ROGERS, Ark. — On Monday, Sept. 30, the Sheep Dog Impact Assistance (SDIA) Disaster Response Team was deployed to Florida to help with relief and recovery from Hurricane Helene.
Six SDIA members and around 17 volunteers left from the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers.
Crews are planning to be there for about a week but told 5NEWS it depends on how much work there is to be done.
“The devastation is widespread,” said John Parker, SDIA marketing manager. “From flooding to debris to power outages, there's just a lot of things that we can do and a lot of ways we can help.”
Parker said this mission will likely be mainly debris removal, chainsaw work, and clearing mud and muck from flooded homes.
“One of the things about veterans and first responders is, when they see something like this on TV, their first thought is, ‘How can I help?’” Parker said. “My first thought was, ‘My bag is packed and ready to go. Just tell me when we're leaving,’
"There's also a sense of nervousness because you want to get down there, get boots on the ground, and help, but at the end of the day, you feel like you're still not doing enough," said Parker.
Parker added that the top priority for crews leaving Monday was to get there and assess where the most need is and then provide support wherever they can.
If you want to support SDIA’s work in Florida, Parker said the best way to help is through donations.
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