WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The highly popular My Safe Florida Home program will not relaunch on July 1 as originally scheduled; instead, it has been postponed to reopen in early August.
WATCH BELOW: 'It’s frustrating,' Leon Tomczyk tells WPTV's Matt Sczesny
Leon Tomczyk said he got up just before midnight to get on the website and start an application, but quickly got nowhere and attempted to call the help line at 8 a.m.
“She came back and goes, 'I don’t know what to tell you. They haven’t updated the pages, the things you need aren’t there,” he said.
Tomczyk expressed disappointment over the delays to the anticipated July 1 start date and trying to get a $10,000 grant to help with a new roof.
“It’s frustrating, especially when the state made such a big deal,” he said. “There was a lot of us out there looking forward to it.”
Elsewhere in Palm Beach County, Chris Brown told me he got up at 3:15 a.m. to try and start an application.
“I canvassed every single page, sometimes twice, checking links, going the extra mile, just thinking there’s got to be a trick to this,” he said.
The Department of Financial Services explained the early August reopening in the following statement:
“The broader My safe Florida Home Program is incorporating new policy updates and technology upgrades, with its application portal."
The program had been waiting on $280 million in new funding from lawmakers, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who had been locked in a month budget battle, which has now been settled.
The program, which was enacted during the 2024 legislative session, provides eligible associations with funding to strengthen their properties against hurricanes. According to their website, associations can receive reimbursement grants of up to $175,000. For every $1 an association spends, the state will contribute $2, up to the maximum.
I have been reporting on the popular grant program since its launch. The pilot program aims to help Floridians fortify their homes and potentially lower their insurance premiums.
The My Safe Florida Condo pilot program reopened on time on July 1.
The pilot program in its second year is open to condo associations with grants of up to $175,000 for storm hardening repairs and improvements.
Keep following WPTV and wptv.com for the latest on developments with My Safe Florida Home.