Help
Help & frequently asked questions
Answers to common questions, and a step-by-step guide to entering a new facility with what it has and what it needs.
Frequently asked questions
General
What is this site?
A resource for everyone who cares about or needs disaster relief, social services, and solidarity [community] oriented organizations.
Who is Citizen Action Team? Who created and maintain this database?
We're a group of volunteers who had been supplying semi-trailers of supplies to the Hurricane Katrina disaster zones in the US starting in 2005. We started this Disaster Relief Database to help track what sites needed what supplies/volunteers, etc. We've since expanded our focus to the entire world and have stopped shipping supplies. Instead, we focus on gathering information about where the needs/supplies/volunteers are and listing them in this database. We also list "lists". We don't feel a need to try and list things online that other people are already listing. So for example, homeless shelters in the US. There are already orgs which maintain online lists to help people find shelters. So we list their website. If you are reading this, you are viewing the NEW database app, released in 2026 with updated code and functionality. For more of the history and a view of our old, original database app, see www..ReliefDatabase.org
Why have you created this site?
Through our work delivering supplies to the gulf, we had been gathering information about who needed what, where, when. We often found that we had more information than other people who were trying to help, and people who needed the help. It occurred to us that people in the gulf might like all of this information in one place. So we wanted to provide that information.
The database seemed a natural outgrowth of our supply efforts. We had been gathering information about supply chains and it occurred to us that if we were going to put up a site, we might as well include information that the residents could use as well...like where they can get meals and showers.
We've since expanded to proivde disaster relief and social service information around the world.
If you notice we're missing sometihng important, please go to the top of this page and "suggest" an addition using the purple button. No login required.
How can a website like this help the government and established relief organizations?
In a time of crisis, information needs to be organized and available in real-time for everyone who is helping. Putting it in a public place helps the people who need it most. The web is a public space that can reach a lot of people. Anyone that has information can use this site or other sites to distribute that information to workers and/or the public. If you work with an agency or an established non-profit, please consider recommending that we add your organization to our database and/or correct information that we already list.
It helps existing agencies when we can help point people to get help.
How is this site different from other web resources with similar goals?
Like other web resources, this is a website that anyone can access. Unlike many other public web reources, this one provides sorting functions to allow you to go find exactly what you are looking for, and to rearrange the columns to view things you want to. All without loging in our asking permission.
Blogs and forums are good spaces to have conversations, but they do not provide for good sorting functionality. You have to look through long lists of threads to find information that might have been posted days ago. With our online database, you can sort by item and then sort by date.
This database is also undergoing continuous evolution, adding new features as new needs are discovered, rather than relying on overburdened systems designed for other purposes.
Please suggestion improvements!
Why Citizen Action Team? What's in a name?
It's a sort of dorky name. But it was late at night and we'd been organizing emergency supply deliveries for days after Hurricane Katrina struck the southern part of the US with millions of people in need, tens of thousands without basics...water, medical, etc. So on practicaly no sleep in the middle of the night, we sort of had a Star Trek moment, beam me up! and thought of "the Citizen Action Team" as in "Citizens of the World Unite!" to help ourselves. And then of course, there's our sister-URL "CitizenCommandCenter.org", which we'll be integrating soon. Consoles and Dashboards Unite!
How long has this site been around?
Development of the database in its current form began on September 29th, and the database was released to the public on October 17th, 2005.
Is this site going to be here for a while?
Yes, we are totally committed service-oriented people. We are not going anywhere. The site is here for your use. Of course, we welcome donations and for people to help maintain it! If you want to help, please let us know. The site costs about $55/month for the server/hosting cost. We are all volunteers with no other direct expenses for the database itself.
Displaying Data
Why do some facilities have maps, and others not?
The database attempts to figure out the physical location of a facility based upon its address. However, not all addresses are available. For example, some people organize out of their own homes and do not want to provide a physical locadtion. Also, if the address was not entered properly, the database may not be able to look it up.
