ROGERS, Ark. — After tornadoes impacted communities near Sulphur, Oklahoma on April 27, the non-profit Sheep Dog Impact Assistance said they are on standby, ready to help those affected.
"We have several members that live very close to Sulphur, Oklahoma,” Founder and CEO of Sheep Dog Impact Assistance Lance Nutt said. “They've helped us assess that the need is pretty great, and because of that we are deploying."
Nutt said his teams are prepared to work 12-14 hour shifts, for multiple days in a row if needed. The Continued Service/Disaster Response volunteer teams do what they can to clear debris off people’s homes and in the streets.
"While we're there, we'll start scouting out communities around us and even go to other towns,” Nutt said. “We will determine whether there are other places that might need our assistance as well."
Nutt, a retired Marine Corps Master Sergeant, said his team is no stranger to the chaos caused by a disaster.
Composed of veterans and first responders who are seeking a purpose after their duty, Nutt said serving others helps members of this team heal.
"They felt like their lives are over,” Nutt said. “ We’re teaching them that in many ways, their life is just beginning, and so responding to disasters like this is a great example of how helping others can help yourself heal from past trauma."
For 14 years now, Sheep Dog has been answering the call of duty. According to Nutt, the idea to start this program came to him after traveling to Mississippi to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"The conversation on the way home turned to how rewarding that feeling was, the ability to help others,” Nutt said. “No one told us to do it, or asked, we just did it because we knew we could. The seed was planted for the idea that ultimately turned into the organization."
Nutt added that people in this program are located all over the county - helping others and healing themselves.
"We'll see how things go over the next two days as we gear up to deploy,” Nutt said. “We're excited about the opportunity to help.”
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