In 2017, Hurricane Irma trashed Marita Ruiz-Arzola’s Lakeland mobile home.
The storm flooded the place, damaged the plumbing and electrical wiring and left the disabled retiree without air conditioning.
Ruiz-Arzola, who uses a walker, gingerly navigates through her home, careful to avoid falling through areas on the rotted-out floor.
HUD has given Florida $615 million since 2018 to repair and rebuild properties for under and uninsured Irma victims like Ruiz-Arzola. Now, five years later, hundreds like her are still waiting on help from the Rebuild Florida program.
In 2021, Rebuild Florida agreed to replace the 66-year-old's home.
“I saw the light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. But that light dimmed to despair as Ruiz-Arzola waited for Rebuild Florida to start her project.
A few miles away, Irma victim Aida Morales said that Rebuild Florida approved her for a new mobile home two and a half years ago.
The state put the 80-year-old up in a hotel 13 months ago and then delivered a new mobile home to her lot. It sat unfinished and unlivable for a year and three months.
“All I want is to be in my house," Morales said through an interpreter.
The Department of Economic Opportunity administers the Rebuild Florida program. DEO confirms it has spent $311 million and has returned more than 3,000 people to their homes so far.
But what about the other estimated 1,000 victims? The agency has yet to answer the I-Team's repeated questions about the remaining projects.
A spokesperson did answer our questions regarding project delays, citing "subsequent storms, a burdened supply chain, ongoing pricing challenges, lack of eligible general contractors and complex permitting processes."
The I-Team first exposed problems with Rebuild Florida in 2021 after we met Michael Rose at his storm-torn mobile home in Pinellas Park. Rose had been approved for the program two and a half years earlier but still had no running water.
In 2022, we found Hillsborough County Resident John Vargas living in a dilapidated house two years after the program offered to rebuild his home.
Dozens of other Irma victims have since reported similar problems to ABC Action News.
The program picked up speed after the I-Team launched its investigation, and the state finished another 500 projects, including Rose’s, in the months after his story aired.
DEO now states they've achieved a 1,778% increase in completed homes since 2020. But problems remain.
After we questioned the state about delays in the Ruiz-Arzola and Morales projects, both women saw progress.
Rebuild Florida has moved Ruiz-Arzola into a hotel, and they’ve begun demolishing her mobile home to make room for a new one. State hired contractors finished work on Morales’ replacement mobile home and she has moved in.
We reached out to HUD about Rebuild Florida's progress. The state has until August 2025 to spend the money.
DEO is also required to post quarterly performance reports. Based on available HUD data and DEO reports, about half of the funds have yet to be spent.
Read the entire Department of Economic Opportunity Statement:
“In addition to Ms. Ruiz-Arzola’s unique circumstances, there are other factors– not unique to Florida – impacting construction project timelines all over the country. These factors include damage from subsequent storms, a burdened supply chain, ongoing pricing challenges, lack of eligible general contractors and complex permitting processes. DEO’s Rebuild Florida program is committed to helping Florida homeowners get back into their homes, while also working within the regulations and bylaws set forth by the communities in which the homeowners reside and the program’s guidelines established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.”
