People here in the heartland want to do their part in the relief effort and many are wondering about sharing their homes with refugees.

Cynthia Misterek is one of many people who contacted Channel 6 with an offer to share extra room in her home with hurricane victims.

She says, "My heart goes out to them so much because I can't imagine losing everything and having no place to go to."

Actor John Beasley says Misterek's heart is in the right place.

"Seventy-five percent of Louisiana earns minimum wage, so they didn't have anything to begin with," he says. "And when you hear, why didn't these people evacuate? Most of them don't have cars and if they did they didn't have gasoline and if they did, where are they going to go? They live day to day."

Beasley joined City Councilman Frank Brown and Omaha Housing Authority Director Brad Ashford in announcing efforts to house Katrina refugees in Omaha.

They're working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to offer space in OHA properties.

Ashford says, "We're probably talking about 200 living units that could be made available right now."

Brown says, "Here in Omaha, if there are business people that have homes that are vacant and could work with us, that would be a big boost. And I think if we do this across the country, if there are 50 to 100,000 people that are homeless, we can shelter them across the United States."

Brown says OHA will also put citizens like Cynthia Misterek, who have extra room, in touch with people in need.

In addition to OHA, people at the Open Door Mission say they'd be happy to take the names and phone numbers of people who have room to offer. They'll be contacted if the need arises.

The Omaha Housing Authority can be reached at 444-6900. The Open Door Mission's number is 422-1111.

Iowa Housing Plan Takes Shape
Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack has announced preparations by the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division for the potential relocation of up to 5,000 people from the Gulf Coast affected by Hurricane Katrina. Through extensive coordination with the American Red Cross, victimized families and individuals will find shelter in communities throughout Iowa.

“The state of Iowa stands ready to house and assist as many as 5,000 individuals,” said Vilsack. “We are working with the Red Cross, Iowa’s local governments and federal agencies to secure safe places for victims to relocate.”

In some cases, disaster victims will be matched with Iowa families willing to accommodate them. The evacuees are also entered into the Red Cross internal communication network for family reunification and location information.

Vilsack also issued an executive order making evacuees eligible for food assistance, family investment and Medicaid programs. The Order directed the Department of Human Services to expedite the enrollment of victims into these programs. Iowa, among other states, also worked to get a temporary waiver from the Internal Revenue Service to permit evacuees to live in low income housing for up to one year.

Beginning Saturday, the Iowa Department of Public Health will be compiling a list of health care professionals wanting to extend their services or other resources. The toll-free hotline will operate from 8 to 4:30 p.m. daily and record information from concerned health care professionals willing to donate their services or other resources. Those interested in volunteering can call 1-866-834-9671.