LEE COUNTY, Fla. — As Hurricane Ian survivors work to figure out next steps and where to turn for help, Disaster Recovery Centers in places like Lee and Sarasota counties are serving as a one-stop-shop for state and federal assistance.
Search for the Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) closest to you here.
The Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) has people on the ground in Lee County at Lakes Regional Library and is acting as a critical piece to help get people back on their feet — people who lost not only their homes, but their jobs.
Raquel Deheredia lost her job due to Hurricane Ian. She works in the hospitality industry on Captiva.
She tried to apply for unemployment over the phone but was unsuccessful.
“You’re on hold forever or they kick you off," Deheredia said, who then drove to Ft. Myers from Cape Coral. "I told him my problems and he was like come on in, let me help you out.”
DEO Update (Oct. 12) Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Waives Work Search Reporting and Additional Reemployment Assistance Requirements for Floridians Impacted by Hurricane Ian
DEO employees are not only helping with unemployment and disaster unemployment assistance but applications for bridge loans and housing assistance funds.
“We also have people who specialize in getting problematic claims resolved on-site, so no one is turned away without their problem being resolved," Nelson said.
Deheredia said she's been amazed at the help pouring into Southwest Florida.
"Between the linemen, the different first responders, coming from out," she said, pausing and putting her hand up to her heart. "I'm emotional to see all the support."
“It’s hard. Everybody has a tragedy," DEO's Kathryn Nelson told ABC Action News. “From watching someone die in front of them that they couldn’t help, to a 78-year-old man who was swimming in the water for five hours before he was rescued. And it’s just, you feel their pain. And how some still have just this positive look of — thanking us for being here and I just want to thank them for being alive and making it.”
As of Wednesday night, DEO had served 771 people at Lakes Regional Library.
“The internet, the power, some are still without power, they’re without transportation because their cars were flooded, so they have no way to get to the site, which is why the city buses are going and gathering them," Nelson said in Ft. Myers. “The Department of Economic Opportunity is here to serve their needs, and we will sit with them until it’s completed."
Disaster unemployment assistance is available until April 1, 2023, as long as unemployment continues to be a direct result of Hurricane Ian.
The deadline to submit a claim is December 30.
DEO has more than 30 volunteers deployed across five Disaster Recovery Centers:
Lee County
- Lakes Regional Library, 15290 Bass Road, Fort Myers, FL 33919
- Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. daily
- Joseph P.D Alessandro Office Complex, 2295 Victoria Ave., Ft. Myers, FL 33901
- Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. daily
Sarasota County
- Shannon Staub Library, 4675 Career Lane, North Port, FL 34289
- Hours of Operation: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. daily
Charlotte County
- Home Depot Parking Lot, 12621 S. McCall Rd., Port Charlotte, FL 33981
- Hours of Operation: 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. daily
Collier County
- Veterans Community Park, 1895 Veterans Community Park, Naples, FL, 34109
- Hours of Operation: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. daily
To view additional locations as they become available, click here.