Fort Myers disaster relief centers have shorter lines and less wait - News-Press

The journey to the room came aft a agelong bid of devastation and hurdles for many. 

Jennifer Carver, 48, and her woman Tiffany lost their location successful North Fort Myers and had to look rejection from FEMA portion navigating beingness outside and successful a shelter.

Four and a half feet of h2o flooded their location arsenic Hurricane Ian tore through their vicinity called Cabana City.

“It was devastated and we tried to enactment connected the structure … ate up by the gnats and stuff,” Carver said. “We recovered retired the Hertz Arena’s got the structure implicit there. We made it implicit determination and we’ve been trying to capable retired the exertion online for FEMA and we checked each the boxes of what our issues were and we got turned down for immoderate reason.”

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Despite the obstacles, they arrived Saturday astatine the Lakes Regional Library Disaster Recovery Center to spot however they could qualify. 

The halfway is 1 of 2 operating successful Lee County to supply assistance to those impacted by the Sept. 28 hurricane. A postulation of agencies, including FEMA, are stationed determination to supply accusation and help. 

Carver and her woman were among dozens of radical astatine the room seeking assistance Saturday. 

A FEMA worker at Hertz told them to reapply and combat for the benefits.

“They didn’t cognize wherefore we were turned down. (They said) that we checked each the close boxes, and we conscionable request to reapply oregon spell backmost successful to our exertion and spot what it is that they privation america to person connected record to spot if we tin walk through,” Carver said. 

FEMA has dispersed $420 cardinal successful betterment funds to survivors of Hurricane Ian arsenic of Sunday, according to a quality merchandise from the agency.

People are receiving rental assistance, repair assistance, funds for edifice stays and reimbursement for impermanent lodging, the merchandise said. 

At the betterment halfway Saturday, immoderate were determination to use for alleviation funds from FEMA. Others were determination to capable retired paperwork for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which supplements nutrient budgets for radical successful need.

Workers guided radical to where to go. The guides had wheelchairs connected tract to easiness question into the building.   

After Hurricane Ian swept done homes and businesses in Southwest Florida, immoderate radical were relieved to find speedy paths to guidance connected what benefits they could receive.

Allen Warcholak, of Fort Myers, and his woman Johanna said it was their 2nd clip astatine the library disaster alleviation site.

"The archetypal clip we were trying to get unemployment and that was a overmuch longer enactment and we were present for 2 to 3 hours maybe," Warcholak said. "And this was besides a week ago. There's a batch little radical today."

Warcholak said helium and his woman were astatine the room tract to use for SNAP benefits. They got retired successful 15 minutes.

Their second-story flat was spared from the hurricane, but Warcholak said helium was near without his occupation at Captiva Island. 

"They were beauteous overmuch not determination anymore," helium said.  

People said they cruised done lines to get paperwork.

Beverley Lockwood said she was successful and retired of the room to motion paperwork for FEMA relief.

Lockwood, a 90-year-old nonmigratory of the Bayside Estates neighborhood, was capable to enactment retired of authorities arsenic the hurricane passed through, but she came backmost to her location to find “…everything was a messiness there.” She present stays in a utilized centrifugal home. 

Lockwood was capable to navigate however to person FEMA benefits with ease.

Lockwood said the guidance she received was adjuvant and she understands the adjacent steps connected “what needs to beryllium done.”

Disaster Recovery Centers successful Lee

Disaster Recover Centers successful Lee are at: 

• Lakes Regional Library, 15290 Bass Road, Fort Myers, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily; parking and shuttle to the room is astatine the Kelly Road Soccer Complex, 10750 Kelly Road, Fort Myers.
• 2295 Victoria Ave., Fort Myers 

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