About this site

Why it exists

After the storm, the information people needed was real but scattered — some on city Facebook pages, some in news liveblogs, some in county press releases, a lot of it passed between neighbors. Someone whose roof is gone should not have to run a research project to find a bed for the night.

This site gathers it into one place, makes it searchable, and puts a phone number on everything that has one.

Where the information comes from

Every entry shows its source and the time a person last checked it. Sources include the National Weather Service, Winnebago and Outagamie county emergency management, the cities of Menasha, Neenah and Appleton, the Village of Fox Crossing, the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, reporting by the Appleton Post-Crescent, and residents who submit corrections.

Some entries are standing national guidance — food safety after an outage, how to replace a prescription, how to spot a contractor scam — which does not change between disasters and is marked as such.

What we can and cannot promise

We are an aggregator, not an authority. We do not run any of the services listed here, and we cannot guarantee a shelter has room or a hotel still has the rate it quoted this morning. Conditions change hour to hour.

Please call ahead where there is a number. Every entry carries a "checked" timestamp, and anything not confirmed within 24 hours is flagged automatically as possibly out of date — right now nothing is flagged.

In an emergency, always call 911. This site is not monitored around the clock and is not a substitute for emergency services.

Corrections are genuinely welcome

If something here is wrong, out of date, or missing, please tell us. Corrections are the most valuable thing anyone can contribute — a shelter listed as open when it is full sends someone on a wasted journey they may not have the fuel or the strength for.

Submissions are reviewed by a person before publication. We do not publish anything we cannot attribute.

Privacy

There is no advertising on this site and nothing here is sold, rented or shared with anyone.

We do use Google Analytics to count visits and see which sections people actually use. That tells us where to put effort — if hundreds of people are searching for something we do not list, we want to know. It sets cookies and records general information such as approximate location, browser and which pages were viewed. It does not tell us who you are, and we never attempt to identify anyone.

If you would rather not be counted, any browser's private mode or a tracker blocker will prevent it, and the site works exactly the same either way.

If you give a name or email on the submission form, it is used only to check back with you about that submission. It is never published, never shared, and never added to any mailing list.

Accessibility

Built to be usable on an old phone with a poor connection: no web fonts, minimal JavaScript, and every page under 30KB. Pages you have visited stay readable with no signal at all. The map has a full text equivalent, everything works by keyboard, and every list can be printed.

If any part of this site is difficult for you to use, please tell us — that counts as a bug.

Who made it

Built and donated by B2 Web Studios, a digital agency in the Fox Valley and lifelong resident.

It currently lists 77 resources across 17 sections, and it will keep being updated for as long as it is useful.