Diane Stephens hasn’t been able to return to her Dunedin home since Hurricane Helene sent a tree crashing through the roof, leaving it uninhabitable.

On Thursday, she visited Dunedin City Hall looking for answers at a public input meeting about how Pinellas County plans to use more than $800 million in federal disaster recovery grants.

“I’m trying to find some kind of grant or help to get back home,” Stephens told WFLA. “This is the first time I’ve ever been displaced, and it’s not a good feeling.”

Pinellas County has received $813.8 million in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to address lingering recovery needs from recent hurricanes. Officials say the majority of those needs — 78% — involve housing.

“Eight hundred million dollars is a lot — we can all agree on that,” said Matthew Spoor with the Pinellas County Administration. “But it’s still not enough to cover everything needed for full recovery.”

Most of the funding will go toward housing-related programs, including homeowner reimbursement, down payment assistance, home repairs or reconstruction, rehab grants for landlords, and direct disaster relief payments.

The remaining funds are slated for economic recovery, public services, and infrastructure projects.

While many residents were hoping for more immediate solutions, Stephens is trying to stay hopeful.

“I’m hoping I can get some help before all of this rolls out,” she said. “But at least now I know there’s something coming. The hardest part is not knowing where to start — finding programs, finding contractors. There’s no clear roadmap.”

The next public input meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 24 at Harbor Hall/White Chapel, 1190 Georgia Avenue, Palm Harbor.

County leaders aim to release a draft action plan in 13 days, with a final version expected to be approved by commissioners on May 6. The plan will then be submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by May 23, with program rollouts anticipated in the fall.

More details are available at: recover.pinellas.gov/cdbg-dr

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(Image credit: Pinellas County)

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