Release Date:
September 25, 2018
Transitional Sheltering Assistance
- Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) is a sheltering option using participating hotels/motels to help fill a gap until survivors identify short or long-term housing solutions.
- TSA is currently available to eligible survivors whose pre-disaster primary residence is in one of the following nine counties: Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, Columbus, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender or Robeson.
- Survivors who do not have the option to return home and are unable to have their housing needs met through insurance, congregate shelters, or rental assistance provided by FEMA or another agency (federal, state or voluntary) may be eligible for TSA.
- Survivors will be notified of their eligibility through an automated phone call, text message, and/or email depending upon the method of communication they selected when they registered for assistance.
- Survivors who have already registered with FEMA and are eligible for TSA will be notified of their eligibility beginning today.
- To locate participating hotels, visit DisasterAssistance.gov, scroll down to the Quick Links section, and click on “Transitional Sheltering Assistance Hotel Locator.” You can also call the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-FEMA or TTY 800-462-7585.
- Continued eligibility is determined on an individual basis based on continued and demonstrated need. When eligibility for a particular household ends, those survivors will be notified seven days prior to their checkout date.
- FEMA provides rental assistance, home repair assistance and other forms of housing to help eligible survivors transition from TSA to a short or long-term housing option.
Disaster Specific Implementation:
- To be considered for TSA, applicants must:
- Apply for disaster assistance, and be referred to FEMA for Individuals and Households Program (IHP) assistance.
- Pass identity verification.
- Pass occupancy verification.
- Have a primary residence located in an area designated for TSA.
- Indicate home damage during registration due to Hurricane Florence.
- Report damage that occurred within the incident period for Hurricane Florence.
- Report a cause of damage that corresponds with impacts associated with Hurricane Florence.
- Not be linked with another valid registration for disaster assistance.
- Applicant eligibility for TSA will end when the applicant:
- Is not referred to FEMA for housing assistance.
- Voluntarily withdraws from FEMA’s disaster assistance.
- Is determined to be ineligible for IHP Housing Assistance.
- Pre-disaster primary residence is safe to occupy based on inspection.
- Not willing to relocate from residence while repairs are being made based on inspection information.
- Has insurance that provides coverage for living expenses for the damage caused by the disaster.
- Was unreachable for an inspection after three attempts.
- Is residing with a household member.
- Has repairs completed in an emergency temporary repair program.
- Received rental assistance.
- Chose not to accept offer of direct housing assistance.
- Leased into a direct housing unit.
- Does not comply with TSA Terms and Conditions.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What does it mean for survivors?
- Survivors who do not have the option to return home and are unable to have their needs met through insurance, congregate shelters, or rental assistance provided by FEMA or another agency (federal, state or voluntary) may be eligible for TSA.
How will survivors be notified of their eligibility?
- Eligible survivors will be notified of their eligibility through an automated phone call, text message, and/or email depending upon the method of communication they selected at the time of application for disaster assistance.
When and how will survivors be notified when their eligibility expires?
- Survivors will be notified seven days before their eligibility for TSA expires through phone call, email, and/or text message depending upon the method of communication they selected at the time of application for disaster assistance.
What is FEMA doing to help survivors transition from TSA to a short or long term housing solution?
- FEMA provides rental assistance, home repair assistance. Other forms of housing solutions may be provided, based upon eligibility.
- FEMA encourages states approved for TSA to also request disaster case management so case workers can work one on one with households to address their unmet needs.
Will hotels provide any notifications to survivors?
- When survivors check in to hotels, they will sign a Terms and Conditions document acknowledging they understand the rules and requirements of the program. FEMA provides notification of any change to an applicant’s TSA eligibility.
Background
- FEMA Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) an emergency sheltering option to help reduce the complexity of survivors’ post-disaster experience.
- A delayed implementation of TSA allows for opportunity for whole community partners to work with survivors on housing solutions to meet their short/long term housing needs.
- Prior to consideration of TSA as a sheltering option, FEMA evaluated North Carolina’s availability of rental resources and understanding trends in mass care resources, and:
- Confirmed emergency shelter population exists and assessed the anticipated length disaster survivors will be displaced from their pre-disaster dwellings.
- Confirmed a lack of rental resources preventing disaster survivors from meeting their housing needs in a reasonable timeframe.