October
3, 2006
GALLAGHER ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH
OSCEOLA COUNTY NON-PROFIT TO
STRENGTHEN HOMES AGAINST HURRICANES
100
Low-Income Seniors to be Served in
Osceola
TALLAHASSEE—Chief Financial
Officer Tom Gallagher announced
today that 100 low-income
seniors will soon be safer from
hurricanes thanks to a new
partnership between the Osceola
County Council on Aging and the
My Safe Florida Home program.
Through the partnership,
homeowners will receive free
home inspections and assistance
to make improvements that will
strengthen homes against
catastrophic losses.
“Partnering with faith- and
community-based groups to help
fortify low-income homes in
Florida is mission critical to
protecting families and reducing
property losses,” said
Gallagher, who oversees the My
Safe Florida Home program.
“Through these partnerships, we
will be able to leverage
resources and help thousands of
Floridians before the end of
this hurricane season.”
Through the Volunteer Florida
Foundation, which administers
the Florida Hurricane Relief
Fund, the Osceola County Council
on Aging is teaming up with the
My Safe Florida Home program to
fortify the homes of up to 100
low-income seniors in Osceola
County. My Safe Florida Home is
matching over $250,000 with the
resources of the Council on
Aging. A homeowner can earn no
more than 80 percent of the
Annual Median Income (AMI) to
qualify for this assistance.
AMI varies by county.
Participating homeowners will
receive free home inspections to
determine what improvements can
be made to strengthen their
homes against hurricane damage.
Following the inspections,
homeowners will receive
assistance to make recommended
improvements.
“In
our long-term recovery work
following the last two hurricane
seasons, we at the Florida
Hurricane Relief Fund have
learned the enormous value of
partnering with community and
faith-based groups,
organizations that know their
communities and are effective
partners in accomplishing
important tasks,” said Liza
McFadden, president of the
Volunteer Florida Foundation.
“We are honored to expand our
role to include mitigation work
with the Department of Financial
Services to ensure Florida’s
low-income residents get the
help they need to strengthen
their homes.”
Funding for the partnership with
non-profit organizations is
possible because of a $250
million appropriation by the
Florida Legislature during the
2006 Session to create the
Florida Comprehensive Hurricane
Damage Mitigation Program, now
referred to as My Safe Florida
Home and administered by the
Florida Department of Financial
Services.
To date, the department has
received more than 53,000
applications in the mail from
Floridians eager to have free
home inspections. Nearly 5,000
inspections are currently being
done in Dade, Broward and Lee
counties. Gallagher said his
goal is to have 12,000
inspections completed before the
end of this hurricane season,
November 30.
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