Families ask for housing voucher extension

As hundreds of Puerto Rican families are facing yet another deadline for their temporary housing vouchers today, island evacuees are putting pressure on FEMA to extend the aid program.

Joined by State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, and Sen. Victor Torres, D-Kissimmee, dozens of displaced families who have been living at hotels gathered Thursday afternoon in front of the FEMA office on Oak Ridge Road in Orange County to ask the agency to approve an aid extension until June 30.

“We have hundreds of Puerto Rican families that suddenly, without notice, are being told that they must leave their motels,” Smith said. “The reality is that we can’t keep extending and extending and extending.”

“It seemed like in the same time period that the governor of Puerto Rico was cutting off the services for those who were living in motels, telling them to come back to the island, the power grid failed and 100 percent of the island was without power and without light,” Smith said. “How are you going to tell them to come back to the island?”

The Puerto Rican government requested an extension from FEMA on Wednesday, along with letters from Florida lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson, and Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee.

FEMA spokesman Daniel Llargués said the agency was meeting Thursday afternoon with the Puerto Rican government to discuss the extension.

“FEMA is meeting with Puerto Rico staff today to discuss new qualifications and a path forward for survivors,” Llargués said in a statement. “FEMA remains committed to the ongoing recovery efforts of the survivors in Puerto Rico.”

He added that when Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló first requested the extension on Feb. 28, he had asked for “additional eligibility requirements” until May 14.

Those who still qualified for the extension would be reviewed by April 20. The island government’s new request asked for an “unconditional extension,” eliminating the eligibility restrictions currently in place.

As of Thursday evening, FEMA had not announced a final decision.

JOE CAVARETTA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Preschool students Aiza Hussain, left, and Ava Rinne, both age 5, from Florida Atlantic University’s Karen Slattery Educational Research Center for Child Development, hold signs during the Kindness and Peace Rally on Wednesday.