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's 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," Parker said.
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.
Two days later, Sheep Dog deployed another Disaster Response Team to North Carolina, another state ravaged by Helene. Sheep Dog will be in Asheville, North Carolina for six days which could change based on how much devastation they see.
"Every situation is different, and with a lot of flooding, there'll be a lot of mucking out of different buildings, clearing out the mud and debris, but there's also going to be a lot of tarping, because the areas that weren't hit by the major flooding had a lot of damage from the wind on their roofs and everything in different places. But for us, everything is fluid. You know, we're veterans and first responders, so we get it. We're always ready to do whatever we need to do to make a difference," Parker said.
If you want to support SDIA’s work in Florida, Parker said the best way to help is through donations. You can also register to volunteer here.
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