Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Leadership Visits Partners in Brevard, Collier, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Lake, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia Counties following Hurricanes Ian and Nicole
 

Tallahassee, Fla. – In May, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) met with fifteen additional communities impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole to discuss long-term recovery efforts. DEO visited and facilitated listening sessions in Brevard, Collier, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee and Osceola counties from May 10-12, 2023. Additionally,  DEO visited and facilitated listening sessions in Flagler, Lake, Orange, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties on May 17-18, 2023. To date, DEO has visited 23 of the 24 impacted counties impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. In the coming weeks, DEO and its partners will meet with Monroe County to round out the 24-county tour of listening sessions. 

These listening sessions are helping inform Florida’s plan to use the more than $910 million allocated to the state by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for long-term recovery efforts. DEO staff continue to assist all impacted communities with navigating the application process for Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. 

"Under Governor DeSantis' leadership, DEO is proud to partner with the Florida Department of Emergency Management and the Florida Department of Transportation to host disaster recovery listening sessions, taking a collaborative and thoughtful approach to Florida’s recovery from Hurricanes Ian and Nicole," said DEO Acting Secretary Meredith Ivey. "Long-term recovery efforts over the coming months and years will be crucial in order to get impacted communities and Floridians back on their feet. The feedback DEO has received thus far is invaluable  — every impacted community has unique needs, and these sessions bring us one step closer to helping meet those needs."

On Thursday, May 18, 2023, DEO Acting Secretary Meredith Ivey and DEO Director of the Office of Long-Term Resiliency, Justin Domer, met with leaders in Lake, Orange and Seminole counties. Highlights from the May 18 listening sessions include: 
Lake County and DEO leaders discussed opportunities to collaborate on their continued recovery efforts from 2022 hurricanes, including the needs of Astor, Florida, which sustained significant impacts. 

Representatives from Orange County and DEO had a productive meeting to find ways to work together to support resiliency efforts in neighborhoods that experience recurrent flooding. 


Seminole County and DEO leaders met to discuss the county's disaster recovery needs — particularly flood mitigation and housing repair — and will continue to work together in the coming months to support their most vulnerable communities.  

On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, DEO Acting Secretary Meredith Ivey and DEO Director of the Office of Long-Term Resiliency, Justin Domer, met with leaders in Flagler, Putnam, St. Johns and Volusia counties. Highlights from the May 17 listening sessions include: 

DEO had an insightful meeting with Flagler County regarding long-term disaster recovery needs to help increase resilience and mitigate the impacts of future storms.

Putnam County and DEO leadership had a constructive meeting to explore opportunities to address flood mitigation and housing through long-term recovery funds following the county's impacts from Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. 

St. Johns County and DEO leaders discussed opportunities to cut red tape and connect communities with the resources they need to facilitate long-term disaster recovery efforts.

DEO's visit to Volusia County marked the 20th listening session in counties impacted by 2022 Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. DEO and Volusia County discussed the county's unique disaster recovery needs such as workforce housing and recurrent flooding. 

On Friday, May 12, 2023, DEO Acting Secretary Meredith Ivey and DEO Director of the Office of Long-Term Resiliency, Justin Domer, met with leaders in Collier, Hardee and Hendry counties. Highlights from the May 12 listening sessions include:

DEO and Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) representatives met with Kristi Sonntag, Collier County's Director of the Community & Human Services Division, who shared valuable insights on local communities' remaining unmet needs, including infrastructure and stormwater drainage — particularly in Immokalee and Bayshore.

Hardee County was severely impacted by Hurricane Ian — losing all emergency communications for approximately an hour during the storm. Hardee County leaders shared with Teams DEO and FDOT the remaining unmet needs within their communities, including affordable workforce housing, communications, infrastructure improvements, and critical hardening and mitigation for future storms. 


Hendry County, DEO and FDOT teams discussed the impacts of Hurricane Ian locally and the region's recovery efforts. Attendees also identified opportunities to fuel Hendry County's economic growth through quality healthcare, infrastructure, broadband expansion, debris removal, communication and job creation.

On Thursday, May 11, 2023, listening sessions were held in communities within Brevard, Highlands, Okeechobee and Osceola counties. Highlights from the May 11 listening sessions include: 

Brevard County leaders and DEO's team discussed existing unmet needs locally following Hurricanes Ian & Nicole, including affordable workforce housing and stormwater drainage.


DEO and FDOT had an insightful meeting with Highlands County leaders who shared the impacts of recent storms on the farmers and growers in Florida's Heartland. Under the leadership of Governor DeSantis, DEO is committed to working with Highlands County and state partners to assist with this industry's recovery and resiliency efforts.

Okeechobee County leaders provided Teams DEO and FDOT insight on their local long-term recovery following recent storms, including workforce affordable housing, public infrastructure, agriculture and communications.


Osceola County discussed with DEO the biggest challenges local communities are facing, including flooding and the need for stormwater management. Attendees also discussed the high-tech innovation that is occurring locally. DEO looks forward to working with Osceola County in the coming months to bolster community development and resiliency efforts as the county's population is growing exponentially.

On May 10, a listening session was held in Glades County. Highlights from the May 10 listening session include: 

Glades County, DEO and FDOT leaders are pictured mid-listening session discussing the impacts of recent storms and the remaining unmet needs locally, such as communication and infrastructure improvements. DEO and Glades County also explored opportunities to work together in the coming months to bolster the recruitment of law enforcement officers locally.

The process for securing funding to implement programs in order to help communities impacted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole fully recover is outlined below:



DEO is the governor-designated state authority responsible for administering all U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) and Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds awarded to the state.

Created in 2019, DEO's Office of Long-Term Resiliency (OLTR) was federally allocated funding to support communities following disasters by addressing long-term recovery needs for housing, infrastructure, economic development, workforce training, and mitigation activities. Since 2017, the State of Florida has been allocated nearly $2.5 billion in federal funding to support long-term recovery for Florida communities and individuals impacted by Hurricanes Hermine, Matthew, Irma, Michael, and Sally, as well CDBG-Mitigation funding related to storms that impacted Florida in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. For more information, visit RebuildFlorida.gov.