United Way, PA 211, and Airbnb Foundation Join Forces to Support Displaced Pittsburgh Families
On Tuesday, September 9th, a fire devastated the Jefferson Apartments in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Firefighters contained the blaze, but the building sustained catastrophic damage and although there was no loss of life, dozens of residents have been permanently displaced and suffered severe personal and property losses. Mayor Ed Gainey declared a local disaster emergency in response to the needs of the residents.
United Way of Southwestern PA, PA 211, and the Airbnb Foundation have worked to provide temporary housing for some of the displaced residents with nowhere to go. The Airbnb foundation issues free credits to people impacted by disaster to stay in a local Airbnb for up to 28 days. Seven residents have been referred to PA 211 from the local American Red Cross for an intake and been issued these credits by the Airbnb Foundation since September 11th.
Thanks to this collaborative effort, we are helping residents recover and rebuild in the aftermath of this disaster.