Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
News about coronavirus in Florida and around the world is constantly emerging. It's hard to stay on top of it all but Health News Florida can help. Our responsibility is to keep you informed, and to help discern what’s important for your family as you make what could be life-saving decisions.

COVID-19 Relief Funds Now Available for Lee Residents

President Donald J. Trump’s signature is seen on H.R. 748, the CARES Act, the $2.2 trillion assistance package to help American workers, small businesses and industries crippled by the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Shealah Craighead
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

Lee County officials are investing $57.5 million of federal CARES Act money to provide financial relief to local residents and small businesses impacted by COVID-19.

The initiative aims to get federal relief funds into the hands of those who have been affected financially by business closures resulting from the pandemic.

Small businesses and nonprofit organizations based in Lee County with 25 employees or less can apply for $5,000 relaunch grants. The funds are to reimburse the cost of business interruptions caused by COVID-19-related closures.

The county initiative also allocates money to provide small businesses with personal protective equipment like surgical masks and hand sanitizer.

Lee County residents who have been financially derailed by the Safer-at-Home order can also apply for up to $2,000 in individual assistance for things like rent, mortgage and utility payments.

Applications open May 26, 2020 and county officials have said funds will be distributed until they run out.

lee cares breakdown.PNG

Copyright 2020 WGCU. To see more, visit .

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
/
/
The Florida Channel

Andrea Perdomo is a reporter for WGCU News. She started her career in public radio as an intern for the Miami-based NPR station, WLRN. Andrea graduated from Florida International University, where she was a contributing writer for the student-run newspaper, The Panther Press, and also a member of the university's Society of Professional Journalists chapter.