The homeless population in Florida faces and unclear future after Hurricane Helene devastated the state .
Thousands of U.S. residents are currently struggling to rebuild their lives and communities after Hurricane Helene devastated parts of Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Tennessee. The Category 4 storm made landfall last week with winds gusting at 140mph.
The death toll skyrocketed to 204 confirmed deaths Thursday afternoon with Georgia and North Carolina reporting more fatalities., making Helene almost as deadly as Hurricane Katrina which killed 1,392 people when it ripped through Louisiana in August 2005. President Joe Biden is expected to arrive in Florida on Thursday to survey the damage, but what is not known is how the homeless population of the Sunshine state will fare as disaster relief for people who were homeless prior to a hurricane is severely lacking, Vox reported.
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FEMA, the main federal agency in charge of providing aid following disasters, has a policy that explicitly excludes those unhoused people from most forms of help, including housing and direct assistance. Further obstacles include the recent Supreme Court ” Grants Pass v. Johnson” decision that gives local governments authority to clear out homeless tent encampments even if the city lacks any available housing or shelter for the homeless person to stay in…