If you live in Seminole County you may be eligible for CARES Act financial help

Orlando, Fla. — One week after Seminole County small businesses began applying for grants funded by the CARES Act, individuals and families now have the same opportunity.

Starting Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 10 a.m. an online application portal opened for Seminole County residents hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The county strongly advises visiting SeminoleCARES.com prior to applying to determine if you qualify and posses the required documents.

Here is the link to the Seminole County Individual Assistance Grant.

The County Commission has allocated $10 million towards Seminole CARES Small Business Grants, $7 million towards Seminole CARES Individual Grants, and up to $3 million towards Seminole CARES Not-For-Profit Grants.

For the individual grants, up to $5,000 will be provided per household, though, it depends on the needs of the applicant.

Funds for the individual’s utilities will be paid directly to Duke Energy/ household’s power company. The only cash provided to individual or families in need will come in the form of gift cards: $100 to Publix and $100 to Walmart.

All questions related to the Individual Assistance Grant should be directed to the Seminole CARES Individual Grant Hotline at (877) 330-1818.

English and Spanish Operators are available weekdays from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

On the morning of Aug. 19, an online application portal opened for small business in Seminole County and quickly experienced delays “due to the more than 700 individuals accessing the portal at once.”

The portal’s functionality was restored a few hours later. So far, 3,273 total applicants for small business grants have been submitted to the portal.

According to Seminole County officials, there is no closing date for the online application portals.

Cox Media Group