TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) announced additional public workshops and webinar to seek input for the use of more than $735 million in federal funds for long-term recovery efforts for Hurricane Michael-impacted communities. These funds are available through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG – DR) program.

In Florida, CDBG-DR funds are administered through the Rebuild Florida program. Rebuild Florida connects eligible Floridians with federal disaster recovery funding, prioritizing most-impacted communities and the most vulnerable low-income individuals, including the elderly, those with disabilities and families with young children. Funding provides impacted families with the opportunity to rebuild, repair or replace their damaged homes from disasters, as well as providing communities the ability to prepare for future storms.

To provide more information on the next steps for the state of Florida, community partners and local communities, DEO will host a webinar at 3:00 p.m. (EST) on Friday, February 21, 2020. Click here to register.

This week, DEO will conduct regional public workshops in the following Hurricane Michael-impacted communities:

Bay County
Date: Wednesday, February 19
Time: 10:00a.m. – 11:30a.m. CST
Location: Public Works Building
114 North 22nd Street
Mexico Beach, FL 32410

Jackson County
Date: Wednesday, February 19
Time: 3:00p.m. – 5:00p.m. CST
Location: Chipola College Culture Center
3094 Indian Circle
Marianna, FL 32446

Liberty County
Date: Thursday, February 20
Time: 3:00p.m. – 4:30p.m. EST
Location: Veterans Memorial Civic Center
10405 NW Theo Jacobs Way
Bristol, FL 32321

These workshops will be held in addition to the seven workshops that DEO previously announced.

On January 27, HUD released mandatory guidance for the use of more than $735 million in funding for long-term recovery efforts for Hurricane Michael-impacted communities.

DEO will lead the state’s efforts in creating the federally required State Action Plan that will provide a high-level strategy for how the funding will be used to address the long-term disaster recovery needs for Hurricane Michael-impacted communities. The State Action Plan will be developed with input from our state and community partners and citizens.

In May 2019, DEO launched an online survey, available here, to generate input and feedback from Florida communities regarding their Hurricane Michael long-term recovery needs and priorities.

DEO is currently conducting regional workshops in the Panhandle to educate and receive input from community partners on the Hurricane Michael disaster recovery program. DEO, in cooperation with other state agencies and local communities, will develop and submit the State Action Plan to HUD for review by June 1, 2020. Upon approval of the plan, DEO will work with its partners to distribute the federal funds to help homeowners rebuild and better protect Florida’s communities from future disasters.

For additional information on the Hurricane Michael program, visit RebuildFlorida.gov.

About DEO

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity combines the state’s economic, workforce and community development efforts, expediting economic development projects to fuel job creation in competitive communities and promote economic resiliency. For more information, including valuable resources for employers and job seekers, please visit www.floridajobs.org.

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