FEMA extends hotel help for hurricane victims last minute


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Thousands of hurricane-affected families in Western North Carolina received welcome relief as FEMA extended hotel voucher assistance, coinciding with the start of the Trump administration. This development followed Vice President-elect JD Vance’s December tour of the storm-ravaged region, where he pledged comprehensive support for the recovery effort.

“Certainly when this administration changes hands in the next 45 days, we’re going to do everything that we can to help people rebuild, to get them back on their feet, to bring some commerce back to this area, but, most importantly, to allow people to live in their homes,” Vance said on December 6.

“We haven’t forgotten you — we love you.”

The extension came after recent controversy, with FEMA facing accusations of political discrimination against Trump supporters during election season. The situation had grown dire in the final days of the Biden-Harris administration, with North Carolina residents facing eviction as their hotel vouchers expired.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis highlighted the crisis on social media, stating: “My office has been helping dozens of Helene victims today who have been told their hotel vouchers expired despite not having a safe and livable home to go back to. Their homes have mold and broken windows … it’s 20 degrees tonight. This is a total breakdown on the part of FEMA.”

Following intervention from Governor Josh Stein and pressure from the incoming administration, FEMA announced an extension of the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program until May 26. Federal Coordinating Officer Brett Howard emphasized the agency’s commitment, stating “I want to be clear, this program is not ending for Western North Carolina. We understand the great need survivors have at the time, and this program will last as long as necessary. … FEMA staff are working daily with survivors and on their cases to help them find permanent housing solutions.”

The agency also improved its notification system, extending the warning period for program ineligibility from one week to three weeks. Since Hurricane Helene’s September landfall, approximately 13,000 families have received assistance through the program, with roughly 2,000 currently eligible.

Local activist Matt Von Swol celebrated the extension while expressing frustration with FEMA’s initial response. In his statement to Blaze News, Von Swol criticized the agency’s bureaucratic approach: “FEMA dropped the ball from the very outset of the storm. They failed to act quickly. They failed to communicate effectively. They failed to respond adequately to survivors we have personally helped. We have seen firsthand how bureaucracy involved in delivering true aid to victims is a death by a thousand slow-rolling cuts. If FEMA is to live up to its name, then it needs to act like an emergency is a true emergency and be able and willing to help people swiftly and fairly, not blame them for failing to fill out a form correctly.”

FEMA reports distributing $316 million in cash assistance and $6.2 million in rental support to North Carolina’s Helene victims. The agency has also implemented a one-year interest-free loan program for affected small businesses. Meanwhile, South Carolina residents affected by Helene face an approaching deadline for assistance applications.