By David Schwartz

We have formed a group to help US Servas members who have been displaced from their homes by natural disasters. We are calling our group Emergency Servas. At this time, we’re initiating an informal pilot program in which you may wish to participate.

First a little background:

Three of us live in the Los Angeles area. When the fires struck last January, we wondered if there was anything we might do to help those affected. Deirdre reached out to members to see if they might be able to offer temporary housing, basic household goods or other forms of support. We put together a list of people who could help in our area, and we created a master list of where people affected by the fires could go for assistance. Although no one who responded needed assistance, we received encouragement to continue and expand the project.

We then reached out to the US Servas Board to see if they would approve this initiative. We have the go-ahead for the next exploratory stage.

Now we are entering hurricane season. Before a full-scale disaster strikes, we are trying to put together a list of people willing to assist other Servas members in the event of an emergency. Specifically, we would like to know if you wish to fill either or both roles so we can put together a database. We hope to find volunteers who will:

• serve as point people in your state or portion of your state (for example, Gulf Coast of Florida or South Carolina). The point people will serve as contacts for those needing and offering help and will try to put them in touch with each other.

• offer housing or other forms of assistance to members in need. The details of would be worked out between the parties. Normal Servas hosting procedures such as two-night limit for regular Servas travel would not necessarily be followed but it the hosting is still meant to be short-term.

We are also looking for additional ideas as to how Emergency Servas might best serve our members. Please respond to emergency.servas@usservas.org