The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) is hosting workshops this week in Pinellas County to help residents navigate ‘Elevate Florida,’ a pioneering statewide residential mitigation program.

Designed to accelerate property protection efforts, the program aims to minimize damage from natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding.

The first workshop takes place on Wednesday at Treasure Island City Hall from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with program presentations scheduled at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Homeowners will receive guidance on eligibility criteria, available project types, and the application process. ‘Elevate Florida’ offers four project options:

1. Structure Elevation – Raising homes above the floodplain.
2. Mitigation Reconstruction – Rebuilding homes that cannot be elevated to meet hazard-resistant building codes.
3. Property Acquisition and Demolition – Purchasing and clearing properties to create open community spaces.
4. Wind Mitigation – Strengthening homes with improvements to roofs, windows, and doors.

To qualify, applicants must legally own the property and contribute up to 25% of the total project cost.

Compared to FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), ‘Elevate Florida’ promises a faster timeline for project completion. Once an application is approved—expected within three months—construction could take up to nine months.

Michael Ferraz, founder of Unified Foundations, highlighted the program’s benefits, stating that it enables roughly 20% of homes statewide to be elevated rather than demolished.

“This process costs about a third of building new and takes only a fifth of the time, reducing homeowner displacement and ensuring projects are completed well before the next hurricane season,” Ferraz explained.

Pinellas County leads the state in applications, accounting for approximately 40% of submissions. Priority funding will go to homeowners with properties that have suffered repetitive loss or substantial damage.

“Many counties have never had access to these grant programs due to a lack of dedicated grant-writing teams,” Ferraz noted. “What excites me about ‘Elevate Florida’ is that FDEM handles the grant writing, making it accessible to all Floridians.”

Additional workshops this week:

• Thursday, March 13 | 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
  St. Petersburg Sunshine Center
  330 5th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
• Friday, March 14 | 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
  Clearwater Ross Norton Recreation Center Multipurpose Room
  1426 S M.L.K. Jr Ave, Clearwater, FL 33756

Find the Elevate Florida application here: https://www.floridadisaster.org/dem/mitigation/elevate-Florida/

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