Veterans Head To Coast To Help With Harvey Cleanup
GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) - A team of military veterans from Grand Prairie is deploying to the Gulf Coast on Monday to help Hurricane Harvey victims. They are known as Team Rubicon, and they are heading down in vans loaded with supplies to assist homeowners with clearing debris and repairing homes.
Among the items that Team Rubicon is bringing to the coast are hammers, electric saws, and rakes to clear away mud and tear out carpeting and drywall. "We're mucking out houses, demolishing houses," added Dennis Clancey with Team Rubicon, "a lot of the hard, dirty work."
The veterans with this disaster response nonprofit said that they are getting involved to help out flood victims. And they are in it for the long haul. Team Rubicon was initially called in to assist with boat rescues. That mission has now transitioned over to cleanup and recovery.
"Because of what we do, then it becomes more cheaper for the homeowner to fix their house. We will go in and take everything that is moldy out," said Miguel Hernandez. As a former Army medic, he has been trained for situations like this. "It's sad that people have to go through that, but the good thing is the amount of good that's been happening in Houston, how everybody's been working with each other."
Crews will be assisting along the Gulf Coast for one week before rotating with another wave of volunteers. This will continue over the next two months. "We fill the gap in the immediate aftermath of disasters," Clancey explained before Team Rubicon left North Texas on Monday, "whether its a flood, an earthquake, domestically here or internationally."