Community Foundation Tampa Bay Joins the Disaster Recovery Fight

To meet a surge in demand for legal aid from hurricane victims, Community Foundation Tampa Bay recently granted Bay Area Legal's disaster team with $25,000.

The St. Pete Catalyst recently featured Bay Area Legal's disaster team and the impact of Community Foundation Tampa Bay's support:

"In the wake of recent hurricanes, a local nonprofit has intensified its efforts to support Florida residents who need legal help.

Bay Area Legal Services is a federally-funded legal aid organization providing free legal assistance to low-income residents in the Tampa Bay area. One of the ways it helps is through its Florida Disaster Legal Aid Helpline. The helpline offers free legal advice and information on matters such as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance, Small Business Administration aid, insurance claims, contractor disputes and housing concerns.

Jason Susalla, the managing attorney of Bay Area’s disaster relief team, explained that the helpline was established following Hurricane Irma as part of a broader effort to coordinate disaster legal response across the state.

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To meet this surge in demand, Bay Area Legal Services recently received a $25,000 grant from Community Foundation Tampa Bay. The grant, which Susalla described as “a wonderful save,” helped the nonprofit hire an additional call screener to clear backlogs and respond more efficiently to the influx of incoming calls."