ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Hurricane victims have more time to figure out a permanent living situation. FEMA extended the deadline homeowners to move out of temporary housing, Wednesday.

The Plaza Beach Hotel is Andrea Simhony’s current home. Her condo in St. Pete Beach is filled with bare sheets of drywall, paint cans, and unfinished floors as she deals with damage from last year’s hurricanes.

“I’m trying to make progress,” she said. “I don’t have money to pay for a hotel every night. I don’t have anywhere else.” Andrea is among many people relying on FEMA assistance to cover hotel costs.

The Transitional Housing Assistance Program was set to end Wednesday. The looming expiration date put more stress on storm survivors.

“It’s really tough, I’m under doctor’s care, I have medical problems, I can’t just get up and say, ‘lets go’. I can’t because I don’t know where I’m going to end up,” explained Treasure Island resident Marian Majewski.

Now, the aid is extended for two months. Leaders with Sen. Rick Scott’s office sent the following statement

FDEM did request an extension from FEMA for TSA and they granted the limited extension – verbiage received from the state below –  

By policy, FEMA’s Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program is available for up to 6 months from the date of disaster declaration, when approved. Given the scale of sheltering needs for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, FDEM submitted a request to extend the TSA program wholistically. FEMA has authorized a 60-day limited extension of the TSA program for specific households who fall into categories that they have determined to be eligible for continued sheltering. This limited extension will move the current end date for the program from April 9, 2025, to June 8, 2025.

This extension is limited to those households currently checked-in to TSA hotels who are either approved for FEMA Direct Housing but are still awaiting placement, or who have sustained Major or Destroyed damage levels as verified by a FEMA home inspection. Households who do not fall into one of these two categories will be notified by FEMA with a check-out date of April 9, 2025.

Households who have applied for FEMA assistance must keep FEMA apprised of their current housing status.  Applicants can be reviewed to see if they qualify for rental assistance.  Households that have not been in TSA will not be approved for TSA at this point.   

Households that receive rental assistance can utilize this money to pay for rental units or if the hotel has space they can use the monies to pay to stay there.

The county has weekly meetings with FEMA and the State on the status of households.  FEMA and the state contact families to assess their situations and to verify what their housing plan is.  FEMA continues to stress that households update their information online or call the 1-800 number.  Pinellas county continues to work with FEMA for placement of travel trailers and mobile homes as well as sharing local rental resources.

Spokesperson for Sen. Rick Scott

The news is relief for families still working to put their homes back together.

“I don’t want to be on the streets, I refuse to sleep on the streets,” said Simhony.