Cuyahoga County Sheriff deputies sit outside Ariel Castro's home in Cleveland May 10, 2013. 
 
 CLEVELAND More than $800,000 in donations has poured in from around the world to help the three women found a month ago, held captive for a decade in a Cleveland house, officials said on Thursday. 
 
 The case has resulted as well in raising awareness of the plight of missing persons, said Cleveland City Councilwoman Dona Brady. 
 
 "It takes a tragedy sometimes to make things happen," she said. "The police are taking missing persons much more seriously." 
 
 Cleveland police came under fire for not finding Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight and Amanda Berry sooner. 
 
 On May 6, Berry, 27, was freed along with her 6-year-old daughter by neighbors from a house owned by Ariel Castro. 
 
 Berry had last been seen in 2003, and police say her child was fathered by Castro. 
 
 Cleveland police responded to Berry's 911 call and found DeJesus, 23, and Knight, 32, also in the house. Knight had disappeared in 2002 and DeJesus in 2004. 
 
 Castro, 52, is in jail on an $8 million bond and faces multiple charges of kidnapping and rape. 
 
 Brady and fellow council members Brian Cummins and Matt Zone set up the Cleveland Courage Fund, a tax-free trust for donations for the four victims. 
 
 So far, $825,000 has been collected from around the country and from various foreign countries. 
 
 The victims have started using money from the fund, said Chris Kelly, a co-trustee of the fund. 
 
 Concern also has prompted offers from doctors, dentists and people volunteering the use of vacation homes and cars, he said. 
 
 "The community is acting in a way you would hope they would act," Kelly said. 
 
 Kelly said the trust will be split equally four ways, as agreed upon by the three women. 
 
 The fund is designed to help them in all aspects of their lives, he said. 
 
 "Ten years out of society means not finishing school, no job training and not learning how to drive," he said. 
 
 There also is an attempt to get money for the victims from the state. 
 
 This week, State Rep. John Barnes Jr. of Cleveland introduced a bill that would award $25,000 a year, free medical care and state university tuition to any survivor of abduction held for eight years or more. 
 
 Cleveland police recently deployed a command bus to the city's crime-troubled east and west sides, with officers and FBI agents sent in to follow up tips and answer questions, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Ciaccia. 
 
 The house where the women were held is boarded up and surrounded by a 10-foot-high chain link fence. 
 
 Cummins, who represents the neighborhood, said residents have discussed having the house torn down and planting four oak trees for the child and three women who escaped. 
 
 (Reporting by Kim Palmer; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Bernard Orr) ||||| The three Cleveland women rescued from the kidnappings that kept them in captivity for over a decade say they are "happy and safe" as they continue to recover from the harrowing ordeal. 
 
 The attorneys for Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight released a letter on behalf of their clients thanking the public for their encouragement, as well as for respecting their requests for privacy. 
 
 "The outpouring of public support has been nothing short of remarkable," the letter stated. 
 
 "To have complete strangers offer loving support in the form of money, goods and services, reaching out to help like a family member, is appreciated in ways that are impossible to put into words. Amanda, Gina and Michelle, who have asked for nothing, are frankly overwhelmed by it all." 
 
 RELATED: How to Help the Women Rescued in Cleveland Kidnapping 
 
 The women escaped from Ariel Castro's home on May 6. 
 
 A charity established to help the women in the aftermath of the kidnappings has raised more than $650,000. Donations will directly benefit Berry, her daughter, DeJesus, and Knight. 
 
 The letter in full: 
 
 Amanda, Gina & Michelle Offer Thanks to Community 
 
 We are the attorneys who have come together to help Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. 
 
 These three brave women have asked us to give this message to everyone who has expressed concern and support. 
 
 Amanda, Gina and Michelle want you to know they are doing well. They are happy and safe and continue to heal, a process that requires time and privacy. 
 
 Since we first spoke publicly on their behalf, it has been wonderful to see that their plea for privacy has been answered and respected. The media has disappeared from their front lawns and their neighborhoods are no longer experiencing traffic jams from news vehicles and curious onlookers. You have no idea how much this means to them and has helped in their recovery process. 
 
 Their first public message included a simple, heartfelt thanks to well-wishers and supporters for "everything you are doing." That "everything" now includes perhaps the greatest gift of all – the space and time to reconnect with their families and recover and rebuild their lives. And so they say again, "Thank you. Thank you so much!" 
 
 We continue to receive numerous generous offers to support Amanda, Gina and Michelle and their families. 
 
 The outpouring of public support has been nothing short of remarkable. 
 
 To have complete strangers offer loving support in the form of money, goods and services, reaching out to help like a family member, is appreciated in ways that are impossible to put into words. Amanda, Gina and Michelle, who have asked for nothing, are frankly overwhelmed by it all. 
 
 You have touched their hearts in ways they will never forget. So again, they collectively say "Thank you. Thank you so much!" 
 
 We understand some people may be confused about the best way to help. We are in direct, private and ongoing conversations with Amanda, Gina and Michelle about many matters, including your generosity. 
 
 While they appreciate the generous offers of goods and services, for now, they are trying to assess what they need today and for years to come. That's why donations to the Cleveland Courage Funds are so welcome. 
 
 We are confident the Cleveland Courage Funds are the legitimate, appropriate and most effective vehicles for this effort. In fact, donations to the Cleveland Courage Funds are already being distributed to the four survivors consistent with the concepts behind the trusts that are being set up. And as soon as the trusts are in place, one-hundred percent of all donations to the Cleveland Courage Funds will go into those trusts. 
 
 Cleveland is known for its generosity. Amanda, Gina, Michelle and Amanda's daughter are indeed grateful for that generosity, as are we. 
 
 Kathy Joseph, Heather Kimmel, Henry Hilow, and James Wooley are attorneys representing the survivors on a pro bono basis.
– A month after three women and a young girl were found captive in a Cleveland home, Reuters checks in on the victims' situation, or at least their financial state. The Cleveland Courage Fund, a tax-free trust set up in their name, has been flooded with donations and now totals $825,000. The victims have begun dipping into the money, which will be split evenly among Gina DeJesus, Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Berry's six-year-old daughter. "The outpouring of public support has been nothing short of remarkable," the victims previously said in a letter via ABC News. "The community is acting in a way you would hope they would act," the fund's co-trustee told Reuters, adding the money will help the women with whatever they need. "Ten years out of society means not finishing school, no job training, and not learning how to drive." It's not only money that's being offered up. Doctors and dentists have volunteered their services, while others have donated the use of vacation homes and cars. Meanwhile, Reuters reports neighborhood residents have talked about tearing down Ariel Castro's now boarded-up house and planting four oak trees in its place.