

New Story (YC S15 nonprofit) Crowdfunds Houses for Homeless Families - sarahbuhr
http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/15/yc-backed-new-story-crowdfunds-houses-for-homeless-families/

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bretthagler
hey guys! would love any feedback, and here to answer any questions you might
have.

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soneca
Do you have issues with land property? If you do, how do you solve that?

I have some experience with housing social projects in Brazil. And it was a
big problem that the ones with most need for a decent house were exactly the
ones with illegal settling. Illegal settling is a danger in itself, because in
real life for this families is understood as "temporary settling", as there
are no formal guarantees that you stay there 5 years from now. And there is no
more overlooked place (in maintenance, decoration, care, government
accountabilty) than a temporary home. But, in practice, these poor families
stay there for decades.

So the combination of the temporary mindset with permanent stay create
horrible places to live. And that excluding the risk that a house built today
might actually be taken from you tomorrow. But my deepest point is that even
is not taken from you in decades, illegal settling is still a dangerous
problem.

How do you deal with that?

Edit: aslafci (who answered this question below as a cofounder) comment is
dead. Just FYI. Her answer is:

 _" aslafci 4 minutes ago [dead]

hi soneca, Great and important point that is top of mind as we scale. The
homes are built on land that was granted to our nonprofit partner from the
Haitian government for this purpose. Families will not only own the physical
structures but the land it sits on as well. Alexandria (New Story Co-
Founder)"_

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Matth3wMarshall
Hi soneca!

Re: Issue with land property: The Haitian government has issued this land for
this purpose (home building). So the families will own the land as well as the
physical structures. Our mission is to build as many self sustaining
communities around the world and this is something that we are very proud of.

Thanks! \--Matthew (Co-Founder of New Story)

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neuro_imager
Great work - what you are doing is amazing.

It strikes me that you have a very similar model to Watsi (which I am also a
massive fan of).

I was wondering if you had any interest in extending your reach to the Pacific
Islands. The islands are unfortunately constantly in varying states of
disrepair and are regularly exposed to harsh environments, particularly
tropical storms.

A recent example was cyclone Pam which resulted in a tremendous amount of
devastation to Vanuatu.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Pam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Pam)

I currently reside in New Zealand and wondered if there would possibly be any
opportunities to work with you guys in any way to achieve such an objective
(possibly through collaboration with local networks).

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aslafci
Hi Neuro!

Thanks for the kind words! We definitely take inspiration from Watsi and
consider the comparison a great compliment!

We don't have plans to extend to the Pacific Islands in the near-term future -
but the region is definitely in our sights. We ultimately plan to create self-
sustaining communities globally.

If you have any insight on areas of extreme need (like Vanuatu) and/or
fantastic local non-profit partners in the area, let's talk!
alexandria@newstorycharity.org

Alexandria (New Story Co-Founder)

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austenallred
As someone who has been homeless, please let me know if I can help in any way
in addition to donations. I don't have much time, but what you're doing is
incredible

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aslafci
Hi Austen!

Thanks for the kind words. Sharing this story is a great/quick way to help.

We'd love to get your insight - I just emailed you from
alexandria@newstorycharity.org

Alexandria (New Story Co-Founder)

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gkop
How does your housing compare with what the Earthship crew brought to Haiti in
2010? [http://earthship.com/haiti](http://earthship.com/haiti)

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Matth3wMarshall
Oh cool! So, our homes are constructed with reinforced concrete and built to
US and Miami-Dade county standards.

The really awesome thing is that local Haitians from the community we work in
are building the homes - a true boost to the local economy.

Check out the first family we helped move into their new home -
newstorycharity.org/maria-rose :)

\-- Matthew (Co-founder of New Story)

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gkop
Not too shabby, thanks for the reply, and keep up the good work.

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Matth3wMarshall
Will do! And if you wanna follow along our journey we'll just be over here
twitter.com/newstorycharity

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calcsam
(1) For other families that you aren't able to help, how long would it take
them to find alternative housing?

(2) What would that situation look like?

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aslafci
Hey!

To give some context, all of the families we have funded (and about 80,000
Haitians) have remained homeless SINCE the earthquake in 2010. We cannot say
with certainty the length of time it would take to find alternative housing,
but their options are clearly scant to non-existent.

The situation for most families = thin tarp tents without access to basic
sanitation. The heat is described as unbearable and blinding (literally) by
our recipients and other dangers like rape, theft, and disease outbreak are
rampant. Our concrete homes = safety, privacy, sanitation, and an environment
that supports prosperity. We believe shelter is a human right and a critical
component to poverty alleviation efforts.

Alexandria (New Story Co-Founder)

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lsiebert
What plans do you have, if any, to address the growing number of homeless
families in the United States?

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Matth3wMarshall
Hi lsiebert!

We're focus on Haiti from now but our mission is to build as many self
sustaining communities around the world as we can. One houses at a time. :)

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Alex3917
Fantastic name, and congrats on the launch!

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Matth3wMarshall
Thanks Alex! Yea, we love the name too :)

Feel free to check out how you can get involved! newstorycharity.org/birthdays

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masterminding
Dope.

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Matth3wMarshall
Thanks bra! Check out the first family we helped fund in their new home
newstorycharity.org/maria-rose

Each donor gets a video of the EXACT family they helped fund in their new home
#transparency

\--Matthew (Co-Founder New Story) newstorycharity.org

