Letter from Open Your Home

E-Bulletin
From OpenYourHome.com
September 13, 2005
Fayetteville, AR
This E-Bulletin is directed toward the thousands of hurricane victims who have left messages on the OpenYourHome web site and to all the generous hosts across the United States and Canada who have opened their homes to strangers in need. We have your messages! We have been a bit overwhelmed by the response—almost 300,000 hits on the website in less than two weeks—but we have already matched more than 2,000 evacuated families, and with a remarkable new team of volunteers our goals are to increase the number of placements every day and to complete 2,000 matches a day by September 15.
When we initiated this project, we thought we would help a few families find temporary housing while they waited for news about their homes and jobs. Never in our wildest dreams did we imagine this many people would respond—at all—and certainly not within two weeks! OpenYourHome.com was one of the first web sites to offer people assistance with the second phase of relocation—moving from shelters to longer-term housing. Those victims who responded needed homes—places with an address that can be put on job applications and given to schools—places with privacy and an accessible phone line.
Since August 31, more than 25,000 people have offered this type of housing. Offers have come from people with extensive resources and from people who have limited resources but are willing to share what they have. They are offering space in their homes, vacant houses, apartments and mobile homes—for weeks, months, even as long as a year. The outpouring of support has also included donated air miles and transportation to get people to jobs, school and medical appointments. And people who are unable to offer their homes are assisting host families by providing meals, clothing and other necessities to help evacuees feel welcome and get settled in.
We have recruited a remarkable team of volunteers to build and maintain a database, respond to messages, and match evacuees with host families. Open Your Home, Inc. is now incorporated, and we have a Federal Tax Identification Number and have applied for tax exempt (non-profit) status. The City of Fayetteville has provided office space and work stations, and we have assigned coordinators in nine other states to help find hosts and to generate support services such as transportation and help with accessing services available locally. Other non-profit agencies such as the American Red Cross, the United Way, Convoy of Hope, the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and numerous church and community shelters are directing victims and contributors to the web site.
Host families as well as evacuees can still register at openyourhome.com.
To maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of both groups, the Open Your Home database will not be released.
Our pledge to you is twofold: We will remain online until every victim has a home. We’re in this for the long haul! And we will get to you just as soon as we can. Check the web site often to note progress and to identify volunteer opportunities.
Serena Howard, Director
Open Your Home, Inc.

25,000 volunteers - 600,000 people displaced. You know you want to help.
Here is the link: http://openyourhome.com/