DAYTON, Ohio — Just driving along in Dayton, one woman got an idea about how she could help with just her cell phone all the way in Australia.

  • A flight attendant from Dayton says when she saw the devastation she had to do something to help
  • She took to social media and offered up her place in Dayton as a safe haven for families displaced from the fires
  • She’s also collecting medical supplies to send to Australia to help

“I just kept seeing all the devastations that were going on over there, and the fires and the pictures of the animals and the families living on the beaches trying to get away from the fires,” said Hailey McNamara.

That’s when Hailey McNamara says it hit her. 

“It just laid on my heart to try and do something,” said McNamara, who is helping displaced families.

And the flight attendant from Dayton says she says she knew just the way to help. 

“I have a small apartment, but it’s enough to fit one to two people in it,” said McNamara.

So, she took her phone, turned to social media, and made a post offering her place as a safe haven. 

“This is a safe place for somebody to come and stay for free until they were able to get back home or until they could figure out what their next steps were gonna be,” McNamara said.

Her post was liked, shared thousands of times, and sparked another effort.  Others are now trying to help house displaced families too. 

But the response she got from someone in Australia was for something else. 

“I had had one lady reach out to me and she did inform me that they were in desperate need of medical supplies, like burn creams and gauze pads and stuff like that,” said McNamara.

Now she says she’s collecting donations of medical supplies to send and still has space open for anyone who’s displaced.

“Just to have food on the table, and to take away one extra worry for them and give them something to feel like they were at home again,” McNamara said.