7 sites - 5 storm survivors returning to their homes (pending final inspection) - one problem too big - 1 site evacuation. A normal deployment for the DARE team!
DARE's August team completed the work required for 5 different families to return to their homes. Volunteers repaired under house doors, broken thermo-pane windows, installed deck rails and some other minor repairs.
Sometimes previous repairs have been made and were not quite correct. Most of the time these issues can be overcome but not always. The professionals have to be called back to repair things that DARE can not handle. Not always a major issue but they can cause delays/
Other problems that only seem to out of our abilities. At another site, DARE was tasked with a mobile home that had under home spray insulation that was not properly installed. This is a two stage liquid process that requires full PPE with respirators. Not a normal request and seemed to be beyond our capabilities. As with previous deployments, God supplies. During our team meeting, we learned that one of our volunteers was experienced with the process and had even owned a Haz-mat company in the past. Job accepted and job completed. Thank you Vin for being a loyal DARE volunteer.
As many of you know flexibility is often required on a Long-Term Recovery site. This trip provided a first for DARE. While DARE was installing the kitchen and doing final touch up painting on the interior of one home, a local tree service was removing large trees in the back yard. A small error in judgment on the part of the tree service led to a ruptured gas line and site evacuation. Augusta Fire Department arrived on the scene to handle the issue and DARE assisted with blocking / diverting travel until the Augusta Police arrived to relieve our volunteers. DARE is ready to step in and assist during and after a disaster. The Augusta Fire Department shut down the gas line, ensured the area was safe and allowed DARE to continue our efforts.
DARE will be returning to the Augusta, GA area on September 17th to 19th. Several of our loyal volunteers will be unavailable and we'll new others to step in. As of this month, 94 homeowners have been approved for LTR assistance. We need your help over the next few months. Please make every attempt to join our September and October teams. Fill out the volunteer information form and DARE will be in touch.