SARASOTA, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled an expansion to a program that helps people get back on their feet after a disaster like a huge storm or hurricane.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. DeSantis announced an expansion of "Hope Florida" on Wednesday

  • The program allows state, local, and private companies to work together to help those dealing with recovery from storm damage 

  • Many still face months of clean up in Sarasota 

It comes at a time where many people continue to need assistance in recovering from the storm. In Laurel Meadows in Sarasota, floodwaters ravaged the entire community during then-Tropical Storm Debby and the cleanup is still ongoing.

Derrill Perrier's home is still a mess from the storm, but crews are removing drywall and Perrier continues to salvage what he can.

“All the furniture is gone. All the vehicles are gone, about 20% of our belongings were saved,” Perrier said.

It hasn’t been an easy task to clean up.

“It was really a long two weeks. We were here from 9 in the morning to midnight just getting all the dirty awful stuff out the door,” Perrier said.

He has also been dealing with insurance companies, FEMA and other agencies. He said the process can be overwhelming.

DeSantis' expansion of “Hope Florida” included the introduction of “Activate Hope” where state, local and private resources come together to help get people back on their feet.

“I think it’s a good idea. There are a lot of resources out there," Perrier said. "The problem is we don’t know what’s all out there, maybe have a single place in the state that we can go in there and ask for help instead of trying to find all these different agencies.”