KatrinaHousing.net is building and using tools to collect, organize, and update information about community-based housing assistance. In particular, KatrinaHousing.net uses a combined map search to provide a gateway to web-wide housing offers, and consolidate offers for housing assistance, and sort them by state, region and municipality. Relief workers will be able to match groups of refugees with communities that have enough spare room and the right services available. Individuals may use the website to seek out their own housing. Individuals also may use the website on behalf of someone in need of housing — friends, family, friends of friends, etc.

Students and faculty at the University of Michigan School of Information are using multi-disciplinary expertise to deploy information communication technologies in a community-based housing relief effort for those displaced by Hurricane Katrina. By building a data aggregation system from new and existing components, SI expects those seeking both short-term temporary and long-term temporary housing will be able to use its geo-coded data aggregator to locate a swift solution to their needs. SI's mission: connecting people, information and technology in more meaningful ways.

Meet some of the people involved.

Finding enough offers for housing may not be as difficult as matching people in need with people who have housing to offer. Thousands of Americans across the country are offering spare rooms, motor homes and empty apartments to tens of thousands of refugees of Hurricane Katrina. However, very few refugees have access to the Internet. Meanwhile, relief organizations using the web to locate temporary shelter must sort through hundreds of web sites and thousands of postings offering assistance in towns and cities scattered across the United States.

KatrinaHousing.net may not analyze, edit, screen, or evaluate any of the postings provided by the sites from which we aggregate data. We do not verify housing offers, housing seekers, or websites that offer housing posting services.

KatrinaHousing.net aggregates information from other websites - websites that allow individuals to post housing offers publicly - sorts them by state, region and municipality, and leads you back to them. We put information together to make it relevant and easily accessible.

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