Applying For Grants Isn't Smooth Process

TAMPA - Out-of-pocket expense isn't the only hurdle for low-income residents participating in the My Safe Florida Home program.

The Tampa Tribune randomly selected 15 homeowners in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties who qualified as low-income for a state grant or other financial assistance.

Each wants to fortify his or her house against future hurricanes by buying storm shutters, securing roofs or replacing windows. Some applied through the state Department of Financial Services, and others are working with nonprofit agencies and the Volunteer Florida Foundation.

But nearly all said they have experienced problems.

Jodie Johnson of St. Petersburg is one of two people contacted by the Tribune who had no idea they had been approved for a grant, despite being on a list of recipients.

"I hadn't heard from those people in quite some time," said Johnson, 74, who qualified for assistance through a Volunteer Florida Foundation-approved nonprofit agency. "I hadn't heard from them to say if I was approved or not."

Johnson said he wants the windows of his home replaced. "If a hurricane comes through here, I think I would be in pretty bad shape for the type windows and condition it's in," he said. "So I could very well use the help, very much so."

Samuel Barreto of Apollo Beach also has been waiting. He applied through the state for help paying to reinforce his roof and buy storm shutters.

"I didn't know," Barreto, 64, said of being approved for a grant. "I never heard from them."

Three residents said they had to call repeatedly to verify their information had been received, or they had to resend their information multiple times because they were told it had been lost or misplaced.

Then there's Yvonne Robinson of Tampa.

"They lost my application. Then I applied again, and they lost my application" again, she said. "Finally, they turned me down. ... I thought that was the end of it."

Robinson said that a few months later she got a letter saying she was approved for a grant.

"I can't understand why you say no, you don't qualify; then they come back months later and say yes, you do qualify," she said.

She has yet to use her grant, she said, because she can't find a state-approved contractor she trusts.

My Safe Florida Home officials said applicants should not have to send information multiple times. "I would like to look into those cases," said Tami Torres, special programs administrator.

Tara Klimek, communications director for the Department of Financial Services, said the state monitors customer calls and hears complaints from 2 percent or less of the people approved for a grant.

Anyone receiving assistance through the Volunteer Florida Foundation who experiences a problem with a nonprofit agency should call the foundation, foundation President Kay Kammel said.

Ellen Kirschner, 49, of St. Petersburg was approved for assistance through the nonprofit Homes for Independence/Abilities of Florida in Pinellas County.

"I applied in August, I was approved in August, and I'm still waiting," she said. "I was frustrated because of hurricane season, and now we're out of hurricane season. But if they don't do this by June, then I'm going to be really upset because then it will have been a year."

She said she was told it might be two to three months before workers get to her property because state money wasn't available.

"It is first come, first serve. It doesn't mean the money isn't there. It's a timing issue," said Lori Kreisle, vice president of Homes for Independence and director of housing for Abilities of Florida.

Kreisle said there are about 35 people in front of Kirschner. "She's a newbie compared to a lot of them."

About $140,000 of the $187,500 received by Kreisle's agency has been spent or allocated. Kirschner and other homeowners may have to wait until April.

"The program is a great program," Kreisle said, "but patience is the name of the game."

Kirschner said she has been reluctant to complain.

"Sometimes you hate making trouble," she said, "because help disappears that way."