Left In Lowell

Obviously, the closer you live to the hard-hit areas, the more useful, but people across the nation can now sign up to open their homes to refugees. Members of Greater Lowell for Peace and Justice are already signing up.

If you decide to go list your house in the website, and want financial help to feed and clothe them, I’m certain GLPJ and other groups like churches will be holding fundraisers for families staying in our area. Don’t allow a shaky financial situation stop you from offering a good extra bed. We will take care of things, one way or another, so be worry-free.

From Moveon’s email about the HurricaneHousing site:

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.
…
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.