September 18–30 Rev. Tom Mattick and Rev. George Cushman led a team of 13 people to Victoria, Texas who covered roofs of homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey and removed water damaged wall board covered with black mold. “It was hot, tiring work, but the rewards far outweighed the discomfort,” said Mattick.
If you are interested in serving on a team, you may join any team posted on the conference website. If the week works for you, sign up for that team.
What to take?
Tennis shoes, leather work boots (not treaded hiking boots), and easy shoes for travel and evenings. Long pants to work in, a hat or cap. Shorts fine for evenings. Plenty of ERT shirts, to help tell our story. Work glove and garden-type gloves, safety glasses, hard hats, a current tetanus and flu shot: flu will spread rapidly this fall in this disrupted area. N95 masks and nitrile gloves are in the trailer, as well as some hard hats.
What we will do?
Check in at the Disaster Center assigned to us, then go to the church where we cook and sleep. We remove fallen debris from houses, mitigate further mold and rain damage, salvage belongings, and ready the home for rebuild after inspection. All the while we provide a listening caring Christian presence, while we save the homeowner between $15-25,000 in demo costs. Many homes currently need tarping as well.
Costs? $500 usually covers all expenses. Some scholarship help is available.
I’ve made my decision. How do I sign up?
Register online for training or to join a team
www.dscumc.org/hurricane-harvey-response.
Training and Team information:
Polly Turner 480-897-2880 cell, polly@ix.netcom.com
Fred Heggestad 702-277-6961 cell, fheggestad@msn.com
