Woonsocket Radio News Room

FEMA AWARDS RHODE ISLAND ALMOST $2.3 MILLION FOR COVID-19 SHELTERING COSTS

BOSTON – The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending nearly $2.3 million to the State of Rhode Island to reimburse the costs of operating non-congregate shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $2,271,030 in Public Assistance grant funding will go to the Rhode Island Department of Administration to cover the cost of operating five non-congregate sheltering programs for individuals who needed to quarantine due to possible exposure to coronavirus or a positive diagnosis, but couldn’t do that in their own homes.
The state used three different hotels and six existing state-owned properties to implement the following programs:

• The Congregate Care Reduction Program;
• The Adult Quarantine & Isolation (Q&I);
• The Shelter Reduction Program;
• The Family & Youth Quarantine & Isolation;
• and the Alternative Housing Program for Frontline Workers.

“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Rhode Island with these costs,” said FEMA Region I Acting Regional Administrator Paul Ford. “Providing resources for our partners on the front lines of the pandemic fight is critical to their success, and our success as a nation.”

FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.

This grant brings the total awarded by FEMA to the State of Rhode Island to more than $319 million to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.

Additional information about FEMA’s Public Assistance program is available at https://www.fema.gov/public-assistance-local-state-tribal-and-non-profit. To learn more about the COVID-19 response in Rhode Island, please visit https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4505