ROGERS, Ark. — Cleanup continues in Benton County after seven tornadoes swept through the area on May 26. Over the last few days, the Rogers-based Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) team has been on the front lines.
As members and volunteers met at the command center in the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers Tuesday morning, members said normally, the team travels across the country providing aid to strangers. This week, not only did their Rogers office take a hit, but despite that, the team is working in their hometown, helping their neighbors.
The organization got to work Sunday afternoon, focusing first on clearing roads so emergency crews could get through.
They continued working all week in Rogers and Bentonville.
Member Jason Richardson said thanks to linemen, emergency crews, and all those who pitched in to help, they are seeing progress across the area and can now focus on helping the residents.
“A lot of Rogers is starting to get cleaned up, and the streets are now cleaned up, so I think what we’ll likely do is begin helping the residents and those people that maybe don’t have the saws and/or the skill to start removing debris and taking trees off of homes and tarping roofs and things like that,” Richardson said.
Richardson added that while there have been improvements, with roads cleared and power restored across much of the area, the organization is still trying to reach areas that may have been overlooked.
Sergeant Major Lance Nutt, Founder and CEO of SDIA, said the effort is far from over.
"Every time we roll into a new neighborhood, there's this sense of 'it's not going to end' when it comes to finding damage," Nutt said. "The community's just now starting to get a hand around just how much work needs to be done."
Nutt said his team is also working to instill hope in people affected by the storms.
"They need to feel like things are gonna get back to normal," Nutt said.
That encouragement can be felt by residents like Terri Machha of Rogers, who is dealing with tree damage, structural damage, and water damage after a tree came through her bedroom ceiling Sunday morning.
Machha said she was overwhelmed with emotion when the volunteers arrived at her home.
"I honestly don't have the words because I didn't expect this," Machha said. "There's more people that I'm sure need the help more than me, but I'm just so happy."
You can help SDIA by donating money or supplies such as building materials, fuel cards, bottled water, non-perishable food, hygiene products, or your time. If you are interested in volunteering to help with disaster relief, there is a form to sign up on the SDIA website.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.