PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. — A Port St. Lucie family says what they believe is a loophole in Florida's My Safe Florida Home program is leaving elderly, low-income homeowners without critical hurricane protection — and they're calling on the state to close what they describe as a growing gap.
WATCH: WPTV reached out to Florida CFO for solutions
Helen and Alfred Nonnemacher, who are in their 80s, applied for a home-hardening grant to replace their 20-year-old windows, which they say are now leaking, taped together with packing tape, and unable to open and close properly.
Alfred Nonnemacher is also recovering from a stroke.
"So these are the inefficient windows that my in-laws have," said the couple's son-in-law, Steve McGuigan. "You can see the water damage here, water has seeped through there. This one is actually taped. They actually taped it with packing tape to keep it in place... just very disturbing to me," he added, showing investigative reporter Kate Hussey the home.
Yet the couple was denied a My Safe Florida Home Grant.
The family says a licensed inspector visited the home in August for a two-hour inspection — and denied them that same day. Though the inspection report is no longer available, the family says they were rejected because of the shutters.
"When I saw that report, I was just like, devastated, heartbroken," said Helen Nonnemacher. "You go through all this, and you know that you're qualified, and then they say no, and it is very disappointing, heartbreaking, almost."
According to the program's website, the state generally disqualifies homeowners who already have hurricane shutters from receiving grants for impact windows. The Nonnemachers have shutters — but because of their age and Alfred's medical condition, they cannot physically put them up themselves.
"See how long and big they are?" said McGuigan, showing WPTV the shutters. "Even one panel is pretty heavy. In any storm, this would be a huge concern."
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"You know, it's scary, and these windows would never hold up to something like that," added Helen Nonnemacher.
McGuigan first brought the family's concerns to our "Let's Hear It" community event in Port St. Lucie, where he and his wife came looking for help.
We took video and photos of the home to mitigation expert Calvin Johnson, who said the windows should be replaced — regardless of whether shutters are present.
"That's probably the window itself that's leaking," said Johnson, looking at the photos. "Water would definitely get inside there."
"And that compromises the rest of the home?" Investigative Reporter Kate Hussey asked.
"Yeah, exactly," Johnson replied.
Johnson said he sees this situation regularly — families denied because they have shutters, but physically unable to deploy them.
"Yes. Absolutely, we get that a lot," said Johnson.
Johnson also warned that failing to have working protections in place could put homeowners at risk of losing their insurance coverage.
"Your insurance company wants everything to be working and everything to show proof that you got those protection in place," Johnson said.
Response from the CFO
WPTV reached out to Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia's office about the Nonnemachers' case. In an email, his office encouraged the family to file a disability waiver exemption by submitting a support ticket at MySafeFLHome.com.
"We encourage homeowners like Mr. and Mrs. Nonnemacher to file a waiver due to disability, which they can do by submitting a support ticket at MySafeFLHome.com, understanding that the licensed inspector determined that Mr. and Mrs. Nonnemacher's home already has adequate protection against hurricanes and is therefore ineligible for grant funding from the program," the CFO's office said in an email statement.
The office also said a team member would reach out directly to the Nonnemachers to help them through the process.
The CFO's office pointed to the program's governing statute — Florida Statute § 215.5586 (2025) — which states the purpose of the My Safe Florida Program is to help Florida's most in-need homeowners with home-hardening projects to enhance the survivability of homes during hurricanes.
Under the statute, grant funds may only be used for the following:
- Opening protection, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows, and skylights
- Reinforcing roof-to-wall connections
- Improving the strength of roof-deck attachments
- Secondary water resistance for roof
The office also referenced Rule 69J-7.001 of the Florida Administrative Code, which outlines acceptable projects in further detail.
A second family in the same situation
The Nonnemachers are not alone.
At a separate "Let's Hear It" event in Jensen Beach, Kimberly Caldwell Blazie said she fell into the same gap — unable to install shutters because of her disability.
"I want to cry right now. I just keep praying," Caldwell Blazie said. "I mean, you feel like you’ve lost hope."
Caldwell Blazie has already filed her disability waiver exemption following her interview with WPTV and since received a letter saying she was approved. She's still waiting on the contractor to complete work on her home.
The Nonnemachers are now working to file their own exemption. The CFO's office says funding will not run out before the exemptions are reviewed — but neither family is entirely convinced.
A program under strain
There is currently no data available showing how many applicants have been approved this year. However, data the state released in October 2025 showed just 33% of more than 120,000 applicants received grants during the last grant cycle.
Previous reporting from WPTV reporter Matt Sczesny has documented homeowners being denied and delayed, with lawmakers questioning whether the program is even lowering insurance premiums as promised.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.