By David Schwartz and Deirdre Marlowe

Did you know that the word “servas” means “serves” in the language Esperanto? Clearly, service was an important part of the mission of Servas when it was founded after World War II. More than 75 years later, US Servas offers a new way to serve.

“Emergency Servas” is a program intended to help US Servas members who have lost their homes, or access to their homes, in a declared emergency such as wildfire, flood or earthquake. Other members will be asked if they can provide emergency housing for those in need. Normal Servas hosting time limits will be suspended, although this is still to be viewed as short-term housing. Only U.S. Servas members can apply for Emergency Servas. The expectations and agreement are to be arranged strictly by the parties, not by US Servas or the Emergency Servas Team.

Emergency Servas has been approved by the US Servas Board as a pilot project running until 2030. You will find details and onboarding forms in the Members Dropdown on usservas.org. There is one form to submit if you are willing to provide emergency housing/coordinate emergency housing, and another if you require emergency housing. At present, the Emergency Servas team has two members to monitor emergency declarations by state governors and launch into action when a disaster arises. It would be great if a few more members would join us.

As we learn from experience, we will refine our process, which at present looks approximately like this.

• The Emergency Servas team recognizes an applicable disaster and defines the area affected.

• Coordinating with the US Servas Events Team, the Emergency Servas team sends an email blast to all members in the greater area of the disaster (including nearby states) seeking to identify people needing help and those able to offer housing.

• Emergency Servas regional coordinators are alerted. These people will serve as “matchmakers” to put the parties in touch with each other and to follow up as needed.

• The Emergency Servas team will document what has been done and identify ways that the process can be improved.

We are looking for people eager to advance this project in two ways:

• Regional coordinators to help match the parties. It isn’t necessary that the coordinators be assigned to the area in which they live, although that would be preferable. We hope to have coverage for the entire country although know it might not happen right away.

• More members of the Emergency Servas team. We would like our number to grow to four or five. (The US Servas Events Team, which will publicize emergencies, is also looking for more members to increase their efficiency at getting the word out.)

If you would like to contribute your time and energy in either or both capacities, please fill out and submit the volunteer form on the Members Dropdown menu on the usservas.org website.