People Still Need Homes

My dearest friends and family,

I am writing to you, uncharacteristically, to ask for your help. I can't begin to explain to you how moved I've been by the horrific tragedy that is occurring in our country right now. ALTHOUGH IT HAS ALL BUT DISAPPEARED FROM THE FRONT PAGES ALREADY, THE STRUGGLE OF THOSE LEFT HOMELESS BY HURRICANE KATRINA STILL GOES ON IN A BIG WAY.

I know you all want to help, and most of you have probably already made donations. But as you have probably heard by now, the survivors are not receiving your donations! Most of the evacuees are still residing in temporary shelters or hotel rooms they'll soon have to vacate and have no money and no way of even getting to the assistance that has been promised to them, let alone begin to rebuild their lives.Three weeks ago, Kirby Sommers, my new hero, was just one woman, sitting on her living room floor watching TV when this all started. Now she is running a grassroots organization that has already matched hundreds of survivors up with no- or low-cost housing. A team of volunteers -- the HOME ANGELS -- from all over the country have been working their phones and pounding their keyboards night and day, trying to keep up with the overwhelming flow of calls from survivors.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!Please read this and respond to the website ASAP! Volunteers are needed RIGHT NOW.Thanks, love and peace,Jane RayKATRINA HOME DRIVE is a team of volunteers who speak to survivors, listen to their needs & try to help find them housing. We've been able to place hundreds of people into homes.

Our HOME ANGELS, all volunteers, offer their services to help Hurricane Katrina Survivors free of charge. We make calls to homeowners, landlords and others offering assistance to help match survivors with the right home situation, and we try to secure transporation to these new homes.∑ If you have some TIME to give, consider becoming a KATRINA HOME ANGEL.

We have hundreds of calls coming in every week from survivors in need.∑ If you have some MONEY to give, choose to make a tax-deductible contribution to KATRINA HOME DRIVE today…and put your money where it will REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE!∑ If you have a HOME to give, contact our website today -- we have families waiting to rebuild their lives.∑ If you have RESOURCES to give, think about KATRINA HOME DRIVE’s Adopt-a-Family Program and see how grateful these survivors are to have a chance to start over. Imagine it was happening to YOU…www.KatrinaHomeDrive.Org..................................A survivor writes: “I lost everything I owned in St. Bernard Parish.I am a veteran of the US Army, a senior at Loyola City College at night, volunteer firefighter, and a construction worker with 15 years experience.I need housing and so do two other families related to me. We have lost everything,(one of the aforementioned families has two disabled members on Social Security). I have applied for disaster unemployment and all I have received is a $147 food stamp card and a 2 week reprieve on my motel room which ends Sept. 26. My life was totally turned upside down and I am more than eager to return to work. I take pride in New Orleans and will assist in rebuilding New Orleans nail by nail.I called HUD and they are placing everyone on a 1year waiting list. We have nowhere to go."

A KATRINA HOME ANGEL writes: ‘The manager of a Motel 6 in California contacted KATRINA HOME DRIVE about a family in the motel with 5 little ones, ages 9 to 2.One week later, they had to be out of the motel. They had nothing. They had seen unimaginable horrors and one child wouldn't bathe because he had become afraid of the water.After calling every emergency number I could find, I spent a restless night with tears praying for this family. I wanted to get them immediate help. I learned that California is not issuing section 8 vouchers for Katrina victims. Out of desperation, I started calling people who posted on sites listing shared housing. I reached a woman who happened to live near the motel and within 5 minutes, she headed to the motel with a small refrigerator and some food for the hungry familyIt happened that the husband of the displaced family is deaf and this woman has6 adopted children of her own who are also deaf. She took this family to her house for dinner and enrolled the children in school the next day. Though relieved this family's immediate crisis was resolved, they still needed housing and I was getting no help from government agencies.

A post I made to the KATRINA website was seen by a generous family and the SAME DAY, this "angel" family was able to find a church to adopt the survivors. All of this began on September 15th. Today is September 19th. This family has now been given a car, the father has started a new job, and the children are in school. There is still a long road ahead - the family has no records, we need to find someone who is willing to rent to them, they need everything to set up a household and much more to rebuild these seven lives. But they are now starting their journey with full stomachs and people who care. Katrina's devastation truly will be fought only by people helping people. Thank you to everyone who is doing this."