Helping Hands: Frisco Mormon volunteers clear out homes in Houston

Volunteers from Frisco and The Colony went to Houston this past weekend to help with Hurricane Harvey cleanup by mucking out houses to prep for rebuilding homes – and lives.

Floodwaters filled homes during the storm that now have to be cleared out. Many homeowners are in shock at all they lost and paralyzed by the task of clearing out everything they owned.

About 200 volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined nearly 10,000 other volunteers from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana in cleaning out flooded homes, pulling out drywall, removing carpet and clearing debris.

One by one, volunteers supported homeowners in cleaning out dressers, closets, plus rooms full of memories that are now soaked and molded.

Homeowners impacted by the floods worked alongside volunteers to sort through ruined items, clear out soaked debris and dry out their homes.

A Red Cross mental health volunteer said many homeowners are in shock at all they’ve lost and don’t know where to begin. Mormon Helping Hand volunteers support flooded homeowners as they work together in cleaning out wet homes.

Doris, one of the Harvey flood victims, cried as volunteers pulled out soggy wood floors her late husband had put in two years ago. She knows the floors have to go, but they carry a memory of her life with her husband. She lived in her home 40 years and raised her children there.

Her daughter Ida said if their dad were still alive, he would have known what to do. Without him, they needed these volunteers to help to pull out their mom’s floorboards, walls, furniture and debris. Ida’s home was also impacted by floodwaters across the street. They were all feeling alone without their father until the Mormon Helping Hands group showed up.

“After Helping Hands came, my mom was at peace,” Ida said. “She no longer fears for her future.”

The Mormon Helping Hands program helps Christians live their religion by serving their neighbors.

Houston residents who needed help can register their homes at crisiscleanup.org.

Wanting to volunteer? Reach out to local Frisco Mormon neighbors if you’d like to help in future trips. There is plenty of Houston flood victims still in need of help.

The Mormon Helping Hands program brings together members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their neighbors to provide community service. These volunteers in their trademark yellow shirts help people whose lives have been affected by natural disasters and other emergencies.

This article was oringally published in the Friso Enterprise on September 18, 2017. http://starlocalmedia.com/friscoenterprise/news/helping-hands-frisco-mormon-volunteers-clear-out-homes-in-houston/article_87788c56-9c74-11e7-9b57-8fae9e3afea0.html