For the address lookup to work, the address needs to be entered so that the first line looks like '123 Some St'. The city and state also need to be correct, of course.
If you see facilities without maps, double-check that their address is entered correctly. If you think a facility has a correct address, but it still doesn't show up with a map, E-mail us, and we'll see if it can be fixed.
If you find a facility without a proper address, and you know the correct one, please send it to us!
Why do entries sometimes show up as being updated several hours in the future, or tomorrow?
This is because all the dates are stored internally in UTC, so that we can handle differing timezones. Unfortunately, the dates aren't yet displayed in users' local timezones, so times and dates generated by the system may appear 'in the future', not accounting for their timezone. Dates/times which are displayed in UTC generally indicate this, e.g.:
Updated At: Fri Oct 07 20:27:13 UTC 2005
All *user entered* dates, such as on loads, are displayed without modification, and with no timezone indicator -- these are presumed to be in the local timezone of the relevant facility, e.g.:
Estimated Time of Arrival: Wed Oct 26 23:00:00 2005
If you think you've spotted a problem with date handling, where it doesn't obey these rules, definitely let us know about it.
Entering Data
How do I delete a duplicate or accidental entry?
Currently, only database administrators can delete facilities and items. If you spot a duplicate facility or item, please E-mail us. If you've accidentally entered a duplicate facility, you can change its name to 'DUPLICATE -- PLEASE DELETE'; but also still E-mail us to make sure we notice.
When E-mailing us about a duplicate facility, it's helpful if you click on the facility, then copy the URL from your address bar into the E-mail. That way we know exactly which one you're talking about. If you have trouble doing this, though, don't worry about it -- just send us an E-mail with the name and location of the facility.
What do I do if an item shows up in more than one category?
It's normal for an item to be in multiple categories; for instance, Latex Gloves are in both Cleaning and Medical, because they're used for both purposes.
When entering needs or availabilities, you only need to select the item ONCE, and you can select it from EITHER category. Your entry will then automatically show up in all categories which that item belongs to.
What do I do if an item shows up more than once in the SAME category?
If an item is listed more than once under the SAME category, it's an actual duplicate item. Please use ONLY the copy of the item which shows up FIRST in the list, and E-mail us about the duplicate so we can fix it.
If there are already some entries using the duplicate, don't worry about it -- we'll move those to the other copy when fixing it, they won't be deleted.
When I enter new items, where do they show up?
If you enter new items using the Quick Needs/Availability Creators, those items will initially be placed into the special category 'New/Unassigned'. Periodically, CAT members review the new items in 'New/Unassigned' and place them into appropriate categories. You don't need to worry about categorizing items yourself, although you're welcome to E-mail us with suggestions.
I was using an item in 'New/Unassigned', and now it's gone. What happened?
Periodically, items in 'New/Unassigned' are moved into more specific categories, or merged with existing items. If you were using an item in 'New/Unassigned' and it's vanished, you can find the item using the search tool in the categories/items button above.
If you can't find your item, or think it's been placed in the wrong categories, please feel free to E-mail us.
Matches/Loads
Why do the distances displayed by the database seem too short?
When calculating the distance between two facilities, the database uses their latitude and longitude, if it was able to find them using the addresses, and figures out the distance between them "as the crow flies". This may be a lot shorter than the driving distance! Always look at a map to double-check locations and routes; the distance calculations are intended as a rough guide only.
Technical
Is this site secure?
Yes, and no. Anyone can sign on and post a bogus facility. So far in over 20 years, we've had ZERO cases of such nonsense. We are betting that the benefits of allowing everyone to post will far outweigh the risk of having some jerk post something that is intentionally false or offensive. We rely heavily on faith, community, and the goodness of others, as without those principles this site could not exist.
That said, we're not naive, and have taken every reasonable precaution against vandalism. Except by specific request, users can only modify facilities they created -- so if you take the time to enter some data, somebody else can't come along and mess it up. Deletion of records other than need/availability data can only be performed by administrators, and the same goes for messing with categories and other structural things.
