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Available housing units and Katrina evacuees are being matched through a website set up by the Houston Association of Realtors.
It’s called “Make a Home” and the purpose is to match people in need of shelter with property owners who have available shelter.
There’ve been 17-hundred donated properties to date. Nelson says some people are donating spare rooms in their homes.
Nelson says 32-hundred have applied for shelter. The Houston Area Urban League, the Houston Bar Association and others help with making matches by conducting interviews. The shelter is made available free of a charge for a specified period of time. While Houston has been providing a lot of resources, Nelson says the local economy may see a boost.
Nelson says before Hurricane Katrina, Houston had a six month supply of houses.
Nelson says H-A-R may look into some long-term uses for the “Make a Home” effort.