VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Hurricane season may be over, but many Floridians are still recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Milton. 

Elevate Florida is a new program from the Florida Department of Emergency Management that is now being rolled out to help with recovery and mitigation efforts. 

The goal is to enhance community resilience by mitigating private residences against natural hazards. Residents can now begin the application process.

What You Need To Know

  • Elevate Florida is being rolled out across the state to help with hurricane recovery and flooding mitigation efforts
  • Residents can now apply for the program
  • Project objectives include structure elevation and flood mitigation of area homes

Residents in Volusia County are doing what they still can to protect their homes, including applying for help.

Life is still not back to normal for Catherine Levinson, but she's doing what she can to make sure her home remains in the best shape possible. 

“I just want reimbursement for what I’ve spent and what I’m going to spend in the future," she said. "It’s not over and it’s already been $40,000 and it’s not over. I have to build a wall to retain the dirt. I’m not building a wall to stop water because that’s not going to work. I’m retaining the sand and the dirt so when it rains, it doesn’t wash away."

Levinson and other residents believe runoff water from nearby businesses is making matters worse. 

“I’ve spent so much money just trying to save my home and FEMA denied us," Levinson said. "They said because it was a manmade situation, it wasn’t Milton itself."

Levinson said she’s applying for Elevate Florida now that the application window is open.

“I hope they can reimburse me 75% of the money so I can still do the rest of the projects that I need to do,” she said. 

This program is also one Volusia County leaders want people to know about.

“We always encourage out citizens to be thinking ahead and say and be thinking kind of upon the lines of, just because it hasn’t happened before, doesn’t mean it might not happen to me this next time,” said Volusia County Emergency Management Director Clint Mecham.

Project objectives include structure elevation, mitigation reconstruction, acquisition and demolition, and wind mitigation. 

Federal grant funding will cover at least 75% of the project cost. Property owners will only need to invest 25%.

 “Take a look, evaluate it. Is this right for me? Is it a tool I need to have in my toolbox?” Mecham said. 

Levinson said residents are doing what they can to get through these challenging times.

“I don’t know if any of us will receive the money, but we should apply," she said. "You have to fight for your home."

In order to be eligible for the program, residents must be over 18 years old, be a U.S. citizen, be a legal property owner in the state of Florida, and be able to contribute up to 25% of the project’s total cost.