We want as much data to be viewed/accessed by the public as possible. The only data that's protected from the public's view is private personal names/contact information.
The security of the backend systems is well up to the standards of any private-sector corporation. This security protects the private data [like personal names/contact infor] that is entered and stored in the database. If you want more information about security, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss the technical aspects of how we have designed the IT infrastructure to be secure.
What if I like the site, but want something changed to accomodate a specific need?
We want you to use the site as if your own people designed and built it for you. Please tell us what you want. If it is feasible, we will change the site to accomodate your request.
For anything not covered here, email us.
How to enter new facilities
This guide explains how to enter new information into the database. You may want to print it to refer to while you go through the process for the first time.
To add to or edit this database, you'll need to register for an account. Go to the upper right and follow the links/instructions. You can "suggest" that we add/edit and org by choosing "Suggest an org to add" without logging in or having an account.
Before you begin
If you're not in a hurry, explore the site a bit first to get a sense of how things are laid out. The most important thing to understand is that there are two distinct sorts of records:
- Facilities We call these "the facility records". Each "facility record" in the database represents an organization or individual that has a particular location (or sometimes a region). Each facility record has a type, shown by its background color in listings in the main facilities list
- Availabilities and needs (together called "conditions") are things a facility either has or needs. We call these things "items". The items get added to a facility record to show what that site has or needs.
A category listing, such as Services, shows which facilities have or need items in that category. A brand-new facility shows up only in the Facilities list until availabilities and needs are added to it, so that we know what it has and what it needs.
Check that the facility doesn't already exist
Before entering a new facility, make sure someone else hasn't already entered it. Go to Facilities and search for its name or city, or filter the State, County and City columns. For example, to enter a medical clinic in Biloxi, search for "Biloxi" and look through the results.Create the facility
When you are signed in and have a validated account, choose Add a facility on the Facilities page. Fill out the form (it includes instructions to help you enter information correctly), then save it. You can check to see if your new facility record has been listed by going to the main facilities page and scrolling down to the list. Yours should be near the top because the default "sort" of the list is by most recent update.Add what the facility offers
On the facility's "record", in Manage needs and availability section, choose several available items at once. For a medical clinic, find the Services heading and check Medical Assistance, plus any other services or supplies available there, then create the entries by checking them off and when you're done choose "save" at the bottom. You can see that your items have been added by looking at the facility record on the right side. It will list the items that are "available".Add what the facility needs
Do the same with several needs at once. If the clinic needs more latex gloves and medical volunteers, find the Medical heading, check those items, then create the entries.Adjust quantities
These forms have fields for quantities and other details. You can leave them blank, or set defaults that apply to everything you're creating. Afterwards, use Update quantities and urgency to adjust each availability and need individually.
That's it! The facility now appears in all the relevant categories. If you entered that Medical Assistance is available, people browsing Services will find it. If you entered a need for Latex Gloves, a donor with latex gloves can find the facility from that item's listing in Categories/Items. AND if someone chooses to use the "match" function, they will see that the facility you entered potentially has Latex Gloves. We, of course, recommend that people CALL FIRST or contact the site because we never know if they will still have Latex Gloves by the time you get there. The first thing to remember about online data is that while good intended people enter data, even if it's valid data, it's only a moment in time.
And thanks!
We realize entering data isn't always exciting while you're doing it. But it is exciting for the people who can now find what they need to live, all because of your efforts! If someone needs dinner, 20 crates of toothbrushes won't help them, and when they're done with dinner, all the toothpaste in the world is no good without a brush. Getting the right help to the right people at the right time is an incredible challenge, and we can only do it with your help.
UPDATING SOMEONE ELSE'S FACILITY RECORD
If you have new information about a facility someone else created, email us so we can give you access to update it (or just send us the information if you're in a hurry). You can always update facilities you created; use My facilities in the account menu to see the records you can update.