
sure that you're you know that your portal and that
your eligibility is good, making sure that you read their guidelines,
(04:46):
making sure you're staying up to date on what is
considered to be ineligible, and if you may or may
not received anything, check in because there can be a
case where you know your telephone number was put in
incorrectly or your contact information weren't able to get in
contact with you. The important thing is to definitely stay
in contact with FEMA, and again also check in with
your lodging because they get the updated list as well,
(05:09):
so it's not more so again, I want to go
back to saying it's not really an extension, it's an
eligibility review, just to make sure that all the survivors
who are in the TSA program are still eligible or
if they no longer meet the eligibility requirements.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Some very useful information and we hope it is useful
for people who are dealing with the situation where they're
not able to occupy housing at the moment. Wesley Thompson,
spokesperson for FEMA, thank you very much for joining us
on Beyond the News.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
Thank you for having me
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