FW: Emergency housing drive at www.hurricanehousing.org. Pass it on.

I am still in shock looking at the images of the devastation. I was actually wondering how people are rallying to make space for the refugees of this devastation, since New Orleans and the Mississppi coast are going to be out of commission for months and hundreds of thousands of people will be homeless for the foreseeable future, when I got this email alert.

Do people know of any other widespread organized efforts? I was particularly interested whether any of the major denominations national organizations (United Methodists, southern baptists, etc.) had called for congregations to set up shelters in their gymnasiums or for congregation members to take people into their homes. Are local churches taking these actions of their own initive? I know lots of folks on this list are in areas that were hit hard and are probably just trying to get their own situation taken care of, but I'd love to hear what is going on in folks' communities as people get a chance to write or hear about projects being undertaken.

You are all in my prayers,

D-




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From: **
To: **
Subject: Emergency housing drive at www.hurricanehousing.org. Pass it on.
Date: Thu, 01 Sep 2005 11:01:17 -0700

Do you have a spare room, bed or couch to offer a family fleeing hurricane Katrina?





Please forward this message to anyone in the Southeast who can help.
Dear MoveOn member,

Hurricane Katrina's toll on communities, homes and lives has devastated the nation. Now victims must face the daunting question of where to go next—and we can help.

Tens of thousands of newly homeless families are being bused to a stadium in Houston, where they may wait for weeks or months. At least 80,000 are competing for area shelters, and countless more are in motels, cars, or wherever they can stay out of the elements. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross are scrambling to find shelter for the displaced.

This morning, we've launched an emergency national housing drive to connect your empty beds with hurricane victims who desperately need a place to wait out the storm. You can post your offer of housing (a spare room, extra bed, even a decent couch) and search for available housing online at:

http://www.hurricanehousing.org

Housing is most urgently needed within reasonable driving distance (about 300 miles) of the affected areas in the Southeast, especially New Orleans.

Please forward this message to anyone you know in the region who might be able to help.

But no matter where you live, your housing could still make a world of difference to a person or family in need, so please offer what you can.

The process is simple:


You can sign up to become a host by posting a description of whatever housing you have available, along with contact information. You can change or remove your offer at any time.


Hurricane victims, local and national relief organizations, friends and relatives can search the site for housing. We'll do everything we can to get your offers where they are needed most. Many shelters actually already have Internet access, but folks without 'net access can still make use of the site through case workers and family members.


Hurricane victims or relief agencies will contact hosts and together decide if it's a good match and make the necessary travel arrangements. The host's address is not released until a particular match is agreed on.

If hosting doesn't work for you, please consider donating to the Red Cross to help with the enormous tasks of rescue and recovery. You can give online at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=859

As progressives, we share a core belief that we are all in this together, and today is an important chance to put that idea to work. There are thousands of families who have just lost everything and need a place to stay dry. Let's do what we can to help.

http://www.hurricanehousing.org

Thanks for being there when it matters most.

—Noah Winer and the whole MoveOn.org Civic Action Team
Thursday, September 1st, 2005


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